Buried Treasure

I told Willie, Hugh, and Matthias that many hundreds of years ago, pirates had come to the house in Combermere, and there was a legend that pirate treasure was hidden somewhere, probably buried deep beneath the house. They were very excited by the idea, and we began to search the house. Hugh and I were looking in the stonework near the fireplace when we saw a bit of charred paper stuck between the stones. I pulled it out and found a dirty piece of paper that was marked with a skull and crossbones. Hugh immediately brought it to Willie, who discerned it to be a map. We followed some of the more legible landmarks down into the basement and deep under the foundations of the house to the spot that was marked with an X.


Willie was pretty brave and climbed in head-first on his belly to fit between the floorboards and the house foundations. Hugh opted to guard the rear entrance and watch while Matthias tried to scramble after Willie and I. His diaper was a little too heavy and cumbersome though, so it held him back.

We held a flashlight and began to dig. What should we find but a heavy sandstone block, which looked out of place in its earthy surroundings. We carried it out into the light and rejoined Hugh, and went at it with a hammer. To the boys' great awe, several gold nuggets gleamed in the dusty light as the sandy chunks were broken away.

This was exciting, but nothing compared to our astounding find on the next dig some time later. Once again, Hugh guarded the rear, Matthias tried his best to keep up but was held back by the weight of his diaper, and Willie and I slithered under the foundations with shovels and flashlights. Willie struck upon something wooden, and when he brushed the dirt aside, found himself looking at the top of a wooden chest that was marked with a skull and crossbones. We dug it up, and Willie began to shout out the find.

Hugh yelled from the entrance, "Bring it to me right now Willie! BRING IT TO ME!" We brought the ancient, dirty chest out into the light and opened it only to find jewels! It was the legendary pirate treasure. There was a tiny jewelled dagger, which must have belonged to Captain Spike himself, diamond earings which were stolen from the princess of Persia (by Captain Spike) and a couple of necklaces that glimmered in the light. There were also quite a few marbles.

The boys suffered a momentary conflict of conscience. Should the treasure be returned to its pirate owners? This passed very quickly, however, when I assured them that the pirates had lived hundreds of years ago and were probably long dead. They were thrilled by the possibility of being rich and slightly surprised that the adults upstairs didn't make a fuss over letting them keep all of it.