the wolves and the dogs. They are blood-brothers, drop for drop—and they hate each other with a fervor that is simply blood-curdling.”

“True enough. I remember hearing about it. [Pg 35]Well, one of the Jasons—the one whose cunning conceived of the whole wickedness to start with—killed the other, disposed of his body, and then through some unknown series of events, concealed the treasure.

[Pg 35]

“He went away awhile, the old wives say—taking a small portion of the treasure with him. At this point the name of Jason is lost, irremediably, in the mist of the past. But it is true that some two years later a seafaring man, one who had worn earrings and who cursed wickedly as he talked, came back and bought a great colonial home where the treasure was supposed to have been concealed.

“This part of the story can not be doubted. The county books contain records of the sale, and it’s written, plain as day, on the abstract. The man gave his name as Hendrickson.

“Legend has it that this Hendrickson was no one but Godfrey Jason, that he had sold and turned into cash a small part of the treasure, temporarily evaded his pursuers, and had bought the big manor house with the idea of living in luxury the rest of his life. Incidentally, he was accompanied by a Cuban wife.

“It seemed, however, that like most evil-doers, he got little good out of his treasure. He paid only a small amount down on the [Pg 36]estate, and after a year or two let it go back to the original owners. He went away, but it doesn’t seem likely he took the treasure with him. At least he died wretchedly in poverty some months later, and had spent no large amount of money in between. The report of his death can be found in the records of the city of Tampa, in this state.

[Pg 36]

“Now all this is unquestionably a mixture of truth and fact. Unquestionably there is a vein of truth in it; and I don’t see but that most of it is fairly credible. But the rest of the yarn is simply laughable.

“I tell it only because it goes with the rest—not that I believe one word of it myself. After you hear what it is you’ll wonder I ever took the trouble to tell you that I disbelieved it. It’s just the sort of thing imaginative old niggers make up to tell their children. And of course—the niggers on the place believe every word of it.

“They say that this Jason—or Hendrickson—put a guard over 

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