We take turns holding one another’s
feet so everyone can lean in
and see.

Carolann can’t stop whispering, I can’t
stop my lower lip from
quivering—

and Malcolm hasn’t smiled this much since
before Dixon left. Harry,
who can’t tell

that the gems are different colors, can tell enough
to know that they are something
very special. He just

keeps shaking his head: “Man … oh
man oh man … no one
is gonna

believe this.” On his turn, Harry manages
to pry open the back part
of the chest—

behind the coins and gems, there are four
smaller sacks filled with more
gold and silver coins,
two odd-looking brown and white rocks,
and a square container with
some white powder

inside. There’s also a metal box of necklaces
and rings and a few large pieces
of mostly

disintegrated cloth. After Harry comes up, I go
down again and find—hidden in some
moldy linen—

a spyglass etched with the initials W.K.