When they reached the point at which Rene had left the books and papers, they found that, even as he feared, they had been removed, so that no trace of them remained.  Rene bethought himself, however, of the small iron box which he had buried in the earth at one side of the tunnel.  After thus burying it he had stopped the place again with clay, and now he hoped that this box at least might have escaped discovery.  So they prodded the earthen wall of the tunnel for some distance with their daggers, and at length the point of Rene’s weapon struck against metal.  Here they dug, and directly he had recovered the box much rusted, but still sound, in which he felt sure his uncle had kept his most important papers.

While they had thus obtained all that they could now hope for in this search, both Rene and De Gourges were anxious to explore the passage to its extreme end, and so they continued on through it.

Of a sudden they found themselves in a place that had been so greatly enlarged beyond the original limits of the tunnel that a score of men might stand in it.  By the light of their uplifted torches they saw, piled one above another, from floor to roof, on two sides of this little chamber, a number of chests, both of wood and iron, every one of which was inscribed with the royal arms of Spain.  So heavy were these that two strong men could not lift one of them.

Instantly recognizing their character, De Gourges exclaimed,

“As I am a knight of France, thou art in luck, Rene de Veaux!  Here thou hast unwittingly stumbled upon a treasure-vault of these Spanish usurers.  If I mistake not, there is that contained within these chests that will place thee on an equality with the wealthiest noble of France.”

“Nay,” replied Rene, “it is not mine, but thine.  To the conqueror belong the spoils.  But for thee, these chests and their contents, whatever be their nature, would still remain with those who placed them here.”

“Not so,” answered De Gourges; “I came not in search of spoil, but to punish these insolent Spaniards for their many cruelties; and besides, but for thee I should never have dreamed of the existence of this passage.  Thou alone didst possess its secret, and to thee alone belongs whatever it contains.”

“Well,” said Rene, unwilling to discuss the matter further at that time, “it may be that we are already counting unhatched fowls.  Let us first take measures to remove these chests to the ships and discover their contents.  After that we shall have ample time to define their ownership ere ever we reach France.”

The grave wisdom of this speech, proceeding as it did from one whom he still regarded as a mere boy amused De Gourges greatly.  He, however, admitted that Rene was right, and that they were foolish to waste time in fruitless discussion, that might be better occupied in making good their escape from a place in which they might at any time be attacked by the Spaniards from San Augustin.