I thought to make for St.Malo, and leave thee at the _Eperon d'Or_ with old Chauvelais, where thou couldst learn to patter French until these evil times have blown by.

But now, if thou art set to hunt this treasure up, and hast a mind to run thy head into a noose; why, I am not so old but that I too can play the fool, and we will let St.Malo be, and make for Carisbrooke.

I know the castle; it is not two miles distant from Newport, and at Newport we can lie at the Bugle, which is an inn addicted to the contraband.

The king's writ runs but lamely in the Channel Isles and Wight, and if we wear some other kit than this, maybe we shall find Newport as safe as St.Malo.' This was just what I wanted, and so we settled there and then that we would get the _Bonaventure_ to land us in the Isle of Wight instead of at St.Malo.Since man first walked upon this earth, a tale of buried treasure must have had a master-power to stir his blood, and mine was hotly stirred.

Even Elzevir, though he did not show it, was moved, I thought, at heart; and we chafed in our cave prison, and those eight days went wearily enough.