`` Mercy on us , Mr. Peter ! Are you quarrelling with the Old Scratch ? '' said Tabitha , who was seeking some fuel to put under the dinner-pot . Without answering the old woman , Peter broke down a further space of the wall , and laid open a small closet or cupboard on one side of the fireplace , about breast-high from the ground . It contained nothing but a brass lamp covered with verdigris , and a dusty piece of parchment . While Peter inspected the latter , Tabitha seized the lamp and began to rub it with her apron . `` There is no use in rubbing it , Tabitha , '' said Peter . `` It is not Aladdin 's lamp , though I take it to be a token of as much luck . Look here , Tabby ! '' Tabitha took the parchment and held it close to her nose , which was saddled with a pair of iron-bound spectacles . But no sooner had she begun to puzzle over it than she burst into a chuckling laugh , holding both her hands against her sides . `` You ca n't make a fool of the old woman , '' cried she . `` This is your own handwriting , Mr. Peter , the same as in the letter you sent me from Mexico . '' `` There is certainly a considerable resemblance , '' said Peter , again examining the parchment . `` But you know yourself , Tabby , that this closet must have been plastered up before you came to the house or I came into the world . No ; this is old Peter Goldthwaite 's writing . These columns of pounds , shillings and pence are his figures , denoting the amount of the treasure , and this , at the bottom , is doubtless a reference to the place of concealment . But the ink has either faded or peeled off , so that it is absolutely illegible . What a pity ! '' `` Well , this lamp is as good as new .
That 's some comfort , '' said XXXXX .
Aladdin Goldthwaite Mexico Peter Tabby Tabitha breast-high dinner-pot pence verdigris