392 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



" There ! " cried Yaspard, " there ! He is hiding in 

 that comer ! " — and springing forward the young man 

 stooped over what he had taken for Gertson. But, 

 instead, a large and fierce otter snarled at him, causing 

 the young sailor to draw back in surprise. Taking 

 advantage of his momentary fear, the beast glided past, 

 and made good its retreat before any of the men could 

 stop it. 



" A nice companion for the old man that ! " — laughed 

 one of the lads ; and once more the search for Gertson 

 was renewed. They were not long in discovering the 

 vault, and its appearance showed that some one had 

 quite recently disturbed the stones which had been 

 once carefully piled over the spot where so long ago 

 the murdered laird's remains had been found and left. 



" Just like the old miser to choose such a place for 

 a money box," Yaspard exclaimed. "I believe we 

 shall find his hoard down there." 



One of the men suggested that perhaps Gertson was 

 hiding in the vault, or had fallen in. They all bent over 

 the opening and peered down; but though it was not 

 very deep the vault was wide, and they could not see 

 into it from above. Anxious as they were to discover 

 all that was to be discovered, they yet shrank from 

 exploring further, until Yaspard volunteered to jump 

 down into the vault. Lantern in hand he slid down 

 and crashed among the laird's bones and Gertson's 

 money bags ! 



Nothing daunted, the bold young sailor swung his 

 lamp about, and satisfied himself that James was not 



