"Yes, bones and old Roman coins and fragments of pottery."

Fragments of pottery! Pottery made of clay! Earthen vessels!

"But, sir," Jon said as quietly as possible, as he polished his glasses, "can you tell me what sort of pottery would be in these old graves? Would they put their gold in them?"

Mr. Morton laughed. "You sound very keen! I'm not an expert on this, but I think they did bury gold in pottery jars with their dead."

"I suppose that lots of these little hills and ridges round here might be Roman forts or burial places?" Jon persisted and winked hard at David, who seemed at last to realize that these questions meant something.

A sudden gust of wind shook the windows as Mrs. Morton finished her coffee.

"I'm sorry about the weather. What are you boys going to do? We're going to stay on here for a while and play cards. Would you like to wait for us or go home on your own before it gets too bad? There's a bus, I believe."

Jon nudged David and said, "I think I ought to get back home, thanks all the same. Penny is on her own, you see, and I might be able to help my mother."

"I'll go back with you, Jon," David added, taking up his cue quickly.

Outside, when they left the shelter of the club-house, the force of the wind nearly lifted them off their feet. The rain had stopped now, but behind the roar and worry of the gale they could hear the angry muttering of the sea.

"Let's climb to the top of the dunes," David panted as they leaned against the wind. "It'll be grand up there, and you can tell me what's happened. Have you had a brainwave?"

They struggled forward in silence until, behind the shelter of the dunes, they could speak without shouting.

"Of course it's a brainwave," Jon said. "I know what earthen vessels are now. I bet the treasure is buried somewhere in one of those old Roman vases your father was telling us about."

They pulled themselves further up the bank of slippery sand by clutching tufts of grass, while the wind roared over their heads. Once on the top, though, they were exposed to its full fury and they flung themselves down full length in the grass. Jon raised his head to look out to sea and felt the sting of flying sand on his face.

"I've never been in a wind like this," he gasped. "Put up your hand and feel the sand. It's coming in like rain - and look at the sea, David."