“How much do you think we ought to get out of it?” Jack asked.

“Well, after I get my share for outfitting the venture,” replied Mr. Geyer, “I think there ought to be as much as fifty or sixty thousand dollars—­perhaps more.”

“Hurrah!” shouted Tom.  “That’s pretty near ten thousand apiece.  That’s quite a bit of money.”

“You mean fifteen thousand apiece,” corrected Charley.

“I mean what I said—­ten thousand,” declared Tom.  “If this crew of pirates lets you and Frank get away without sharing the spoils, I’ll never sail with them again; so there!”

“Nor I,” declared Jack.

“Nor I,” stoutly agreed Harry.

“Nor I,” chimed in Arnold.  “Rowdy isn’t saying a word.”

So, laughing and at times half crying, the boys talked over the matter while they did ample justice to the meal Doright had prepared.  Jack’s father and Mr. Geyer offered to take charge of the recovered treasure, and with Mr. Harrison for a guard they felt safe in taking it to a place of security after daylight.

With the treasure off their minds, and with the outlaws who had attempted their lives out of the way, the boys tumbled into their bunks on the Fortuna and slept the clock around.  Their nerves had been at high tension for some days and they welcomed the opportunity to rest and recuperate from the strain.

Carlos was helped to a good position with a lumber company in which Mr. Stanley was interested, while the boys voted to buy Doright a cabin and piece of land whenever he was ready to settle down.

There followed a couple of weeks of uninterrupted pleasure fishing and exploring the islands in the Gulf of Mexico.  At length the boys started on their way north by way of the Mississippi River, where the Fortuna and its crew met various interesting adventures.

What happened is told in the succeeding volume of this series, entitled:  “Boy Scouts on the Big River; or, the Pilot’s Revenge.”

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