Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Tom Kester and the Treasure Chest

It's an old story from the days of Captain Kidd. one To tell the story of Tom Coster, how he got his name and how he came to the small colony of Hanlophan at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, go back to 1686.A huge storm was raging across the Atlantic coast.At the height of the typhoon a three-masted schooner dropped anchor on the sandy beach at the entrance to the Delaware Bay, just south of Cape Hanlophan.Tom Coster was the only survivor of the doomed ship. Our story must begin here, for it was this miraculous escape that gave Tom Kirst his name. During the days of the American colonies, most of the few scattered settlements at Hanlophan were founded by the Americans, along with some by the Dutch and the Swedes.These colonies were but a drop in the ocean in the vast American wilderness, full of swamps and forests, and no one knew how far west to reach the edge.The wilderness is not only full of wild animals, but also inhabited by many Indians.Every autumn, Indian tribes come to the shore of the freshwater lake south of Hanluo Pan to spend the winter here.For the next four or five months, they feed on fish, clams, ducks and geese.They also whittle arrowheads and make pottery under the sand dunes and pine trees below the Cape.

Every weekend, the pastor Hilary Jones would occasionally preach in the small wooden church behind the woods. At this time, those half-naked red-skinned savages would come out of the settlement, squat behind the church, and listen to the Sermons that mean nothing to them. In 1686, the wrecked ship came.For the extremely poor settlers of the wilderness, these beach wrecks seemed like a godsend.The ship was wrecked at night, and the next morning, the wreckage floated to the shore, and the beach was full of goods carried by the ship, including boxes, barrels, boxes, posts, bones, planks, etc., which were of great importance to the local For the residents, it can be said to be a huge gain, they can take whatever they want, and no one will stop them.

On some of the buckets and sailor's lockers the name of the ship was found: "The Bristol Merchant", leaving no doubt that the ship was of British origin. As we mentioned above, the only survivor of the wreck was Tom Coster. Tom and other wrecks from the boat washed up on the beach and were discovered by a fisherman named Matt Abrahamson and his daughter Molly.He was lying in a large wooden box, fastened with ropes between two posts, evidently to make the box better able to withstand the pounding of the waves.When Matt Abrahamson saw the crate, he thought he had discovered something perhaps more valuable.But when he cut the rope and split open the wooden box with an axe, he was surprised to find that there was a nine-month-old baby in the box.At that time, the baby was almost suffocated by the blanket covering the bottom of the box.

Matt Abrahamson's daughter Molly's baby just died a month ago, so when she saw the baby lying in the box, she immediately cried out, saying it must be another baby God sent her . The wind was raging and the rain was pouring. Molly had no intention of picking up other wreckage. He wrapped the baby in the man's overcoat he was wearing, and ran home in a hurry. Later, word reached the Reverend Jones that Matt Abrahamson had found a baby in the wreck, and soon he was visiting the baby in the fisherman's hut.The priest carefully inspected the baby's clothes, which were of the finest linen and so delicately handcrafted, that the priest concluded that the child's parents must be of noble birth.A handkerchief was also tied around the baby's neck. The handkerchief was looped around the baby's arms and tied in a knot at the back. On one corner of the handkerchief, there were two initials embroidered with excellent embroidery: TC.

"Molly, what would you like to name the baby?" Reverend Jones asked.He stood by the fire warming his hands as he spoke.In his coat pocket was a large square flask he had picked up from the wreck of a wreck that afternoon. "Molly, what would you like to call him?" "I want to call him Tom, after my own child." "That fits the initials on the handkerchief," said the Reverend Jones, "but what other name do you think of? Make it correspond to the C." "I don't know what to call it either," Molly said. "What do you think of Kester? Because he was found in a box at sea, and the name Tom Kester sounds like a flash in the pan." This is the beginning of Tom Kester's story.Of course, the story of Captain Kidd's chest didn't happen until the spring and summer of 1699.

That year, the famous pirate captain sailed from the West Indies to Delaware Bay in his sloop.He stayed there for more than a month, awaiting word from friends back from New York. Would he be in danger, he said, if he came home with a rich booty from the Indian Sea and the shores of Africa?At this point, he was there waiting for a reply from his friend.Before leaving, something he brought ashore completely disrupted the peaceful life of Tom Coster. At that time, Tom Coster was fourteen or fifteen years old, a big boy with a strong body and thick joints.He lived a life of poverty with old Matt Abrahamson.The old fisherman spent most of his time in his glass, and whenever he drank, he cursed hysterically at little Tom, and even beat and kicked him.One might think that little Tom's will must have been broken by these beatings.But on the contrary, Tom Kester gradually grew up in this kind of beating and scolding, and in the abuse, he became stronger and stronger.His will was as strong as steel, and no matter how old Matt abused him or how long he abused him, he never said a word and never complained.At this time, he always gritted his teeth and endured all the pain in silence.Sometimes the half-drunk old man, driven mad by his silence, would stop beating and grit his teeth and yell, "You're not talking? Are you not? Well, I'm going to see what you've got. Could you please talk." At this point, Molly usually stepped in to protect his adopted son, and together with Tom rebelled against the old man and snatched the stick or whip.And old Matt would chase them around the house, turning around for half an hour, until his anger subsided and he regained his sanity, the storm would not end.

In addition to his adoptive mother, Tom Kester also has a good friend, that is Pastor Jones.The priest would often visit Abraham's hut while he had some fish for breakfast.He was always amiable to say a few words to little Tom.On winter mornings, Tom would go to the vicar's house to learn the basics of reading and writing, and arithmetic, so now he could spell words from the Bible and almanac, and he knew how to change money. This is Tom Kester, and this is the life he leads. At the turn of the spring and summer of 1699, Captain Kidd entered the Delaware Bay with a sloop, and Tom's fate changed drastically from then on.

Next we will tell the story of Captain Kidd's treasure chest. two Matt Abrahamson Sr. had a flat-bottomed boat, and he used to go fishing in a small boat not far from the shore, near the wreck mentioned above.Fishermen often fish here, and old Matt's boat often stops here. There had been a thunderstorm that afternoon, and after the rain Tom came to the shore and bailed out the boat for the next morning's fishing. When he was about to go home, the full moon was already in the sky, and white clouds were floating in the night sky.Lightning flashed in the western sky from time to time, and there was a low-pitched thunder, indicating that another storm was coming.

All day long, the pirates' sloops were moored on the shore behind the cape. In order to dry the rain-soaked sails faster, the pirates spread the sails.Now, in the moonlight, Tom Coster could clearly see the pale, feeble glow of these sails.Just as Tom was walking home along the shore, he suddenly found a small boat parked on the long and narrow beach not far in front, which seemed to be attached to a big ship, and a group of people were watching it.He was very curious, and hurried forward, wanting to see who landed here.But after getting closer, he immediately recognized what these people were doing. It was obvious that this group of people came off the pirate ship and had just landed here. Two people lifted a box from the small boat.One of them is black and shirtless, the other is white, wearing a shirt and mandarin jacket, a Monterey hat on his head, a large red shawl around his neck, and gold earrings in his ears.He wore a long braid that fell down his back, and a large sheathed dagger dangled from his waist.There was another man, who could be seen to be the leader of the gang, standing at a little distance, with a cane in one hand and a lantern in the other, watching the others go out of the boat. lift something.Although the moonlight made the beach as bright as day, he still lit his lantern.He wore well boots, a handsome lace coat, a long, curly beard, an elaborate feathered hat, and long black hair. Her hair hangs over her shoulders.

In the bright moonlight, Tom Coster saw the gilt buttons of the man's suit gleaming. At first, they were so busy moving boxes that they didn't notice Tom Coster coming up and standing watching them.Then the white man with long braids and gold earrings suddenly spotted him and asked him hoarsely, "What are you doing here, boy? Where are you from?" He put down the box, and before Tom could answer him, He pointed to the beach at the other end and said: "If you know what's good or bad, you'd better go to the beach over there to do your own business and don't come back, otherwise you will die soon."

You will know what is waiting for you. " Seeing that the pirates were all looking at him, Tom turned and walked away without saying a word.The man who had just spoken to him followed him for a long way, as if to see if he really walked away.After a while, the man finally stopped, and Tom hurried on, until the boat and the people were all far behind in the moonlight, and they could no longer be seen. He looked back at the place he had just been to. The people he saw just now looked very strange in some places, and their actions were also very secretive. He really wanted to know what was going on and what they were trying to do.He stood there for a while, trying to see what was going on there, and to hear what sounds would come from there.But he saw nothing, and could only faintly hear distant conversations.What the hell are those people doing on a deserted beach in the dead of night?Facing the beach, there are sand dunes surrounding the inland everywhere, and it is very close to the beach. He suddenly felt an impulse, and immediately turned around and walked through the sand dunes, wanting to scout out what these people wanted. what to do. After going around for a while, Tom heard the voices getting closer and closer. Knowing that he was very close to them, he stopped to listen to them, but the voices on the other side suddenly stopped.Under the bright moonlight, behind the silent sand dunes, he squatted down quietly and listened carefully, and heard someone counting slowly: "19, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100 , 101..." They counted very slowly, and the counting sound was getting closer and closer, "102, 103, 104..." The monotonous counting sound continued. Suddenly he saw three human heads emerging from behind the dune, right next to the dune where he was standing, very close to him.Startled, he immediately crouched down.He thought that it was possible that those people had seen him in the moonlight, but in fact they hadn't, and continued to count, his heart rose to his throat again. "120," said the man, "21, 22, 23, 24," and the counters stood up from behind the little dunes and walked out onto the bright, empty sand. That man was the leader of the gang Tom had just seen.He had his cane under his arm, and the lantern in his hand was shining on something, and as he looked at it very carefully, he walked slowly over the sand in a straight line, counting each step. frequency. "25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30." Behind him followed two people, a black man with a shirtless upper body, and a white man with long braids and earrings.They were carrying the heavy box along the beach with difficulty.When the leader counted to "30," the two box bearers threw the box on the sand with a clatter.The white man gasped and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.The counter immediately took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it.They stood there for a long time, and Tom watched them from behind the dunes, and there was silence all around.In the silence Tom heard the waves lapping softly on the distant beach, and occasionally heard faint laughter from those standing by the boats. A minute, two minutes, three minutes passed, and then the men picked up the boxes and started walking, and the man started counting again. "31, 32, 33, 34," he kept staring at the things in his hands, and continued to walk towards the open space, "35, 36, 37..." He kept counting until the three disappeared in the open space In the cave between the two sand dunes on the opposite side, Tom could still hear the distant sound of counting. When the three finally disappeared completely behind the dunes, a flash of lightning suddenly flashed across the sky.Tom still stood there listening to the count, and after a long time he heard a muffled thunder in the distance.He waited a little longer, then got up, walked to the top of the dune where he had been lying, looked around, but saw no one.So he walked down the sand dune and walked in the direction where the pirate captain and the two men who carried the box were walking.He walked cautiously, stopping from time to time to make sure he could still hear the counting, and when the counting stopped, he immediately lay down on the sand, waiting for the counting to sound again. Before long, he saw the figures of three pirates appearing far ahead again, so he walked around a sand dune covered with rough sedges, and climbed to a place where he could look at an open space. A faint white light reflected on the sand. The three had moved across the sand and were now within 25 paces of him.They put down the box again, and the white man sat down to rest, and the black man stood beside him.At this time, the bright moonlight shines on the sand, and it looks like daytime here, Tom could see the white man's face clearly.Every line of his face seemed to be cut out of white light and shadow, as if carved out of ivory and black jade.The white man sat there motionless, as if looking straight at Tom Coster, and Tom pulled his head back in fright, but nothing happened, and he heard the count again.When he put his head out to look around, he saw the three men walking straight across the small clearing.Directly in front of them was a small, soft sand dune.They didn't go around, but walked up directly. The leader climbed up the sand dune leaning on his cane, still counting in his mouth, and his eyes were still fixed on the things in his hands.Presently they disappeared under the white top of the yonder mountain again. Tom waited until they were about half a mile in, and followed cautiously.There was a sand dune ahead, which looked like a large bowl stuck on the sand. He climbed over it and saw the three people clearly.Under the moonlight, the flat sand beneath his feet gleamed with a dazzling white light. The white man who carried the box was kneeling and working, but at first Tom didn't see what he was doing.Afterwards he saw that the man was whittling a stick into a long peg, and soon having done his work, he stood up and went to where the captain stood.The man who appeared to be the captain had driven his cane straight into the ground, as if to use it as a sign of some sort.The white man pulled the stick out of the sand, and drove the peg into the spot where the stick had been.Then the black man held the long wooden nail, and the white man hammered it into the ground.In the silence of the night sky, the knocking sound was crisp and piercing, and it was particularly loud. The man tapped the wooden nail quickly, driving it into the sand bit by bit. He didn't stop until the wooden nail was only two or three inches long. down.At this time, there was another flash of lightning in the sky, and soon there was another muffled thunder.Tom looked into the western sky and saw the silver-rimmed, sharply defined round thundercloud rising slowly into the sky, pushing another broken streamer cloud along. The two white men bent over the pegs, and the Negro stood looking at them.The pirate captain with the cane walked forward from the peg with one end of a measuring line in his hand, and the white man with the braids fastened the other end of the line to the top of the peg.The pirate captain took the measuring line all the way to the end, drew a cross in the sand, and then went on to measure another distance. They measured a full five times, and Tom saw the man with the braid drive another peg into the slope of a sand dune.The towering white sand dunes stand out against the night.After the man with the braid had driven the second peg into the sand, he began to measure again, going in the other direction until he was behind the dunes and out of Tom's view. And the Negro was still standing by the box waiting, and the moonlight was so bright that Tom could even see the whites of the Negro's eyes sparkle in the moonlight. They went all the way to the back of the hill, and for the third time there was the harsh sound of a hammer striking a nail.After a while, two pirates came out from behind the white sand dunes, and appeared in the moonlight. They walked back to where the box had been, and the white man and the black man picked up the box again and walked out into the open sand, slowly disappearing behind the hills, out of Tom's sight again. three Tom Castle could no longer see what the pirates were doing, and he dared not cross the open sand.As he lay there wondering what they were going to do, the dark clouds rose higher and higher overhead, the dull thunder grew louder, and streaks of lightning cut through the dark, cloud-covered sky.Tom would occasionally hear the clang of iron tools, which broke the surrounding silence.He supposed the pirates were burying the chest, but he could neither see nor tell where they had buried it. He was still lying there listening and watching, and soon a warm wind blew over, and there was a deafening thunderclap from the dark clouds in the sky.The cloud was coming fast and nearer, but Tom still lay silently looking around. Suddenly, to Tom's surprise, the three figures came out from behind the little dune, the pirate captain in front, and the black and white man following him.When they were halfway across the white sand, the white man stopped suddenly and bent over as if tying his shoelaces. So the black man overtook him and came forward, a few paces away from the white man. What happened next happened so suddenly and so unexpectedly that Tom Coster hadn't figured out what was going on.When the black man came to the front, the white man stood up suddenly and silently flashed a dagger, and Tom Coster could almost see the cold light reflected from the dagger.The white man followed behind the unsuspecting black man like a cat. Suddenly, the knife flashed, and the black man's urgent screams immediately echoed in the sand.Even though Tom was lying on the distant sand dune, he could clearly hear the sound of the black man falling heavily on the sand.Later, the black man got up, stumbled forward a few steps, stopped again, seemed to take a few steps forward, and then stood there as if being pinned, motionless. Tom clearly saw a knife stuck in his back, and he could even see the cold light on the point of the knife through the black man's chest. At this time, the pirate captain also stopped, holding his cane, and looked at the scene in front of him expressionlessly. Suddenly, the black man started to run, and the white man stood there for a moment, then also ran to catch up with the black man.Not far from Tom the Negro faltered and fell.He wanted to get up, but he seemed to have no strength, and fell to the ground again, and finally never got up again.Now clouds covered the moon, and the sky suddenly became dark, but in the darkness Tom heard another heavy blow, and then a groan, and then a voice telling the captain that it was over. Across the flat sand, Tom saw the vague figure of the captain, and when the moon broke free again from the clouds, he saw a black figure lying motionless on the sand, with the white man standing beside it. Seeing this, Tom Kester sprang to his feet and ran as hard as he could down into a dark valley below, up another dune, and into another dark valley.In this way, he kept running along the undulating sand, panting.He felt that someone was following him, and he was very frightened, as if he could feel the cold blade piercing his body, just like the knife that a white man stabs into a black body. He just ran and ran like in a nightmare.His legs felt as if they had been filled with lead, his throat was dry and hot, and he could hardly breathe.But he ran and ran, and at last he came to old Matt Abrahamson's cabin.He kept panting heavily, his knees suddenly became sore and weak, and his thighs cramped. He opened the door and rushed into the dark room (Matt and Molly were already asleep).At this time, a flash of lightning flashed across the night sky, and he closed the door heavily with a bang, and there was a sound of rolling thunder, as if something very heavy had fallen to the zenith, and even the doors and windows of the hut were rattled and rattled. Four Tom Kester threw himself on the bed all at once, trembling all over, cold sweat streaming down his cheeks, his heart pounding as if being hit by a hammer.Just now, in order to get rid of the inexplicable fear behind him, he ran as hard as he could for a long time on the soft sand, so at this moment he felt dizzy. He lay on the bed for a long time without falling asleep, shivering all over.Later, after falling asleep in a daze for some reason, he began to have nightmares again. In the dream, he once again witnessed the tragedy happening with his own eyes, and also conjured up various bizarre scenes. The next day, Tom got up before the sun came out, and when he went out of the room, he found that the roof was still dripping with rain, and the air was very humid. The first thing he did when he came out was to climb to the nearest sand dune and look at the place where the pirate ship was moored in the distance. The pirate ship is gone. Soon, Matt Abrahamson came out of the house and asked Tom to go fishing after breakfast. All morning the events of the previous night had weighed like a cloud on Tom Coster's mind.It not only filled the small space of the boat, but also slowly spread into the vast sky around them, without leaving for a moment.Even when Tom pulled up the net and took the struggling fish from the wet line, he would still think of this incident, and he would be caught in the memory of the tragedy, and the mental torture would continue.Matt Abrahamson was smoking a cigarette expressionlessly, and his ravine and pointed face looked terrifying.The old man was unaware of the black clouds surrounding them. When the boat reached the shore again, Tom jumped ashore in a hurry, and having lunched, he went at once to the priest. He trotted all the way from Abraham's hut to the vicar's without even taking a breath.He was out of breath when he knocked on the priest's door. Reverend Jones was sitting on the threshold of the back kitchen, basking in the sun and smoking a long pipe.The pastor's wife was in the kitchen preparing dinner, pots were clanging and the smell of pork was in the air. Panting heavily, Tom Kester hastily confided his experience.While listening to the story, Jones let out exclamations from time to time.The fire in the pipe was gradually extinguished, and the pipe pot was cold, without him realizing it. "I don't see why they killed the poor black person," said Tom when he had finished his story. "Well, it is easy to understand," said the venerable priest, "that they buried a chest of treasure." Jones stood up excitedly, hovering, and smoking his empty pipe, squeaking as if it still had a flame in it. "A treasure chest!" cried Tom. "Yes, a treasure chest! That's why they killed that poor black person. You see, he's the only one besides those two who knows where the treasure chest is. Only those two know the secret. These villains, tsk tsk, look at this!" The priest was so excited that he even broke the pipe stem in two. "Then," said Tom, "if that's the case, it must be some wicked blood-stained treasure, sure to bring doom to whoever finds it." "No, it should bring bad luck to whoever buried it," said the Reverend Jones. "It should bring happiness to whoever finds it. But, Tom, do you think you can find out where it's buried?" "I don't know," said Tom, "it's buried in the middle of those dunes, you know, at night. But we might find their footprints in the sand," he added. "It can't be," said the honorable gentleman, "there was a storm last night, and all footprints must have been washed away." "I could find where the boat was moored on the beach," Tom said. "Well, that's where we started, Tom," said the priest. "If we can find that place, maybe we can find out where they buried the treasure chest." "If it's really a treasure chest," cried Tom Caster, "I'll search every inch of land from here to Hanlophan, and I'll find it." "But it's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Hilary Jones said. When he got home, all the heavy burdens and clouds that weighed on Tom's heart had been swept away. He and Jones agreed to go treasure hunting together the next day, and he seemed very anxious and couldn't wait. Fives The next afternoon Reverend Jones and Tom Coster set out together and began their adventure.This adventure is to allow Tom to obtain wealth that he can never enjoy in his life.Tom carried a shovel over his shoulder, and the priest went with him with a cane. As they walked along the shore, they began to discuss the only thing they could discuss - the treasure chest. "Do you see how big it is?" the priest asked. "About this long," Tom gestured in the air with his shovel, "about this wide, and this high." "If it's full of money, Tom," said the preacher excitedly, waving his stick and striding, "if it's full of money, what do you think?" "My God!" said Tom Coster, catching up with his friend quickly, "I'm going to buy myself a boat, and I'm going to do business in India and China in my own boat. If the box is full Money, sir, suppose we find it, enough to buy a boat, do you suppose?" "Certainly enough, Tom; there's more than enough, and there's sure to be plenty left over." "If I find it, it's mine, right?" "Of course, of course it's yours!" cried the vicar, "it must be yours!" He knew nothing of the law, but doubts arose in his mind on the matter, and after a moment's silence he cried out: "If you find it, if it's not yours or someone else's, can you tell me?" "If I could have a ship of my own," said Tom Coster, "if I could sail to Italy, I'd bring you back a case of the best tea from China, sir." Reverend Jones laughed. "Thank you, Tom," he said, "and I'll thank you again when I get my tea. But, Tom, you've heard that the farmer's daughter starts counting the chicks before they're hatched." Is it about the number of chickens?" So they were talking and hurrying together across the sand, when suddenly Tom stopped and looked around. "Here it is," said he. "I saw the ship here last night, and I know it is here, because I remember the wrecks of the ships yonder, and the tall stumps of trees in the sand." Mr. Jones put on his glasses and walked towards the stump Tom was pointing to.He took a good look at the stump, and exclaimed, "Oh, Tom, it's just been nailed into the sand. It's a new stump, and the pirates must have used it as a sign, just as they drove the peg into the sand as a mark on the ground." Tom went over and looked at the stump.The oak stump was nearly two inches thick, carefully hewn in shape, and painted red at the top.He shook the stump, trying to pull it out, but the stump was too deep to shake. "Yes, sir," said he, "it must be a mark, and I'm sure there wasn't this stump here yesterday or the day before." He stood there looking around to see if there were any other marks made by pirates .A corner of something was exposed on the sand not far away, and it was white.Tom saw it was a piece of paper, and cried out, "There's a piece of paper, sir, and I think it might be left by a pirate." It is incredible that that paper is here!There was only an inch of the paper sticking out, and if Tom hadn't been sharp-eyed, it would surely have been overlooked.The next storm might blow it away, and if so, the following story would never have happened. "Look, sir," he said, taking the scrap of paper out of the sand, "there's writing on it." "Let me see," Reverend Jones said.He straightened his glasses, took the paper, and began to look. "What are these?" he said. "All numbers and nothing else." He read aloud: "'Mark SSWSbyS.' What do these mean, Tom?" "I don't know, sir," said Tom. "Perhaps we can understand what it means if you read on." "It's all numbers," said Reverend Jones, "and I think the numbers are supposed to refer to navigational directions, and probably mean nothing else." He began to read again: "'Mark SSWSby S.40, 7, 91, 130 , 151, 177, 202, 232, 256, 271, 'You see, these must be the directions of navigation.' 299, 335, 362, 386, 415, 446, 469, 491, 522, 544, 571, 598,' So many, '626, 652, 676, 695, 724, 851, 876, 905, 940, 967. Nail. SEby E. 269 steps. Nail. SSWSby S. 427 steps. Nail Go west six steps and dig down .'" "What's the nail?" cried Tom. "What's the nail? It must have something to do with digging that box." Suddenly, a thought flashed through his brain, and suddenly his blood boiled all over his body. Woke up. "Read it again, sir," he cried, "ah, sir, do you remember when I told you they drove a peg into the sand? Did they mean digging down near the peg? You Read it again, sir, read it again." "A wooden nail?" the pastor asked. "It must be a wooden nail. Let me look again. Yes, that is, the wooden nail is 269 steps east-southeast." "Yes!" exclaimed Tom Coster excitedly, "do you remember I told you, sir, 269 steps? That must be what I saw those people measure with a line." The fire of excitement burning in Tom's chest ignited Reverend Jones's emotions.He felt as if something wonderful was about to happen. "It must be, it must be!" he cried. "Then they went south, measured 427 paces south-southwest, and drove in another peg. The box was buried six paces west of the peg. .Ah, Tom, ah, Tom Coster, if our understanding is correct, then we shall be rich." Tom Kester looked at the excited expression of the old pastor, and couldn't see any other expressions except the sunshine.Can they actually find the treasure chest?He felt the heat on his shoulders from the sun, and he heard a tern screaming incessantly, piercingly.Looking up, these terns with their scissor tails and pointed white wings are constantly flying overhead.But Tom remained motionless, staring intently into the old priest's face. 琼斯牧师首先开口了：“这些数字到底意味着什么？”汤姆看到老牧师的手因为激动而不停地颤抖着，纸片在他手中沙沙作响。牧师把纸片举到了眼镜底下，又开始读起来：“标记40、72、91。” “标记？”汤姆尖叫起来，“啊！这一定指的是那边的树桩，它一定就是标记。”他指着那根红头橡树桩。那个树桩在闪着微光的白沙滩上竖立着。 “40、72和91，”老牧师同样尖叫起来，“啊，这些数字指的一定就是你听到的海盗们数的步数。” “肯定就是这个意思！”汤姆·克斯特大叫起来，“一定就是这个意思，不可能是别的了。啊，走吧，先生，走吧，先生，我们赶快去找宝箱。” “等等，等等！”牧师举起手，汤姆·克斯特注意到他的手抖得非常厉害。牧师声音很平稳，但听上去有些沙哑，他的手像中风一样抖个不停。“等等，等等！首先，我们得跟着这些量好的步子走。真是不可思议。”他停顿了一下，声音嘶哑地说：“这片纸怎么会到这里来了呀？” “也许是被大风吹过来的。”汤姆·克斯特猜道。 “很像，很像，”琼斯牧师说，“很可能就是这样的，那些恶棍埋下了箱子，杀了那个可怜的黑人后，遇到了暴风雨，这张纸片肯定是从那个人口袋里掉了出来，被风吹跑了，那个人却不知道。” “我们去找箱子吧！”汤姆·克斯特兴奋地大声叫喊着。 “好，好，”牧师说，“不过再等一小会儿，孩子，我们要先定好怎么找。我带了袖珍指南针，我们必须找个东西测量步子，才能发现木钉。你现在先跑到汤姆·克鲁斯家去，把他用来测量新牛栏的量杆拿来。你去拿量杆，我在这儿按纸上说得用步子丈量。” six 汤姆·克斯特走了大约有一个小时，他一路上跑得像风一样快，回来时，他已经上气不接下气了。琼斯牧师不在那里，但是汤姆看到了他的脚印一直向内陆延伸过去。他跟着平坦的沙地上这些混乱的脚印追了上去，穿过沙丘，进入谷地，不久就看到了牧师，而且他一眼就认出了这个地方。 这就是海盗们钉第一根钉子的空地，也是后来汤姆看到的那个可怜的黑人被杀的地方。汤姆·克斯特四下看了一下，想找到一些那天晚上悲剧发生的痕迹，但是，地面平整光滑，只有琼斯牧师走过的地方才有一些足迹。牧师正在弯腰看什么东西，围着它不停地转圈。后来，牧师弯下腰去，从那东西上刮下一些什么。 这就是第一根木钉！ 半个小时之内，他们又发现了第二根和第三根木钉，汤姆·克斯特脱下外套，发疯似的往沙里挖。琼斯站在旁边看着。太阳慢慢下山了，汤姆·克斯特的铁锹终于碰到了什么坚硬的东西。 即使铁锹在沙里碰到的东西是自己的心脏，汤姆也不至于像现在这样浑身颤抖，他从来没有像现在这么激动过。 真的是那个宝箱！ 琼斯牧师也跳进坑里，好像发疯了一样用手把沙子迅速扒拉到一边。他们终于用力把箱子从沙子里拖了出来。箱子上面粘满了沙子，一把挂锁把箱子锁得严严实实的。两个人用铁锹砸了好多下，才把锁砸开了。琼斯掀开了箱盖，看到里面装了半箱书和纸张，还有半箱用绳子缠得紧紧的帆布包。估计如果看到的是黄金和珠宝，他们也不会像现在这样这么吃惊。 琼斯牧师拿出一个帆布包，打开一看，里面装满了钱。 他把绳子割断，双手颤抖着把包递给了汤姆，汤姆惊讶得有点眩晕，他把自己的外套铺在了地上，把帆布包里的东西都倒出来，银币像流水一样哗哗的流了出来，丁丁当当地落在了粗布衣服上。 琼斯牧师举起双手，汤姆则呆呆地看着眼前的一切，怀疑这一切到底是不是真的，他不知道自己是在做梦还是清醒着。他觉得自己好像是还在梦境中。 箱子里一共有22个帆布包，十个包里装的是银币，八个包里装的是金币，三个包里装的是沙金，还有一个包里面塞满了棉花和纸，里面裹着许多珠宝。 琼斯牧师大叫道：“这些足够我们两个当一辈子富人了。” 夏天的太阳虽然已经西下，但是余晖依然炙热，像火一样照在他们身上，可是这两个人却一点也没有察觉到。他们忘记了饥饿和疲劳，神情恍惚地坐在沙地上，四周散落着钱币。外套上也堆满了钱币，开了盖的箱子就摆在他们面前。离日落还有一个小时了，琼斯牧师这才醒过神来，开始查看箱子里的书和纸张。 箱子里有三本书，其中两本是在特拉华湾停泊过的海盗们的航海日志，另外一本是用西班牙文写成的，很明显记录着海盗们抢来的一些战利品的情况。 牧师坐在地上，用高昂、沙哑的声音读着书上的文字。他们首先从那两本航海日志里了解到在海湾停泊的那些人到底是谁，原来是著名的基德船长和他的船员们。在阅读的时候，牧师会不时停下来发一声感慨：“啊，这该死的坏蛋！”或者“啊，这个残忍的歹徒！”然后他继续着在这里读一段，在那里读一段。 汤姆坐在边上听着，还不时偷偷伸手去摸摸那些堆在外套上的钱币。 大家可能会奇怪为什么基德船长会保留着这些血腥的记录。可能是因为这些东西可以当作证据，因为据上面的记录，很多纽约殖民地的名人都牵扯了进去，因此要想把这个海盗绳之以法，而又不牵连到这些名人，简直就是不可能的。如果他能亲自保管好这些记录，无疑可以为自己提供免受绞刑的有力防卫武器。确实，当后来基德船长最终被宣告有罪并推上绞刑架时，罪名并不是海盗罪，而是谋杀罪，因为当时一个水手制造暴动，基德船长用水桶砸他的头，把他砸死了。虽然基德船长被绞死的真正原因是因为他是个海盗，但官方并不敢判他海盗罪。我们知道，就是汤姆·克斯特带到纽约去的那些航海日志将他推向了绞刑架，但他被判的罪名却是用水桶砸死自己手下木匠的谋杀罪。 坐在夕阳的余晖里，琼斯牧师把这些记录了海盗可怕罪行的文字从头到尾地读了一遍，汤姆坐在成堆的金币和银币中间，仔细地聆听着。 这时如果有人从这里路过的话，他将会看到一幅什么样的奇观呀！但是实际上，这里只有他们两个人，他们头上是广阔的天空，周围是空旷的沙地。太阳慢慢落下去了，只剩下很少的时间来看其他纸张了。 这些纸张几乎都是金匠的汇票，收款人都是一些纽约最有名的商人。琼斯知道自己读到的这些名字几乎都是当时传说中的很有身份的绅士。是啊，比如这个绅士，他就知道他的名字一定会在里面。What?这里还有某某先生！啊，如果这些都是真的，那么这个恶棍一定抢劫过他最要好的朋友。他说：“我不知道为什么这个卑鄙的人要把这些东西和这些珠宝小心翼翼地放在一起。它们对他来说到底有什么作用呢？”后来，他又自己找到了答案：“很有可能是因为这些东西可以让他控制那些在上面签过字的绅士们。在把这些支票物归原主之前，可以用它来跟他们讨价还价，使自己免于一死。我告诉你，汤姆，”他继续说，“你应该去纽约一趟，把这些东西还给它的主人，这实际上可以说是你的另一份财富。” 大部分支票的收款人都是一个名叫理查德·奇林华斯的绅士。琼斯牧师说：“他是纽约州最富裕的人。你应该去找他，告诉他我们发现的事情。” “我什么时候去呀？”汤姆·克斯特说。 “我们一弄到船票，你就立即出发。”琼斯说，他手里拿着汇票转过身来，指了指堆积在外套上的那堆钱，“我想知道，汤姆，”他说，“你能不能分给我二十几个钱币？” “如果你愿意，你可以拿1000个。”汤姆毫不犹豫地回答，他对牧师充满了感激之情，因此对这些刚刚获得的财富十分慷慨。 “汤姆，你是我见过的最好的人。”琼斯说，“我会一辈子感激你的。” 汤姆双手捧起一堆银币，说：“拿着吧，先生，你要多少就拿多少吧。” 他把钱倒在了牧师的手里，牧师刚要把钱倒进自己的口袋里，却又突然停了下来，他犹豫地说：“我不知道拿海盗的钱这种做法对不对呀。”他说。 “不管他是对是错，你都可以随便拿。”汤姆说。 牧师仍然在犹豫。“不，”他突然说，“我不能拿它，这是赃款。”他说完，就把一大 捧钱扔进了空箱子，然后站起来，弹了弹马裤上的沙子，精神抖擞地把钱装进帆布袋子，放进了箱子里。 他们又把那个箱子埋回了原来的地方，牧师小心翼翼地把那张珍贵的指示图纸折了起来，放进了钱包里，然后把钱包放进了自己的口袋。“汤姆，”他说，“你今天发大财了。” 汤姆·克斯特从里面拿了十几枚金币，装进了口袋里，他觉得朋友说得话很对。 两个人穿过沙地往回走时，汤姆·克斯特忽然停下来，站在那里四下打量，“就是在这里，”他用脚后跟磕了磕沙地说，“就是在这里，他们杀了那个可怜的黑人。” “他被永远地埋在这里了。”琼斯牧师说。说这话时，他把自己的手杖插进了沙里。汤姆·克斯特看到这里，身体突然有点发抖，如果这时手杖的金属头在沙地里碰到什么软乎乎的东西的话，他一点都不会吃惊。但是，这种事情并没有发生，他们没有发现任何一点在这里发生过惨案的痕迹，也许海盗们已经把尸体带走，在别的地方埋了起来，也许风暴把沙地完全吹平了，没有留下一丝痕迹。但有一点可以肯定是，再也没有人看到过那具尸体，至少汤姆·克斯特和希拉里·琼斯牧师没有看见过。 seven 这就是关于宝箱的故事，讲到这里，差不多已经到了汤姆·克斯特故事的结尾了，下面我们来看一看后来发生在他身上的一些事情。 他没有再回去和老马特·亚伯拉罕逊住在一起。现在琼斯照料着他和他的财宝，汤姆不需要再回渔夫的小屋里了。 每当老亚伯拉罕逊发了一大通牢骚，喝得醉醺醺的时候，就会向琼斯牧师长篇大论地唠叨个不停，声称如果让他逮到汤姆，就要把这个离家出走的孩子如何如何。但是汤姆总是很小心地躲着老渔夫，所以老人一直没有见到过他，这个威胁也就没有付诸实施。 汤姆经常回去看望自己的养母，每次总是趁老人不在家时去。莫利·亚伯拉罕逊总是警告他千万小心别碰上自己的父亲。“他现在心情很糟糕，我从来没有见他心情这么不好过，汤姆，”她说，“他天天都阴沉沉地坐在那里，我相信，如果他抓到你，一定会杀了你。” 当然，即使是对他的养母，汤姆也从来没有提起过财宝的事儿，他和牧师都把这件事情当作秘密深埋在心里。三周以后，琼斯牧师弄到了一张去纽约的船票，几天后，汤姆·克斯特就到达了目的地。以前，他从来没有到过城市，所以现在，当他看到那么多的砖房、漂亮、结实的陶制人行道上走着的熙熙攘攘的人群，还有把商品摆在橱窗的商店，他感到非常吃惊和好奇。当然，最让他吃惊的还是那些防御堡垒和堡垒顶上那一排排整齐排列的炮台、让人感觉威力十足的加农炮，以及穿着红色制服在堡垒附近巡逻的哨兵。这一切简直太奇妙了，就连港口中停泊着的密密麻麻的船只看上去也那么神奇。这是一个全新的世界，这个世界对于他来说与汉洛潘的那些沙丘和莎草地完全是两回事儿。 后来，汤姆·克斯特在市镇厅附近的一家咖啡馆住了下来，他让邮差把琼斯先生写的一封信送去给奇林华斯先生。不久，邮差就回来了，带来了奇林华斯先生的口信，请汤姆当天下午到家里去做客。 汤姆战战兢兢地去了，当他站在奇林华斯先生那幢华丽气派、用砖盖成的三层楼房前时，他的心吓得咚咚直跳。 账房也在同一幢房子里，但是，由于琼斯先生的那封信，他被直接带到了会客厅，那个大名鼎鼎的有钱人正在那里等着他。他坐在皮椅中，抽着烟，手边端着一杯上好的陈年马德拉酒。 因为刚到纽约，汤姆根本没有机会去买一套新衣服，他仍然穿着从汉洛潘带来的粗布衣服，看起来邋里邋遢，不怎么好看。而且看起来奇森华斯先生也不怎么欣赏他的外表，就这么抽着烟，斜眼看着汤姆。 “嗯，小伙子，”他说，“你要告诉我什么让人十分吃惊的重大事情呢？我接到了叫什么琼斯先生的信，现在我想听听你要给我说些什么。” 如果说他一开始还不怎么看得起来人的外表的话，那么很快他的态度就发生了改变。汤姆还没有说上二十个字，奇林华斯的整个表情就已经完全变了样。他坐直了身子，放下了烟斗，推开了马德拉酒，请汤姆坐下来讲。 他一言不发，静静地听汤姆·克斯特讲述那箱被埋在沙地里的财宝，讲他如何看到那个可怜的黑人被杀，讲他和琼斯如何发现了那箱财宝。中途奇林华斯只打断了一次汤姆的话。“想想吧，”他叫道，“这个恶棍今天还若无其事地走在纽约城里，装成一个正直的好人，他还在骚扰我们中最善良的人！但是，如果我们能够拿到你提到的航海日志的话，继续讲，告诉我更多的信息。” 汤姆·克斯特把全部事情讲完以后，奇林华斯先生的态度立即发生了翻天覆地的变化。他问了汤姆许多问题，语气谦逊有礼又和蔼可亲。他不但请汤姆喝自己的陈年老酒，还邀请他共进晚餐。他说这里没有外人，只有他的妻子女儿。 汤姆一想到还有两位女士，马上惊慌起来，坚决拒绝留下来，就连奇林华斯先生只留他喝杯茶的邀请，都被他拒绝了。 他不知道自己注定是要留在这里，而且还要留一辈子。 “现在，”奇林华斯先生说，“介绍一下你自己吧。” “我也没有什么好介绍的，先生，”汤姆说，“除了一点，我是被海浪冲上岸的。” “被海浪冲上岸的！”奇林华斯先生大声叫道，“噢，这是怎么回事？来，从头开始，告诉我你所有的故事。” 于是汤姆·克斯特开始讲起了自己的故事。他从最开始讲起，把莫利·亚伯拉罕逊经常给他讲的故事都讲了出来。在叙述自己身世的时候，奇林华斯先生的表情从好奇变得越来越兴奋。忽然，他从椅子上跳了起来，开始在房间里不停地徘徊。 “停！停！”就在汤姆讲到一件事时，他大叫起来，“停！停！告诉我，你知道那艘失事的船只的名字吗？你就是从那只船上被冲上岸的吗？” “我听说过它的名字，”汤姆·克斯特说，“它叫'布里斯托尔商人'。” “我知道它！我知道它！”这位大名鼎鼎的商人尖叫了起来，使劲挥舞着他的手，“从你一开始讲这个故事的时候我就有一种感觉，但是请你告诉我，你被发现时，身边有没有什么标志着记号或名字的东西吗？” “有一个手帕，”汤姆说，“上面标着'T'和'C'。” “西奥多西娅·奇林华斯！”商人大叫起来，“我知道它！我知道它！上帝啊！居然会发生这么奇妙的事情！孩子！孩子！你知道你是谁吗？你是我亲弟弟的儿子。他的名字是奥利弗·奇林华斯，你是他的儿子。”他冲出门，大声把妻子女儿叫了过来。 最终，汤姆·克斯特（或者应该叫他托马斯·奇林华斯，这是他现在的名字），到底还是留下来吃了晚饭。 这就是整个故事，我希望你能够喜欢它。就像我们期待的那样，汤姆·克斯特成为了有钱人，娶了漂亮的堂妹西奥多西娅（她的名字和在“布里斯托尔商人”号上被淹死的汤姆妈妈的名字相同，是为了纪念她而起的）。 他没有忘记他的朋友琼斯牧师，把他接到了纽约来住。 至于莫利和马特·亚伯拉罕逊，两人都得到了一年十镑的养老金。现在汤姆的境况好起来的，但他并没有因为老渔夫曾经对他的殴打而对他怀恨在心。 宝箱后来被带到了纽约，汤姆·克斯特并没有得到所有的财宝（琼斯原本认为他应该得到所有的财宝），但他至少还是得到了其中的一大部分。 后来，基德船长在波士顿被捕，在伦敦被处以了绞刑。我相信，和别的罪证相比，那些航海日志肯定在审判中起了更为重要的作用。