The recent researches of Mr. Samuel H. Yonge too have added new interest.  It had long been supposed that almost the entire site of the ancient village was lost in the river.  Mr. Yonge has shown that in fact but a small part of it is gone.  He has even located on the island the exact sites of so many of the more important village buildings that, it is said, old James Towne could be practically reproduced in wood and brick from his map, based upon the ancient records.

To verify his work, Mr. Yonge undertook (in 1903) to discover the buried ruins of a certain row of buildings that the records described as made up of a State-house, a “country house,” and three dwellings.  The search was begun with a steel probe, which struck the hidden foundations within twenty-five feet of their position as indicated on his plat.  Then the Association began excavating; the foundations were uncovered, and are now among the things to see on the island.

[Illustration:  One of the earliest excavations.]

[Illustration:  Hunting for the first state house.]

As Mr. Yonge’s map shows the larger part of the site of James Towne to be lying to the east of the church tower and outside of the A.P.V.A. grounds, the Daughter of the Island was interested too in seeing what probe and pick and shovel could do.

It was at one of James Towne’s old homes that we next met her.  The meeting, judging from our map of the village, was probably at Captain Roger Smith’s, though one could not be sure.  There was no name on the door, nor indeed any door to put a name on, nor indeed any house to put a door on—­just an ancient basement that the Daughter of the Island had discovered and was having cleaned out.  It badly needed it, nothing of the kind having been done perhaps for over two hundred years.

“Come and see my find,” she cried.

The testing probe having struck something that indicated a buried foundation, there in the black pea field, this young antiquarian had put men at work and was being rewarded by finding the ruins of some ancient house.  Portions of two rooms had been disclosed and the stairway leading down into one of them.

“Come down the stairs,” said the proud lady in the cellar.

“Oh, what narrow steps!” Nautica exclaimed.

“They used to build out those brick treads with wood to make them wider,” explained our hostess.  “You can see where the wooden parts have been burned away.”

The two rooms were paved with brick, and in one a chimney-place had come to light.  Everywhere were bits of charred wood.  Did no place in James Towne escape the scourge of fire?  A kitten came springing over the mounds of excavated earth and began to prowl about the old fireplace.  Except for a skittish pebble that she chased across the empty front, she found nothing of interest; no hint of savoury odours from the great spit over the blazing logs that may have caused a James Towne cat to sit and gaze and sniff some two centuries or more ago.