“They’re drawing lots!” gasped Abner, and Mary trembled more than she had done yet.

Now the lots were all drawn, and one man, apparently a young pirate, stepped out from among his fellows.  His head was bowed, and his arms were folded across his manly chest.  The captain spoke a few words, and the young pirate advanced alone to the side of the deep hole.

Mary now shut her eyes tight, tight; but Abner’s were wide open.  There was a sudden gleam of cutlasses in the air; there was one short, plaintive groan, and the body of the young pirate fell into the hole.  Instantly all the other goods, furs, rugs, or whatever they were, were tumbled in upon him.  Then the men began to shovel in the earth and sand, and in an incredibly short time the hole was filled up even with the ground about it.

Of course all the earth and sand which had been taken out of the hole could not now be put back into it.  But these experienced treasure-hiders knew exactly what to do with it.  A spadeful at a time, the soil which could not be replaced was carried to the sea, and thrown out into the water, and when the whole place had been carefully smoothed over, the pirates gathered sticks and stones, and little bushes, and great masses of wild cranberry vines, and scattered them about over the place so that it soon looked exactly like the rest of the beach about it.

Then the tall captain gave another low command, the pirates returned to their boat, it was pushed off, and rapidly rowed back to the schooner.  Up came the anchor, up went the dark sails.  The low, black schooner was put about, and very soon she was disappearing over the darkening waters, her black flag fluttering fiercely high above her.

“Now, let us run,” whispered poor Mary, who, although she had not seen everything, imagined a great deal; for as the pirates were getting into their boat she had opened her eyes and had counted them, and there were only nine beside the tall captain.

Abner thought that her advice was very good, and starting up out of the brushwood they hastened home as fast as their legs would carry them.

[Illustration:  “Two of the pirates went down into the hole.”—­p. 302.]

The next day Abner seemed to be a changed man.  He had work to do, but he neglected it.  Never had such a thing happened before!  For hours he sat in front of the house, looking up into the sky, counting one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.  Then he would twist himself around on the little bench, and count seven more.

This worthy couple lived in a small house which had a large cellar, and during the afternoon of that day Abner busied himself in clearing out this cellar, and taking out of it everything which it had contained.  His wife asked no questions.  In her soul she knew what Abner was thinking about.

Supper was over, and most of the people in the village were thinking of going to bed, when Abner said to Mary, “Let us each take a spade, and I will carry a pail, and we will go out upon the beach for a walk.  If any one should see us, they would think that we were going to dig for clams.”