HONOLULU -- A Makiki man discovered a treasure in a house in Makiki. He made sure it got back to the rightful owners.

James Ferla just recently began renting a house in Makiki. When he was moving in last week, he noticed something odd about the cabinet in the bathroom.

"The back of the drawer didn't go to where it should have. At that moment I kind of knew there was something in there beneath the drawer," Ferla said.

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Ferla is a master carpenter, so he understands cabinets and woodwork. He also had an intuitive feeling. So, he looked and he found a hidden compartment.

"So I pulled out the bottom drawer and looked underneath and there was the treasure," Ferla said.

Inside he found a platinum and diamond Rolex watch still in the box, emerald and gold necklaces, pearls and quite a few rare coins.

"I tried to move the cigar box and lift it. I thought it was stuck to the floor. It was just so heavy with the silver. I opened the lid. I saw all the coins inside," Ferla said.

Among the coins were valuable silver half dollars, buffalo nickels and King David Kalakaua coins from the 1800s.

Ferla called the owners of the home. The treasure had belonged to their mother, who passed away in 1991. She had apparently hidden it in the secret place almost 25 years ago.

Ferla said he never had even a passing thought of keeping any of it.

There have been multiple renters living in the home. The house has been remodeled and cleaned numerous times.

"The thing that's the most shocking is the house had been rented for 14 years to various different tenants and no one else had found it," Ferla said.

The owners gave him a $300 reward and a silver coin. He has that, plus his integrity, which is something you can't put a value on.