“Honest to goodness?” cried Chet, his eyes beaming.

“Honest to goodness, brother mine.”

Then Chet fell to work with fresh enthusiasm on the lock.

It was a stubborn old lock, and required a good deal of patience—­which the girls had not—­and tinkering to make it give way.

But it gave at last, and girls and boys leaned forward with sighs of pure excitement.

“Open it,” cried Laura impatiently, but Billie put her hand on the lid and faced them with shining eyes.

“We’ll each have just one guess,” she said, “and see who comes nearest to guessing right.”

“I bet it’s money,” cried Chet.

“That isn’t fair, I was going to bet that too.”

“So was I—­”

“And I—­”

Billie threw up her hands in despair.

“Of course, if you’re all going to guess the same thing it’s all ruined,” she said, then added, as she bent forward and started to lift the cover:  “I don’t know that I blame you, though, for I was going to guess the very same thing!”

“Oh, Billie, hurry!  You’re so slow!” cried Laura, jumping up and down with excitement.  “Do get at it!”

“Shall I do it?” asked Violet, feeling an almost irresistible desire to push Billie away and fling back the lid.  Why was she so slow?

“One—­two—­three!” cried Billie, and then the lid was off and they were staring down into the contents of the trunk.

For a minute they stood motionless.  Then, as though moved by one impulse, they dropped to their knees and buried their hands in something that jingled at their touch!

The trunk was full to the brim with old coins, many quite rare, while scattered here and there were postage stamps on sheets and loose, queer, foreign looking things that made Billie’s eyes glisten as she looked at them.

“It must have all belonged to Uncle Henry,” she said, in an awed voice.  “Aunt Beatrice once said he had a hobby for collecting postage stamps and old coins—­”

“But it is money,” cried Laura, finding her voice at last, her blue eyes dark with excitement.  “Why, Billie, these old coins must be worth a big lot of money!”

“You bet!  It’s a treasure,” said Teddy soberly.  Then with a little smile he turned to Billie—­Billie who was vivid and breathless with the great discovery.  “Allow me to present to you, ladies and gentlemen, our old friend, Captain Kidd!”

CHAPTER XXV

“LARGE FORTUNES”

“Billie, it’s worth a small fortune!”

“I’ll bet the stuff is worth several thousand dollars.”

“Yes, every bit of it.”

“Oh, boys, as much as that?” questioned Billie, half hysterically.

“Of course,” came from Teddy.  He was on his knees in front of the treasure box.  “See these coins?  Gold, every one of ’em—­and as big as ten dollar pieces, too.”