“Do you see that?  Can you read it?”

As I was still mute he walked back to the chest and laid the clasp down again.

“Aha!” he exclaimed with a short laugh horrible to hear, “you won’t speak.  But there have been times, Mr. Jasper Trenoweth, when you would have given your soul to lay hands upon this piece of gold and read what is written upon it.  It is a pity your hands are tied—­a thousand pities.  But I do not wish to be hard on you, and so I don’t mind reading out what is written here.  The secret will be safe with you, don’t you see?  Quite—­safe—­with—­you.”

He rolled out these last words, one by one, with infinite relish; and the mockery in the depths of those eyes seared me far more than my bonds.  After watching the effect of his taunt he resumed his seat upon the stool, pulled the clasp towards him and said—­

“People might call me rash for entrusting these confidences to you.  But I do not mind admitting that I owe you some reparation—­some anterior reparation.  So, as I don’t wish you to die cursing me, I will be generous.  Listen!”

He held the buckle down upon the table and read out the inscription as follows:—­

    START AT FULL MOON END SOUTH.

    POINT 27 FEET N.N.W. 22 FEET.

    W. OF RING NORTH SIDE 4.

    FEET 6 INCHES DEEP AT POINT.

    OF MEETING LOW WATER 1.5 HOURS.

He read it through twice very slowly, and each time as he ceased looked up to see how I took it.

“It does not seem to make much sense, does it?” he asked.  “But wait a moment and let me parcel it out into sentences.  I should not like you to miss any of its meaning.  Listen again.”  He divided the writing up thus:—­

“Start at full moon.  End South Point 27 feet N.N.W. 22 feet W. of Ring.  North Side. 4 feet 6 inches deep at point of meeting.  Low water 1.5 hours.”

“You still seem puzzled, Mr. Trenoweth.  Very well, I will even go on to explain further.  The person who engraved this clasp meant to tell us that something—­let us say treasure, for sake of argument—­could be found by anyone who drew two lines from some place unknown:  one 27 feet in length in direction N.N.W. from the South Point of that place; the other 22 feet due West of a certain Ring on the North side of that same place.  So far I trust I make my meaning clear.  That which we have agreed to call the treasure lies buried at a depth of 4 feet 6 inches on the spot where these two lines intersect.  But the person (you or I, for the sake of argument) who seeks this treasure must start at full moon.  Why?  Obviously because the spring tides occur with a full moon, consequently the low ebb.  We must expect, then, to find our treasure buried in a spot which is only uncovered at dead low water; and to this conclusion I am also helped by the last sentence, which says, ‘Low water 1.5 hours.’  It is then, I submit, Mr. Trenoweth, in some such place that we must look for our treasure; the only question being, ‘Where is that place?’”