The Adventures of Captain Horn, page 109 by Frank Richard Stockton
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t thought of that way of keeping those sailors out of the passage, they would have swarmed over that lake bed, each one of them with a box of matches in his pocket; and if they had found that mound, I wouldn't give two cents for the gold they would have left in it. It wouldn't have been of any use to tell them it was the captain's property. They would have been there, and he wasn't, and I expect the mate would have been as bad as any of them."
"You are a good fellow, Ralph," said Mrs. Cliff, "and I hope you will grow up to be an administrator, or something of the kind. I don't suppose there was ever another boy in the world who had so much wealth in charge."
"You can't imagine," exclaimed Ralph, "how I hate to go away and leave it! There is no knowing when the captain will get here, nor who will drop in on the place before he does. I tell you, Edna, I believe it would be a good plan for me to stay here with those two black fellows, and wait for the captain. You two could go on the ship, and write to him. I am sure he would be glad to know I am keeping guard here, and I don't know any better fun than to be on hand when he unearths the treasure. There's no knowing what is at the bottom of that mound."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Edna. "You can put that idea out of your head instantly. I would not think of going away and leaving you here. If the captain had wanted you to stay, he would have said so."
"If the captain wanted!" sarcastically exclaimed Ralph. "I am tired of hearing what the captain wants. I hope the time will soon come when those yellow bars of gold will be divided up, and then I can do what I like without considering what he likes."
Mrs. Cliff could not help a sigh. "Dear me!" said she, "I do most earnestly hope that time may come. But we are leaving it all behind us, and whether we will ever hear of it again nobody knows."
One hour after this Edna and Mrs. Cliff were standing on the deck of the Mary Bartlett, watching the plateau of the great stone face as it slowly