The Treasure Chest of Don Jose

Originally Aired: June 26, 1956 Suspense #656, "The Treasure Chest of Don Jose," Jose Gasparilla, the great-great-grandson of the legendary pirate Don Jose, discovers a life-changing secret in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. When his friend Pedro helps him clear the ruins of his demolished house on Black Cay in the Gulf of Mexico, they uncover an iron box hidden within the old family chimney. Inside is a rotting parchment containing directions to the pirate's buried treasure. Unwilling to share his inheritance with anyone, not even loyal Pedro who saved his life during the storm, Jose secretly travels north to Cape Cod and Dogbody Island to claim what he believes is rightfully his. As Jose begins excavating the treasure site, complications arise. The local chief of police appears and asks suspicious questions, forcing Jose to work under cover of darkness. Digging frantically by lantern light, Jose finally strikes something solid beneath the sand—an ironbound chest. Overwhelmed with emotion at finding his ancestor's treasure, Jose breaks down in tears of joy and relief. But as the sound of the surf mingles with his sobs, something else intrudes upon his moment of triumph, suggesting that the legendary curse of Dona Margarita may be more than just superstition.