The Treasure-Ship

by H.H. Munro (SAKI)

　　

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The great galleon lay in semi-retirement under thesand and weed and water of the northern bay where thefortune of war and weather had long ago ensconced it.Three and a quarter centuries had passed since the daywhen it had taken the high seas as an important unit of afighting squadron - precisely which squadron the learnedwere not agreed. The galleon had brought nothing intothe world, but it had, according to tradition and report,taken much out of it. But how much? There again thelearned were in disagreement. Some were as generous intheir estimate as an income-tax assessor, others applieda species of higher criticism to the submerged treasurechests, and debased their contents to the currency ofgoblin gold. Of the former school was Lulu, Duchess ofDulverton.The Duchess was not only a believer in the existenceof a sunken treasure of alluring proportions; she alsobelieved that she knew of a method by which the saidtreasure might be precisely located and cheaplydisembedded. An aunt on her mother's side of the familyhad been Maid of Honour at the Court of Monaco, and hadtaken a respectful interest in the deep-sea researches inwhich the Throne of that country, impatient perhaps ofits terrestrial restrictions, was wont to immerse itself.It was through the instrumentality of this relative thatthe Duchess learned of an invention, perfected and verynearly patented by a Monegaskan savant, by means of whichthe home-life of the Mediterranean sardine might bestudied at a depth of many fathoms in a cold white lightof more than ball-room brilliancy. Implicated in thisinvention (and, in the Duchess's eyes, the mostattractive part of it) was an electric suction dredge,specially designed for dragging to the surface suchobjects of interest and value as might be found in themore accessible levels of the ocean-bed. The rights ofthe invention were to be acquired for a matter ofeighteen hundred francs, and the apparatus for a fewthousand more. The Duchess of Dulverton was rich, as theworld counted wealth; she nursed the hope, of being oneday rich at her own computation. Companies had beenformed and efforts had been made again and again duringthe course of three centuries to probe for the allegedtreasures of the interesting galleon; with the aid ofthis invention she considered that she might go to workon the wreck privately and independently. After all, oneof her ancestors on her mother's side was descended fromMedina Sidonia, so she was of opinion that she had asmuch right to the treasure as anyone. She acquired theinvention and bought the apparatus.Among other family ties and encumbrances, Lulupossessed a nephew, Vasco Honiton, a young gentleman whowas blessed with a small income and a large circle ofrelatives, and lived impartially and precariously onboth. The name Vasco had been given him possibly in thehope that he might live up to its adventurous tradition,but he limited himself strictly to the home industry ofadventurer, preferring to exploit the assured rather thanto explore the unknown. Lulu's intercourse with him hadbeen restricted of recent years to the negative processesof being out of town when he called on her, and short ofmoney when he wrote to her. Now, however, she bethoughtherself of his eminent suitability for the direction of atreasure-seeking experiment; if anyone could extract goldfrom an unpromising situation it would certainly be Vasco- of course, under the necessary safeguards in the way ofsupervision. Where money was in question Vasco'sconscience was liable to fits of obstinate silence.Somewhere on the west coast of Ireland the Dulvertonproperty included a few acres of shingle, rock, andheather, too barren to support even an agrarian outrage,but embracing a small and fairly deep bay where thelobster yield was good in most seasons. There was ableak little house on the property, and for those wholiked lobsters and solitude, and were able to accept anIrish cook's ideas as to what might be perpetrated in thename of mayonnaise, Innisgluther was a tolerable exileduring the summer months. Lulu seldom went thereherself, but she lent the house lavishly to friends andrelations. She put it now at Vasco's disposal."It will be the very place to practise andexperiment with the salvage apparatus," she said; "thebay is quite deep in places, and you will be able to testeverything thoroughly before starting on the treasurehunt."In less than three weeks Vasco turned up in town toreport progress."The apparatus works beautifully," he informed hisaunt; "the deeper one got the clearer everything grew.We found something in the way of a sunken wreck tooperate on, too!""A wreck in Innisgluther Bay!" exclaimed Lulu."A submerged motor-boat, the Sub-Rosa," said Vasco."No! really?" said Lulu; "poor Billy Yuttley's boat.I remember it went down somewhere off that coast somethree years ago. His body was washed ashore at thePoint. People said at the time that the boat wascapsized intentionally - a case of suicide, you know.People always say that sort of thing when anything tragichappens.""In this case they were right," said Vasco."What do you mean?" asked the Duchess hurriedly."What makes you think so?""I know," said Vasco simply."Know? How can you know? How can anyone know? Thething happened three years ago.""In a locker of the Sub-Rosa I found a water-tightstrong-box. It contained papers." Vasco paused withdramatic effect and searched for a moment in the innerbreast-pocket of his coat. He drew out a folded slip ofpaper. The Duchess snatched at it in almost indecenthaste and moved appreciably nearer the fireplace."Was this in the Sub-Rosa's strong-box?" she asked."Oh no," said Vasco carelessly, "that is a list ofthe well-known people who would be involved in a verydisagreeable scandal if the Sub-Rosa's papers were madepublic. I've put you at the head of it, otherwise itfollows alphabetical order."The Duchess gazed helplessly at the string of names,which seemed for the moment to include nearly every oneshe knew. As a matter of fact, her own name at the headof the list exercised an almost paralysing effect on herthinking faculties."Of course you have destroyed the papers?" sheasked, when she had somewhat recovered herself. She wasconscious that she made the remark with an entire lack ofconviction.Vasco shook his head."But you should have," said Lulu angrily; "if, asyou say, they are highly compromising - ""Oh, they are, I assure you of that," interposed theyoung man."Then you should put them out of harm's way at once.Supposing anything should leak out, think of all thesepoor, unfortunate people who would be involved in thedisclosures," and Lulu tapped the list with an agitatedgesture."Unfortunate, perhaps, but not poor," correctedVasco; "if you read the list carefully you'll notice thatI haven't troubled to include anyone whose financialstanding isn't above question."Lulu glared at her nephew for some moments insilence. Then she asked hoarsely: "What are you going todo?""Nothing - for the remainder of my life," heanswered meaningly. "A little hunting, perhaps," hecontinued, "and I shall have a villa at Florence. TheVilla Sub-Rosa would sound rather quaint and picturesque,don't you think, and quite a lot of people would be ableto attach a meaning to the name. And I suppose I musthave a hobby; I shall probably collect Raeburns."Lulu's relative, who lived at the Court of Monaco,got quite a snappish answer when she wrote recommendingsome further invention in the realm of marine research.

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