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Though she owns a large estate and is herself a noblewoman, Lady St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) is anything but rich. Indeed, if she cannot raise the money needed to pay taxes on the estate, she and the large crew of orphans she has taken in will be thrown out. Legend has it that one of her ancestors, a pirate, hid a substantial treasure in gold coins somewhere in the mansion. Lady St. Edmund has not lost sight of the legend, but neither has she found the coins. With the willing help of her children and her valet-of-all trades, Priory (David Niven), she is doing her plucky best to keep the wolf from the door. However, the thieving duo of Bundage and Grimsworthy (Leo McKern and Vivian Pickles) have decided to mount a search for the legendary loot themselves and have persuaded Casey (Jodie Foster), a waif from L.A., to pose as Lady St. Edmund's long-lost granddaughter and help find and steal the loot. This being a Disney production, one can be confident that good will somehow prevail.