Pittston Gazette

              W w &C*D CVr f v f.S'jrTTt2 t Ki ;:T2 ,t •.T'l Oldest Newsnaoer in the Wyoming Val)e\ PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY, JULY 3, 181)1. \ Weedy Local and Family louraal. I"1 THt SUWMEfi Gl fo- ot yellow tever, and it's no use trying to find a doctor tonight. If you are alive tomorrow I'll go for one. Meanwhile, if there is anything you want done, in caw you do die, you had better let me kno w it now." "It strikes me," said Keppel to himself, "that I've seen something like this somewhere. 'C. Kphl.—S. lump.' That looks familiar." woodland, extending to the swamp on one side and toward the ocean on the other. To the westward lay a sort of pasture, withOK few straggling apple trees growing npon it. The place was a deserted farm, such as is often met with on Long Island, and may not have been inhabited for many years. The treasure was probably buried somewhere about the grounds—it might be far or near. Wherever it was, it was worth searching for, and Keppel resolved to examine everj- square foot of ground within a mile, if necessary, before giving it np. This might take, time—weeks or even months. Meanwhile, he would have to live in the house; and the first thing to bo done was to get the dead mu.i and all his belongings out of it. lotel, you comprehend, is cent Hi.-s nam » v.-.i-. Kepjiel Darke, an BiLL NYE TALKS HORSE. had any relatives they did not corre- * Bpond with him. He and I grew up together on the Medicine Bow range; almost like boys and girls together, you might say. But he was not happy. Sometimes 1 thought that possibly, as he got to knowing me better, perhaps I was a disappointment to hinn He acted that way. Anyhow he would sob and cry while he thought I was asleep, many and many a night. After that I got more forehanded, and when I got the first payment on one of my justly celebrated pickled mines I bought a mule called Yellow Fever. This mule was sold to me as a good, kind family mule, and I intended to raise yet other mules for the market. Yellow Fever was almost always however, no matter where she broke out. Oar first grave on Vinegar TTill -was taken charge of by a man who partially roached the tail of Yellow Fever. She \ is still alive, but childless. No little feet patter about her corral. No little croupy voices salute the silent night in her simple home. coining w ith the flowers that will Moam for as once more, She's coming with the bree/ca that will blow along the shore. The huu will kiss her ringlets and will tinge her cheeks with brown. While he who lores her madly grapples fate and tolls in town. And Cupid, with the arrows that he's Riven her to twirl. Will guard anew the footsteps of the sprightly summer girL cvilent m l/c a g flag' /oeantifnl hut not—not—not"— He tnra'with hi3 right hand, on of which was a largo and art ist Did you prove it to the jury?' "No," sai l Tom with a sigh; "they found him gnilty in the second degree. Ho''was sentenced to imprisonment f or life. They might as well have hanged him." WITH A FEW SIDE REMARKS ABOUT All at once he began to feel in his pockets with signs of excitement. "Not C ge.ited. D;i i ll Drv room," Torn fsng ROADS AND BURGLARS. "Bring no one here," said the othf r, with tremulous earnestness. "Listen. When I get well I will divide with yoa; there's enough for both; we shall be two of the richest men in the world. There are millions—millions! I have told nobody. No one knows I am here. If they iv -!tD they would take it all and put txs i j.iil. What is the sense of thatP Mtrarice knows, but he can't tell; it isn't Matirioe—it is his spirit, that's all. He c.. i t speak, he can only look; and no one but I can see him. We are safe if I get well." Here it was—the newspaper cutting, containing the cipher letter found on the jujcson of Harry Trent after his death. Keppel spread it out on his knee and compared it with the anomalous document. In a moment he uttered a cry of surprise—surprise that his wild anticipation had been fulfilled. the way I'm i) D No. 1 miXDpose not. But, by ;i real estate agC»nf, I'm a lawyer '•Why do yon say that? If ha in innocent, it id1 always pfiil possible that it iuav t)o fouinl so: and tha i, eincj he still lives, it can be mat] "A Home! My Kingdom for a Hone!" Wil* Very Well of Yore, but When To a I c i :::D 11. Lint £ am a stranger Read of mil Nyc*» You'll Long Ijou*; I li.i 1 the ciiiiom unfamiliar. 1 thonght. if J •ju'-j one to act for me. for One No More* When robin redbreast hops around while yet tis early dawn. 1 to liiiu [Copyright, 1891, by Edgar W. Nye.] t is in expedient and quicker. 1 pay each month so much, all is done and i make no mist ike. Am I clear?"' "It will never 1 poor boy! 11 f-lEUlsl) was J, uch /;ood to him, !el i i a railway The horse is the most intelligent animal there is. He is more intelligent than the man who buys him, sometimes. I bought some horses during the past year. Shall • 1 speak of it here for the benefit of those who are on the eve of purchasing a good, kind, sound young horse or a pair of those for home use? I have succeeded at this writing in getting a very excellent pair of steeds, so that now if I had a good road to drite them on 1 would be almost happy. And tennis players dot the green of grassy Held and lawn. We'll see her dressed in percale, with • tvu'fr.- lng stick in hand. Arid in her brother's necktie will she stroll along the sand; And where the crowd is thickest in the .summer hotel whin. The cipher of the letter and the cipher of the document were identical. But the latter was the key to the former and the explanation of it, and by its aid Keppel could read the mysterious communication as easily as he could construe French. wvre lu.u to Sing Sing. 1 In'a out C Df the question. Bat I'd lifco mi ?hty well to get on the trail of the real murderer. That would be worth while Ptill!"' "1 understand what you said Tow. endeavoring to disgnm his excitement by rabbin ; his chin and looking out of the window. "By George!'1 thought ho to hi aself, "If this fellow's .13 rich t»3 they siy, I liny inako money 0".t of him. Wonder how five thousand i year would strike him? Coara • \ my But now the question recnrred, how should he make a grave? Though this was a farm, there were uo farming implements on it. The soil was sandy, to be sure, but it wonld take days to make a hole deep enough, with only sticks and stones to dig with; and the body would have become intolerable long before that. As Keppel thought this, his eyes fell upon the swamp, and he walked down thither. you'suspicions on tin e real one?" Will bloom once more the beauty of thcchoriuing summer girl. "You had better keep quiet," said Koppel., "You're tiring yourself out arid, you're talking nonsense. There is no treasure here; if you didn't die of the fever you would starve to death, as far as I can see. What is your name, and what did you come here for?" '"I can t say I have. Nobody seems to ltave benefited by his death. His widow, to bo sure, got his fortaue; but she must lutve had the use of it while he was alive. My i le.i was that Trent had some intri ;ue or other that never was known With glossy'collar shining in the light of sum CHAPTER VIH. DlSAmtAEANCE. liter days. With vest and sash and blazer we will learn aneV her ways. Good morning, air," tald Tom taining business offices. In the year 1873 this building was regarded as one of the finest in New York and was occucupied chiefly by a good class of lawyers. The apartment an the northeast corner of the top flc-Dr bore upon the ground glass panel of; =» door the legend, "Thomas H. Bannick, Law Office." Mr. Bannick had lived in the building since its erection, but only latterly in his present quarters. Ke had begun business in one of the large suits of offices on tlffe third landing, but, for one reason or another, the larger rewards of his profession had not come to him, and, not being weighted down by gold in his pockets, he had gradually risen from one floor to another, nntil at length he had found himself, architecturally speaking, above all his fellow tenants. To go higher was impossible. He was not yet light enough to live in the empty air, although if things went on as they had been going it looked as if he would have to live on it. boy I Now or never! Yoa woall like ni" to take eutiro c'.iarjjj of your business aff urs while you are lis ccntiansJ aloat " Weil, I su-jprie s me iuch arr coul.l bo made. But Young Cupid will instruct us how to pierce the thin disguise Of masculine attire that hides the maiden heart we prise; And when once more we claim her as the summer's priceless pear!, We'll hail the smiling features uf the jolljr summer girL —Tom Masoou in Clyak Review s-.'jout, aud that that was the cause of liig death. Bat there's no tolling."' "I am a poor peddler. I peddle wax I fruits. I came here to be out of the way —not to be interfered with. I shall take them down to New York and sell them, one at a time. The least of them is worth one hundred thousand francs. There are thousands of them." Five years later I bought an Amariran horse off a comparative stranger. He was a spirited horse, with a piercing eye on the side where I stood. Oh, he was a corker. He had lots of pop and enterprise and high purposes into him, also bright red nostrils, and he was checked up real high. th'. i'J. be ;i great deal of w-fr'i coiinec'- wit:i it. »:i.l prices are high in YVii '.;, yon kno w." Ha lo»ke 1 np-at his " ' 'ad k,' no relations—no friends—to wjjyiii a luri't rD his fortnie might liav» been left?" It seemed to be of considerable extent, and looked more like a shallow pond than a marsh. A few feet out from the shore black, stagnant water lay in the morning sunlight; bushes grew out of it here and there and tufts of rank grass. Keppel picked up a big stone and flung it into the blackness. As it sjink quantities of the bubbles rose to the surface. It was an ugly place, and in that foul mud a heavy object might be swallowed up forever. i -itor with a smile "No blood relations, as far as is known: but—well, this was an odd feature of the case. There wa3 aa old lady and hor daughter in whom he was interested, and I believ* they were some sort of dis- I shall hopj t'i Dr will b3 n) dis j.vneat :D Dut that," a:ti.l the count, with :i slight inclination of the head "1 shall snbinit t D your CI3.nm.l3; bat I had iuten lei offering you ton thousaul ilol Keppel turned away impatiently. "I am going to take a nap," he said. ' I saw some fishnets and bagging in tbe kitchen, and I'll make a bt*l of them here in the corner. If you want anything you can call out." The man who sold me thia hone said that he intended settling down and starting a bank in our town, bat he did not. There was some hitch about getting a large enough building, I believe. He sold me this horse—Hectic, by Judas Priest—because his wife had died. He said that Hectic was her horse, and since she died he could not bear to look at him. Then he came and cried into mv lap quite a little spell. That night the horse was ill all night. A neighbor told me that Hectic had the colic, but when I put my hand on the little hot stomach of my steed he kicked me across the plaza and into a bed of cacti. It hurt me a good deal, especially in my finer feelings. It doesn't much to hurt my finer feelings. I sap- ' pose that it would be very difficult, indeed, to find, a man who is so susceptible to a kick at the hands of a spirited horse as I am. i:\V6 turn cousins of his. It was reported that ho thought of marrying the girl; he was acting as liar guardian, and allowed the two an income out of his own pocket. But vhei 1 o iiied his will gave them nothing, n it even a continuance of the "Ten thousand a year!" exclaimed Co.n, surprised into a jubilant tone. In i moment lii3 warm Irish imagination r;.} lDi»i!t a hnndn-d castle.i in the **- He got the materials and made his bed accordingly. His fatigue was so great, after the exertions and excitemu. of the previous two days, that he fell asleep the instant he lay down. He was awakened by a wild scream and a heavy fall. "Why not?" said Keppel to himself. He saw something stickin&out of the bushes on the margin of at a little distance. He approached it and found an old boat, waterlogged and leaky, but still able to float for a while. His mind was now made up. -Pardon mo; I would not expect you kD accept that," said the count, gravely. 'I had hop.? I to induce you to give your i'ne almost wholly to my affairs, and if en t!ious:tn 1 dollars a imnth, paid no:it!'lv in nl vance, will secure your iirranymeiit will gratify air. allowanc . ''No. d-r tli not." AnCl the will was not contested?" Midi Haven was sensitive uneircamstances and preferred (continued ) CHAPTER VII. He raised himself up, still heavy and bewildered with sleep. At first he did not remember where he was. Was he in his prison cell? or had he been hanged, and was this after death? In a few moments he came to himself. The candle was flaring in the socket. The faint gray of dawn was coming through the dusty panes of the eastern window. Who had screamed? The sick man, of course. Eeppel looked toward the bed; it was vacant What had happened? He got to his f(jet and made a step forward. He trod upon something that yielded beneath his weight. It was the body of the invalid. Recoiling, he  expiring candle and bent over it.  man's body was drawn together jiying on its side. The hands were over the face. In the right hand was a long knife. Evidently he had crawled from his bed and stolen on Keppel with the inteD tion of stabbing him, but just before he could accomplish his purpose the specter by which he imagined himself haunted had intervened. The man was dead. The candle flickered and died out. Keppel made a spring for the other candle, but remembered that he had no matches. He oould not stay with the body in the darkness, so he made his way to the open sir. The morning sky was clear, the eastern horizon a pate yellow. He paced up and down before the house till the sun rose, his mhjd full of gloomy thoughts. Horror and misery pursue him everywhere. He had the revolver in his pocket; why not it on himself and end all? He paused, debating the question, but finally shook his head. He* had had so many escapes lately that he persnadod himself he might have been preserved for a purpose. The unclouded sun, rising over the blue verge of the distant ocean, was an omen of hope. He turned, and reluctantly re-entered the house. Because a man is poor in New York it does not always follow that he is a scoundrel, or even that he is incompetent. Tom Bannick, at nil events, was neither. He was born of a good North of Ireland family, and had been thoroughly educated at Dublin university. After a supplementary career in law he came to America with ten thousand pounds in his pocket, and an impression that he was going to mako a large fortune. Curiosity and a temper hospitable to adventure drew him to the western states, where for a dozen years he had a very lively and interesting time of H. He twice lost all his money, and once was worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars. These vicissitudes, it must be confessed, were not incident to the regular practice of his profession—he speculated in land and mining properties, and the inevitable ups and downs followed. After his second reverse he tossed up a cent by way of determining whether he should follow the law or go to California and prospect for gold. The cent came up heads, and he choee law accordingly. The many friends he had made and his knowledge of mining got him plenty of business, and it turned out that he was a better manager of other people's iiffairs than of his own. He was making a fair income when it came into his head that he might do still better in New York. wires the iiiit it' li" left a whlow how was it t he exjx . t;-.l to marry this young Tint END or TUB BEGINNING. n DBm HsV • HMnY1 ~*jj^**r F He paused his hand over his forehead. Ho went back to the house and entered the room where the body lay wrapped np in its blanket shroud. Grasping the ropes that bound it, ho dragged it across the floor and out of the door. Resting occasionally, he succeeded in dragging it to the boat, and then, inwardly revolting at the task, he lifted it and got it on board. Embarking himself, he 6hoved out on the surface of the swamp. The slimy water stole in through the gaping seams of the planks. As quickly as possible he propelled the boat to a place where the water seemed deep. Cipher writing is so ancient an art that there is little or nothing to be said abont it, and perhaps there are no new cipher types to be invented. The ideal cipher is one that is easily written and read by those in the secret, and yet is practically undecipherable by outsiders. In such a cipher all the time and labor are expended upon determining its fundamental principles of construction. Once those are settled, the practical working of it is simple. thnied his ohair rounJ so as to 1 Ocutor squarely, and looked t liim several moments ia silence. "Do fU seriously propose, Ojimt do Lisle," i f tiid at length, "to oiler to pay ine ft •lary at the rate of one lmndred and ivmty thonsand dollars a year?" The count inclined his head without '•That was si little surprise. The mar-1 been ana wasn't known hi j death; took place in Franca t?, I believe. Yea, there were several rp *™r things about the case. I should have mlvised following it up. -• Still I tain'.: t'aa murder was not con-j nee ted with the other questionable features. It stool by itself." "The widow ij still living?'* "Oh, yes; and if I'm not mistaken she means to play a big part in society this winter. She has money enough, and a good po.iii.ion. I wish the Ravens, poor , things, had had the half of her luck." | "Ah! and have they met with misfort- ; FREE FROM BURGLARS. ic-'l iji it Allow me to digress for a moment while I BjK'iik of the wagon road of North Carolina. The system has been a bad one for some years, especially in the western part of the state. For that reason the roads have been practically impassable a good deal of the year. The Aslievillo and Hendersonville road, for instance, is kept now in the same repair that the road is from iianzibar to Lake Victoria Nyanza. It was formerly a toll road, and though the tolls were used mostly for personal expenses by the owners of the road, the bill was always made ont for those who desired to ride over the route. I speak thus plainly of these roads hoping that it may result in great good to those who live thereon. tiii aft ' SO.UJVV leasing. On following day a veterinarian from Leipsic examined Hectic and maifa quite an extended report. Iam not a horse man, so I cannot remember what he said, bnt 1 know he said that his lampers were down. I asked him if we could not get them up again. I would do all that I could to boom them through the press and on the street. But he looked at me sadly, and I could see the tears gathering in his eyes. Then he tamed away, and 1 could hear him matter something to himself in German. I do not understand German readily, bnt I would not be the man he was talking about for anything in this world. Well," said Tom, to decline it." should be sorry for tliat. May I "I'm afraid I shall The cipher which Keppel was dealing with was of this species, and perhaps no more nearly perfect one was ever made. It was based npon the philosophic structure of language, and upoc the mathematical principle that gives different values or meanings to a character according to its place in a combination. This plan enables words to be written with much fewer letters than are contained in the ordinary alphabet and to be expressed with not more than four characters—as, one to represent the root of the word, one for the terminations, one for the part of speech, one for such common combinations as ion, ght, ment, ph, and so on. Thus, if in the cipher ikmn meant writing, then iklm would mean writer, iknm written or wrote, and ikln to write. Further modifications were indicated by the capital letters, and others of a different kind by the periods and commas. !v why?' He had previously put a heavy stone in the boat This he now fastened to the body with the rope. Finally, all being ready, he exerted all his strength and heaved the sinister freight overboard. It sank at once, and the black slime closed over it Keppel looked down on the place where it had disappeared."I'll tell you jast what's in my wind, uch a sum is unheard of. In my pro■-sion I've made it a rule never to do i; thing that would make me feel un'-■)rta1ile—ashamed to look myself ia " \V ell, it's hard enough for a man to make his way, let alone a couple of women. The old lady could do nothing, except eat anl wear clothes; but tbo young 0:19 had pluck, and she knew how to draw and how to play the piano. I advised her taking pupils, and -she jumped at the idea. I got a few for her, and she succeeded so well with them that others came along. Bnt pupils are not to be h i 1 in summer, and she would be fortunate to make eight hundred a year. Luckily, I had more room than I needed ia my house, so there was no rent for thD:n to pay, and they arc company for my wife when I'm away." "They are living with you, then?" unes, then?" " Foil thought f/Cm could rob me." Keppel Darke, finding that the red laired man was a Frenchman, spoke to turn in that language, with which he had i tolerable familiarity. Dn#ont, indeed, tad lived in London, and knew enough English to make himself understood. Bat in his present desperate condition his selves : the what four racted two occasiongutterkeeping the race. fou can get a«iy legitimate business done for ten thousand a year; at any rate, I'd do anything that didn't hurt my conscience for that, or half of it Out ten thousand a month means that you are after something that is not legitimate, and I must tell you that you've come to the wrong place for it?"' At present the road above referred to is simply an ill kempt trail, along which are strewn the wrecks of bnsted vehicles and the bones of people whose necks have been dislocated in trying to ride over them, and who have been left alone to die. Though a pnblic road of great importance, very few people drive over it nnless nnder the influence of liquor. "Rest in peace!" he muttered. He paddled himself ashore, and returned to the house with a feeling of relief. Later, when I had taken the crape off the stable door and. had waited a year after the death of Hectic—for he conltl not eat anything bat kumisa with his artificial teeth, and so died about six i weeks after his mind failed—I bought an Indian pony called Hiawatha. Hia- It remained to burn the clothing and bedding. He first placed a quantity of dry wood on the hearth, then heajted the clothing upon it and set fire to the pile. Next he removed the bedding from the bedstead. The latter was nothing but a rough framework of planks, apparently taken from the barn and nailed together in a careless fashion. thoughts inevitably expressed then, in his mother tongue, and much o time he was probably not aware of he was laying. He had'been ill days, the seeds of the fever con' on board the ship having broken out nrtfcrai irontalrtt i IVIiiiiiii : ally overcame him, and he would n» things that he fancied be was locked in his heart. "Are you alone here?" asked "Have you no physician?" "No, BO." replied-the other. "1 toon be well. I need no one. Who yon here? Who are you? I am poor man. Have you seen M. Bah! he is dead. You can't deceit I have done him no harm. I buried —the captain and L He cannot The count listened to this speech very attentively and it evidently pleased him. There are places on this road where mountain springs soak np throngh the roadbed, and have done so for centuries, while the roadmaster has been waiting for them to dry ont. The resnlt is that a stoneboat is the only vehicle which will safely make the trip. Hitch a ."I see 1 have not baen misinformed about you," ho said. ,-I am glad you have so frankly anoken. When you know me better you will withdraw your reflection on my m Dtives. I intend no crime; nothing that your conscience or your wife would nut approve. Mr. Bannick, i wish you to remain entirely independent. You will be at liberty to terminate . o»r «:froMi »et wtiC-mt warning, at the t,i-r t *ttfc wr'nott I i-frj There is plenty of money in New York, but, like the fairy {Aid of the legends, it has a way of vanishing just when you think you have your hands on it Tom Bannick was a sound lawyer and a man of excellent iudjzmt-nt, btii he vas incorrigibly honest. He  to a degree that caused his colleagues to shrug their shoulders. He objected to taking up doubtful caies "on spec.," and to defending causes which seemed to bim to involve thievery. He had no influential friends to back him np, and he was not a politician. On the other hand, he sometimes advocated a case that appealed to his sympathies, even when it did not pay him much. Altogether he was not a success. He bad lately maf-- ried a pretty little wife, who uad made him very happy, and whom he would have liked to make very rich. She waa a good manager, but there was no magic dwarf to help her spin the domestic straw into gold. In taking off the mattress he saw in the cavity beneath it a small oblong chest. It looked shabby and battered, and was secured by a double strap, with a loop attached to fasten it on the shoulders. It must be, Keppel supposed, the box in which the dead man had kept his wardrobe. It must go on the fire with the rest "At my invitation-j-yes. Miss Haven insists 011 paying board; but"—here Tom chuckled--"! use it to buy nipf'T*** But it will not be necessary to carry these hints any further. Enough has been said to enable the reader, if he be so minded, to work ont the problem. Keppel in the course of twenty minntes had read the cipher letter, which, translated from the French into English, ran as follows: 2-year-old Keppel. skf frnt.s n: --'i.... ..j. , iwiiv4 ll yrjrj ".rtL-a—'■ ' yon may take yoar children to Ashevtlle, *jnt if not yon will surely be short two or three"on the way home. Lots of North Carolina families have only eleven or twelve children left ont of a possible twenty, owing to the condition of the roads. This reckless outlay of children, it seems to me, if nothing else, should teach ns to improve our roads. Asheville has made an appropriation recently of $625,000, most all of which will go for the improvement of h r streets. This is better than a like amount laid out in fenceboard advertising. Now let the issue in the county be "bully roads for Buncombe county," and let the party who opposes the improvement correct the bad grammar and poor punctuation in its dying speech, and do it soon too. shall sent t!De?rr ~v~ got qn;*e a collection of 'em; bru, blo3s her heart she doesn't know it?" ron ui:iy disapprove. Bat you mo3t meanwhile let me bo judge of the value of your service. Au honest mail is not easy to tiud, eveu in New York; anil he ia therefore valuable. You v.-ill have the management of large interests and the offer 1 make yoa ia not more than a fair commission." * only a Maurice? ;ve me. "" him come "You have told me an interesting story,"' remarked the -count, "and because I appreciate it I will buy some of the young lady's pictures myself. Yon shall givo me the name of the .shop whero tln»y are to be sold. She shall also paint a picture to order for my He laid hold of the strap, to lift thcbox out. It was unexpectedly heavy. He took both hands to it and jerked it up; it canie down on the floor with a bang that jarred the house. "What can be in it?" said Keppel, pausing to take breath. Then a thought came to him that turned him pale and trembling. What if this should be the chest that contained the treasure? He had taken it so for granted that the box was buried outdoors that this possibility had nat at first occurred to him. But now that it had occurred to him, it seemed quite natural. A dying man could not put his treasure in a safer place than beneath his bed. As long as he remained alive he would know that it was safe. "Arrangements have been perfected. Name of messenger, Maurice Solange. Trust him. He leaves Paris February fifteen. Will take easterly route, and should arrive not later than June. He will telegraph from Panama. Send to meet him at New Orleans. Treasure packed in box, concealed, as already advised. Approximate value, twenty million pounds sterling. In case of robbery, death or accident inform us by cable. On receiving treasure store quietly (phno) in private vault. Rate of commission, one per cent, per annum. We intend to declare war in early summer, but circumstances may delay. Winter campaign not desired. If successful Solange will bring back treasure. Keep him with you meanwhile. If defeated we shall leave at once for New York incognito (ngil F.). Empress and son to England. Keep us constantly informed of your movements. Estimate bo far as possible whether American sympathies incline toward France or Germany. Would it be advisable to bring about collision between Germany and United States? Is it possible that arrangements can still be made about Mexico? If we miscarry with Germany something must be done to consolidate and stimulate imperial sentiment here. Our hand and seal." The sunlight fell upon the corpse as it lay there. Keppel set resolutely towork. He straitened out the arms and legs and rolled up the body in a blanket from the bed. He tied it round with a piece of rope from the fishnet. It was now ready for burial. But how was he to dig a grave? He bad no spade. Yet the body could not be left above the ground; it might breed a pestilence. This reflection led to another. If the man had died of yellow fever all his clothing must hold the contagion and should be burned. Keppel resolved to do this at once. The coat and trousers were lying on a stool at the head of the bed. He took them up, and some papers slipped from the pocket and fell on the floor. He examined them, at first indifferently, then with more interest. There was a passport with several vises upon it, showing a journey Egypt, India, Australia and Panama. were several letters, apparently from persons of high authority in Paris, recommending the bearer, Maurice Solange, to the good offices of foreign consuls. It appeared, moreover, that Man rice must have been a personage of some importance, or, at any rate, that .he had been intrusted with an important mission. These letters of recommendation could have been delivered only by the French emperor's authority. back." "What is your disease?-' Keppel asked "They ail had it—all but the captaii and me. I had seen yellow fever before I was not afraid. I shall get well; I an not going to die with all these million; —I am a poor man; I have wandered nj here; I'm looking for work. Mauricehe follows me everywhere. What differ ence can it make to him what I do witl the treasure? A dead man has othei things to think about The emperor haf enough without this. What is he but i robber? He stole them; I have as much right to them as he." His voice sank ir unintelligible mntterings. "What does all this mean?" said Kep pel to himself. "Treasure—the emperoi —a dead man—robbery! He has mur dered somebody, probably. And he has yellow fever. Hell die of it, too, and ] may catch it myself. No matter; here ] am, and here I stay, for tonight at least. I can't go any farther, and I can't leave a dying man either, even if he ia.a mur denr. I have a special sympathy foi murderers, I suppose. At any rate, I am *s much of a vagabond and desperado as he is. This is a poor place to but he will be better off with me hefe than he would be alone. Though he. doesn't seem very hospitable, 111 make myself at home." He raised the head of the sick man, smoothed out his pillow and rearranged the bed clothes. As he was stooping to tuck the blanket uader the mattress he felt something coM touch his Forehead, and lifting his head quickly confronted Che muzzle of the revolver within an inch of his mouth. The sick man's finger w;u Upon the trigger, and his features were twisted into a hideous look of terror and malevolence. Keppel had the instinct to remain perfectly still, with his gaze fixed upon the other. "You thought you could rob ine," «aid Dnpont, between his teeth. "I'm not t" borobbed while I'm alive, and you shall die first. I know you—aocurso-1 spy!" His long yellow finder had begun to contract to pull the trigger. Keppel's lips grew white; death lookedttgly. 3ud denly a startling change swept over Dupont's visage. His red eyebrows lifted in a strange stare, his eyeball* protruded and his black lips curled back from his teeth. But his eyes were directed ho longer upon Keppel. but to the farther corner of the room. The next instant b • had pointed the revolver in that direc "i can't believe it!** ejaculated Tom. "I mean— I your pardon—it seeni3 «3 if there must be something behind. I m.iy be a fool. 110 doubt—in fact, that's n matter of course. I always have been." Come, Mr. Banniclr, let ua not waste ' said the count, unbuttoning his und tailing out his pocketboolc. i i the tventy-tiftii Clay of October. house, Mi "That's right gool of you," said Tom heartily. "She's a nice girl, but deserves :i bit turn of the wheel. But I beg your pardon for getting ctT the track of the house; yon hippenal t D touch ir. .s on a spot right ov-.-r my h'jsrt. What rent would you like to puy.'' U1AWATHA, THE INDIAN PONY. watha is still alive, though very few of his owners are. He belonged to the Siwash tribe, and had a brand on him which was the crest of Old Soiled Nose, the chief of the Yaps. Hiawatha came into our family well recommended by one of the pleasantest extemporaneous speakers 1 ever Baw. His home was on Fifty-eighth street, New York city, and he dealt in horses just because he loved them. He said that Hiawatha knew more than lots of men who held office, and 1 never saw a man use such an effort to control himself as this man did when he said goodby to Hiawatha and took the ferry for his wretched and lonely home. CO:* t "I want to buy the house." One October morning Mr. Bannick arrived at his jfEee about ten o'clock, and ascertaiheu trom the pale faced and cynical urchin in charge of the anteroom that no one had yet called there—a piece of news which custom had robbed of its startling features.' He then entered the inner room, hung up his coat, lit a cigarette, and sitting down in his revolving chair began to read the newspaper. The French indemnity, it appeared, was paid. Louis Napoleon was not expected to live. Count Lucien de Lisle, the Mexican millionaire was stopping at the Brevoort House. Stocks were dull. Mrs. Harry Trent entertained a few friends at dinner last night. By the twenty-fifth of November you will know m3 well enough to know whether you desire our relations to contin n D or not. Meanwhile I give you '•To buy it! That'll cost you something. Youinight get it at a reasonable vent, its the house is under a cloud just now, as 1 was telling you; but when it comes to buying, it's another thing. Property up there is rising, and I doubt you would buy the house for less than it cost to build it—and that's not far off half a million." .1 was saying the other day that after a pretty general knowledge of North Carolina for five or six years I was astonished to notice that there had been no burglaries within my observation. This is remarkable, especially to me, for 1 have lived where a burglary was not uncommon, and where 1 have suffered myself, having lost a silver plated butter dish in that way eight years ago, also what butter we had in the house at the time, it being concealed in the butter dish. I also shfit a burglar, eleven years ago, who was breaking into my residence, but he had only sixty cents on his person at the nine,, and even that the coroner took away from me on the following day. The burglar has it all his own way at the n«Dr; a, but here in North Curoliua, where the mosquito never lives aii'1 the politician never dies, burglary is Now that the critical moment had arrived Keppel felt an almost invincible reluctance to take the next step. The fear of disappointment, which had hitherto seemed insignificant, now dominated everything else, and Keppel doubted whether he could endure to find it confirmed. On the other hand, the idea of success was bo stupendous that he feared that too. your j .. f »r thi»t first month. Next month, if yon b-.? not content, \yo part. Is tiiat right?'" ••I have been a poor man most of my life." said To:a, clearing his throat and 1 xD:ri*.»j? steadfastly at the other. "It's in us" blinding the fact that you ore m t .ci-1; me a wonderful proposition. It's not ordinary business, and I can't accon itf irit. If I had saved your life \:i 1 y ni w ritei to reward me for it you ,.j"t do la Dre. Such an amount of money i n't a salary; it's a fortune. I can't earn it; it would be a gift, not a Dayin:-'nt. Hnt if you are buying only s. and not my goul, I'll accept /ll m;» my services as valuable as "Who owns the house?" asked the "It'll be his widow, I think—Sally Matchin that was." count. "I wish to Bay no more than is necessary; but I must have the bouse for my own in any erss". It is probable I may desire to make alterations in it. And if property becomes more valuable then I could sell il afterward perhaps." But, after all, uncertainty was worst of all. COUld Fortunately, Hiawatha did not kill any--of our family, because we have a good physician, and he cap save any one after many other doctors have given them up. With nervous hands he unbuckled the strap. The key was in the lock and he turned it. As he lifted the lid he closed his eyes. "So she has reentered the world, has she?" said Tom Bannick to himself. "Well, by George, she's got the money! I wish it had been that poor Raven girl! Hullo! What's that?" The political immorality indicated by this document did not at the time particularly impress Keppel; his interest was monopolized by that part of the letter relating to the treasure. For some minutes his mind staggered in bewilderment at the suggestion presented to it. It seemed far more incredible now than before that a great fortune should actually be within bis reach. He had dreamed a wild dream of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it had almost seemed real to him, but now that he heard, as it were, the very jingle of a hundred millions he could not believe it. And yet the evidence that a fortune not less vast lay possibly within a few yards of where he was sitting was more than plausible. The more he examined it the more plausible did it appear. rnv scrviv '•Yes; that's true. You'll pay half a million, then, if it's not going for less?" When he opened them he saw some old flannel shirts, carelessly stuffed into the box. He threw them out with feverish impatience. What did he see? A quantity of wax food arranged in rows aud layers. There were wax peaches, plums, apples, pears. He thrust his hand into them, groping underneath. There was nothing else but war fruit in the box. 1 oa'i So their I sent the pony back to the owner to board. 1 forgot to say that a neighbor of mine borrowed Hiawatha to ride to hounds once, and has not |spoken to me since. I sent the animal back to board at twelve dollars a month, and left orders with the man to sell, but of course at twelve dollars a month for plain table d'hote board the sal® hangs fire and seems to drag a good deal. Bat the nature of the mission was not specified in the papers. It even seemed as if this non-specification had been carefully intended. There was a reason, then, for keeping the thing secret—a Becret of state. The outer door had opened, and some one was in the anteroom. "if yon have not saved my life, perhaps you may some time have done for some one a good act for which you wove never recompensed," remarked the count g?ntly. "And I perhaps take this means of discharging an obligation conferred ni3 by snna? one whom I was unable to reward at the time. We most make use of each other in thi3 way. If besides your services I gain your friendship I r.hall be still your debtor." will hare the power of attorney; you can it raw for whatever is needed," saul the conut, buttoning up his coat. "If you please, lot it be clou a by tomorrow. The season id now near, a a I 1 "Y a capital offense. All burglars over teen years of age are executed. This n ii ; • to turn the attention of bright young burglars toward polities. "Must be that beggar about the piano rent! Well, if he'd collect my bad debts, I'd pay him. I think I'll offer him the commission. No,'tisn't ho. Can't be a"— 1 never felt so secure before in my life. 1 leave my large, massive, solid silver watch on the escritoire every night now. wheteas 1 used to put it underneath the mattress. It is a very comfortable feeling, 1 assure you. Of course chickens are not so safe, especially during a colored revival. 1 do not wish to be misunderstood regarding this matter, but I was told on the start by a devout Christian of the Caucasian race that if 1 cared anything for my "broilers" 1 would watch them most carefully during a colored re. iv. 1, for at that time the more "earu n vjroes were so all tore up in their in,:: that they could not work at all during the day, and the revival took all the uight, or nearly so. Therefore, when the pangs of hunger and the rumblings .and retchings of a sin-sick soul had been preying on an ordinary colored man for a week or ten days he was hollow clean into the ground, and his belter judgment didn't stand any chanco whatever. wish to I home this winter Was it likely, however, that the poor wretch, whose body lay yonder awaiting burial, would murder a man for the sake of a secret of state? Nothing was less likely. What good could the secret do the murderer? Was it a thing he could sell? Some secrets were salable, no doubt. But Maurice, an authorized agent on his way to America, must have been coining to impart the secret to the government here; therefore no sale could have been contemplated. Besides, the dead man had said something about a treasure— millions of money. That might have been the mere ravings of insanity; but possibly it was hot. A murder committed for millions of money was comprehensible, and this would account for the murderer's strange behavior. On the other hand, if those millions had been stolen, where were they? Were they about the premises? A client, he would have said, but it didn't seem worth while to hazard the supposition. Nevertheless he slipped the newspaper into the wastepaper basket, threw open his desk and had taken up his peu to write ttie day of the month at the head of a sheet of blank paper, when the office boy opened the door. "Very will. Here is the reeeiyt for the ten thousand dollars. I'll say .nothing about thank-,, but I'll do my best, to keep my end up. The power of attorney will be at your hotel for your signature this afternoon. 111 step over to Cartage Browne's office and see about the house beforehinch, uik! here's the address o. With a cry of rage he grasped a handful of the fruit and das&ed it furiously on the floor. It broke in flashes and gleams of rainbow light. Half a dozen immense diamonds, rubies and sapphires lay sparkling on the bare boards. There were scores of thousands of dollars' worth of precious stones in that one handful. Last week this man wrote me that the bill was eighty-four dollars, and that Hiawatha had a real cunning little mule colt. He said that society was all by the ears about it. Also the colt The so :nwliMt formal manner of this speech did not detract from its evident sincerity. The count took ten onet'.umsanii-dollar bank notes from his packet book and laid them 011 the desk, observing, '"1 cashed a check at the bank just now—if the notes will not inconvenience you. Some time today you can make a receipt, and also draw np a pato giv,? yon my power tyf attorney, the dealer where t pictures are f I went over there to see Hiawatha soon after. He could not look me in the face. I think this shows distinctly that as a race the Indian cannot be thoroughly civilized^ "Qentleman to see yon, sir," he said, and handed over a card. It bore the name and title "Count Lucien de Lisle." It's not far from vour hotel "What is your own private address, Mr. Bannick'r" inquire! the count. He endeavored to review the situation step by step. Ho had found a man who manifestly carried some weighty 6ecret on hia mind. This man, who was dying of yellow fever, spoke of one Maurice as being dead and as haunting him. Who could Maurice be but the Maurice Solange mentioned in the cipher letter? Maurice, then, according to the letter, had been dispatched in charge of a treasure to America by way of India and the Pacific. It was not uucommon for ships making such a voyage to be visited by yellow fever. Maurice may have died of it, or he may have been murdered. Be that as it might, the man whose body lay within there had evidently got hold of the treasure and had brought it here. He had said that ho meant to dispose of it piece by piect. had spoken of the emperor. Who could this emperor be but Napoleon? And by whom, unless by Napoleon, could the cipher letter have been written? Napoleon, for reasons of his own, had determined to send treasure to someone in New York. Who was that person? The cipher letter had bpen found in the pocket of Harry Trent. There was therefore no escape from the conclusion that Harry Trent must have been the consignee of the treasure. Harry Trent, again, was a dealer in precious ston.es, and was known to be personally acquainted with the French emperor. The pieces of the puzzle fitted into one another like a mosaic. And by a strange fatality Keppel Darke, who had been wrongfully accused of murdering Trent, had, through that accusation, been brought in contact with a.fortune not inferior to any in the world. "Why, that's the chap at the Brevoort!" muttered Mr. Braunick. "Show the gentleman in, Jacob," he added. Keppel, with a shrill ejaculation, dropped on his knees on the floor and picked np one of the gems. It was a huge sapphire, and was still partly embedded in the wax that had covered and concealed it. He took up another; it was a diamond. He reached over to the box and pulled out an apricot. On breaking it open there was revealed an emerald as large as an acorn. He picked np a plum from the bottom of the box. Within it was another diamond of the finest water. "It won't be long in the place where it is now." returned tiie Irishman, his eye? twinkling, and indicating by a nod of the hen,I the little pile of banknotes that lay on ths desk. "I shall move this week, and ;,ive my wife and our friends the Karens some elbow rvkDm of their own, 13ut we shall be happy to see you, sir, wherever we arrD, and whenever it suits you. I'm in East Thirteenth street The man says that this incident has hurt his stable a good deal, and many of the luai turn, as he calls them, the real pate defoie gras of New York, refuse to send him their boarders. A tall man entered, removing his silk hat as he did so. He was a handsome man, and of striking appearance. His hair, of a iigiit brown hue, inclining to reddish, was cut rather short, and stood upright over his head without any parting, in the French manner. His beard, also cropped short and .pointed at the chiu, was of the same hue; but his eyebrows and eyelashes, and his eyes themselves were somewhat darker, giving a peculiar character to his countenance, scarcely modified by the gold rimmed eyeglasses that sat astride his handsome nose. A black double breasted coat was buttoned round his figure, and his erect and slightly formal carriage bespoke military training. His clothes were perfectly cut, with j ust a suspicioti of dandyism in the fashion of the collar aud the design of the scarfpin. But dandyism in a foreigner is simply "foreign," and bears no stigma. It was evident at h glance that Baron Lucien de Lisle was a gentleman in the most exacting sense of the word. anCl, if you li'co, one embodying our agreement. And now," ha added, as if to prevent Tom from giving expression to the f • •ling! that were swelling in his heart, "let us return to whtt I was saying. I h.ivo s Den a house that will suit 1 said I wa3 sorry, but would leave him and tile co-respondent to fight it out together. I then did him all the injury 1 could without filling his grave with Limburger cheese. I made him a present of Hiawatha, and wringing his hand 1 came away. He is now trying to hush the matter np, but the Indian commissioner has his name. The Siwash tribe is said to be preparing for war, and an Indian outbreak is prophesied, which threatens Jo eclipse the gteat Eczema outbreak of 1876. "Whereabouts is the house?" inquired I want you. lo secure it for me." just at present tton, and fired over Keppel's shoulder, almost deafening him. He then dropped the weapon and eank back screaming with hi* hands over his face. | neppei secured the revolver, and then looked round. There was no third person in the room. The ballet had passed throngh • wainscot panel. •| "What the devil were yaffshobting atT he demanded sternly.  "A bullet won't kill him," qnav&red the man; "he can die bnt once. Bat he comes—he is always here. It's the treasure he wants. What can a dead inafi do with treasurer *C "Tour dead man has saved my life, at ail events," mattered Keppel, "and I'm v obliged to him for it. As for yon—well! You will never harm any one again. This is an ugly night; I wish it were ' over. And what of tomorrow!" He found another candle, lit it, «pd, having put the revolver in his pocket, Iset out to explore the house. There was $. scarcely anything in it except the bare rooms; but in a cloeet in the kitchen he * found some loaves of bread almost (is hard as stone. He soaked it in water and ate some of it. He brought a glass of water for the siek man, who drank it eagerly. "That's good!" the poor wretch said. "I shall get well." "I don't think you will get well," returned Keppel. "You look to me like a dying man, and you had better realize it I know nothing about the treatment Keppel Darke had ne7er heretofore regarded money as a supreme object of ambition. But things were changed with him now. He was an outcaset from society; mankind was hostile to him; in the unequal contest he was disposed to improve whatever advantages came in his way. If. then, millions of money were within his reach he was not in a mood to let them escape. a Tom The count rosi sXiwly. "I thank yon; I will not incommode yon uutil you are settled," said he. "It came to me," he added, with some hesitation, "that if I find the pictures of this young lady to have merit, and I therefore decide to give her an order for one, it would be necessary for me to have a personal interview with her. W ukl tnat be convenient to her'/" I got some chickens when 1 first came here. Some of tnem had cholera, but i did not know it at first. Quite a number of the chickens were amiost immediately stolen, but three of them were not. They seemed to be spared as monuments of African mercy. Finally 1 found that it was because they bad cholera. Comedown and see us some time. I don't mind killing the last lien in the house when company comes. P. S.—Dring some butter with you; ours might keep you awake nights. The count described its location. "Why that's the Harry Trent house?" Tom exclaimed. "It's a good house—I don't suppose there's-a better in town: but no one has ever lived in it. Do you know why?" He passed his hand over his forehead. "I am the richest man in the world," he said in a whisper; "the richest man in the world!" He rose to his feet and walked about the room. He went outdoors and wandered about, staring at the sky, the earth, the sea. The sun shone. The air was soft and warm. He spoke his own name aloud; he repeated parts of the multiplication table; he recited verses of poetry. It was no delusiob; he was in his right mind; he was awake. He re-entered the house, and thero was the box, the wax fruit and the jewels, just as before. He examined them once more. They were real, there was no mistake. From a helpless vagabond and outcast, an escaped convict, a man supposed to be dead, he had in a moment become a hundredfold millionaire. He broke into a frantic langh; he stamped about the room, tossing up his arms and shouting. He flung himself down with his head on the box and burst into sobs and tears. When at length he arose he was calm and pale. "Its situation jileasodme, anditseemed to have—what you call elbow room." Here Keppel gave a short laugh. The millions probably had no existence whatever, except in the imagination of an insane man. "The owner, the man who built it, Harry Trent, was murdered there two or three years ago. It was a famous case. I was retained iii it myself. It gave the house a bad name. Do yon care for that sort of thing?" "Indeed, then. I think it would!" ex claimed Tom with a chuckle. "And you'll find her acquaintance as well worth making as any girl's in New York." He turned over the papers once more. Among them was one small document, folded square, that he did not remember noticing before. He was about to pass it over, but an idle impulse caused him to change his mind and open it. The odd aspect of its contents attracted his attention. But we were speaking of the horse— man's best friend. I began fifteen years ago by owning a little pack jack called Boomeraug. He cost me eight dollars, but I was poor and could not buy a horse. Also it was unpopular to get one in any other way. If you got one in any other way, in the language of the vigilance committee, the community generally threw in a halter at its own expense."But why don't yon shoot, Mr. Secrotary? Don't you see the rabbit?" "Isee him well enough, but you don't know that this hunting dog of mine doesn't like the sound of a gun, and that he is sure to bite my legs if I fire."- -Fliegende Blaetter. Amateur Hunting. The count bowed. "And if," he ridded, "you should find any obstacles in the way of obtaining possession of the house—any, I mean not with reference totthe price—it would give me pleasure to wait upon Madame Trent. She and I could, perhaps, come more quickly to an understanding than through the medium of an agent." "No," answered the count simply. "I think I have heard of that man," he added, after a pause. "Was he not a merchant of diamonds?"' "Good morning, sir," said Tom, glancing from the card in his hand to the visitor before him. "Have a chair. Caul do anything for you?" "That was the man. Tall, looking, with white hair. An agreeable fellow, I believe." It looked something like a long sum in algebra. There were columns and combinations ,of letters. There were also written words in the French language. For several minutes Keppel contemplated the paper without a suspicion of its significance. It was not a sum in algebra. There were no equations; no x or y, no powers or signs. It might be a "I desire it," returned the count. His voice was quiet and grave and marked by a Gallic accent, perceptible at first, but to which one soon became accustomed. He spoke English, as Tom soon noted, quite idiomatically, though with a more careful precision than a native wonld use. He sat down, put his hat and gold headed cane on the book shelf and began to take oil his gloves, which were of the two button variety, aud elaborately stitched on the backs. "Yes, I have met him. Was he not in Paris in eighteen hundred and sixtynine? Yes, the emperor was said to do some business wUh him. And he was murdered, you say? And you were of the counsel?" "You may tell me, Willie," said tha Sunday school teacher, "how the prophet came to be swallowed by the whale." A Merited Punishment. "It's quite on the cards she may find a reason for seeing you," Tom returned, rubbing his chin; "but as for the money, I fancy she'll take it, so there's enough of it. However, you'll get a full report this evening." Boomerang was a bright young ass, with a dark cross on his back and a sawbuck saddle on which 1 used to pack sidepork and other titbits to tempt my appetite and tickle my palate while prospecting for gold in the bowels of the earth. Also I carried salt with which to salt my mines if I found them in hot weather and feared that they might get too gamey. "I don't know," replied the precocioua devotee to slang, "un]css that's what he got for lDeing 'Jonah.'"—Washington tw. "I appeared for the prisoner." "The man who murdered him, who was he?" But where was the treasure? Was it in the neighborhood? "Olympia, Olympiat" he said. "The world cannot part us! All this yours!" "Then I will detain you no longer," remarked the count, stepping toward the door. memorandum in shorthand or cipher. Yes, it was probably a cipher memorandum. But it was not all in cipher. The words seemed to be a comment or explanation.The roet* Care for Insomnia. Tlie poet burns the midnight oil— O Martyr! watch to keep And through the night at that to toil Which will make other* sleep] -Put* Keppel looked about him. A garden two or three acres in extent, long since gone to seed, adjoined the house. Outside the garden was a waste of stunted CHAPTER IX. TOM BAN NICK'S V1SITOB. "Well, my conviction was then, and is now, that the prisoner was not the man who murdered him. Appearances were against him. but I lielieve he was inno- Near the upper end of Nassau street, in New York, stands a tall building con- "I am in New York to stay some time," he contiuued, "and I wish a [TO BE CONTINUED J Boomerang had no home ties. If he