The soil was soft and he threw aside the pick and
grasped a shovel; then the others joined him. There was no
further comment on the killing, but the men worked in a better
frame of mind than they had since Snipes had assumed command.
When they had a trench of ample size to bury the chest,
Tarrant suggested that they enlarge it and inter Snipes' body
on top of the chest.
"It might 'elp fool any as 'appened to be diggin'
'ereabouts," he explained.
The others saw the cunning of the suggestion, and so the
trench was lengthened to accommodate the corpse, and in the
center a deeper hole was excavated for the box, which was
first wrapped in sailcloth and then lowered to its place, which
brought its top about a foot below the bottom of the grave.
Earth was shovelled in and tramped down about the chest
until the bottom of the grave showed level and uniform.
Two of the men rolled the rat-faced corpse unceremoniously
into the grave, after first stripping it of its weapons and
various other articles which the several members of the party
coveted for their own.
They then filled the grave with earth and tramped upon it
until it would hold no more.
The balance of the loose earth was thrown far and wide,
and a mass of dead undergrowth spread in as natural a manner
as possible over the new-made grave to obliterate all signs
of the ground having been disturbed.
Pages:
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211