Democratic enquirer. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1867-1873, 1870-10-05

AU leuSJ L VIII scG WIlaO IL
is. The dirty garments ofsomc
poor sailors kit, l suppose
With his oar he went tC
work to dig away the sand. Il
was hard work, and the pers
piration soon stood on his fore
head; but he had brought tc
light enough of the quaint
foreign looking box to show
that it was no common sailor's
chest.
1t was Of strips of some costly
oriental woods, in dark and
light, very solid and heavy
banded together 80 as to be al
most covered with its brass
fastenings. In half an hour he
had uncovered the whole lid
The box proved to be about
four feet long, by two wide.
and two deep.
At first he despired of open.
ing the chest without further
implements; for the hard wood
was well preserved, and the
clasps scarcely rusted. 1t had
evidently been buried in dry
sand-not exposed to the action
Of water, or even moisture, to
any great extent, With the
blade Of a stout knife, which the
artist carried with him for use
Of various kinds on his little ex
peditions, he succeeded, after a
few minutes, in pushing back
the simple, old-fashioned lock,
which sprang out of its place
with a click. Then, for a
moment, Oliver hesitated.
AS soon as he could command
himself he cautiously but ca,
gerly raised the lid.
What did he find?
A corpse-which looked as if
it might have been placed there
yesterday, so perfect was its
preservation-jammed down
into this impromptu coffin, so
much too short for it. 1t was
that of a noble ard handsome
man, not many years older
than himself whose jet,black
hair fell down in long ringlets
about the velvet collar and
rutiled shirt-front. The dress
was that Of 1900, or before,
when rich gentleman yet in
dulged in velvet and thread
lace. In the forehead was n
deep wound, as ofa hatchct, and
there were blood.stains over
the garment. Who could the
murdered stranger be?
All! while he asked himself
the question-while he gozed,
with lips apart, and concentrat,
ed looks of interest and dread
"a change crept over the in
mate of the chest. The gray
ish hue deepened over the face;
the features sunk, fell; the vel,
low lace ruflles, the silken vest
ments faded out Of color-out
Of shape-melted away. The
lineaments dissolved as if they
had been but a dream of his
feverish fancy; and as his hand,
which grasped the edge of the
box, shook with nervous sur
prise, this slight impulse, aiding
the action Of the atmosphere,
completed the ruin. The corpse
and its clothing dropped to the
bottom of the chest, little more
than a handful of dry dust!
Oliver Grey gazed blankly
at the blankness.
A Skull-a handful Of bones
some dSheSl
Never in his life had any.
thing occurred which gave him
so strange and dreadful a SEN
sation as when he saw that viv.
id figure moulder into nothing.
ness before him. He felt al
most guilty TO think he had
raised the lid, and thus destroy.
ed this semplance of the man
who had, been. He now wish
ed that his friend George had
been with him to have seen
what he saw, and to corrobor-
ate, by further testimony, the
strange story he should have
to tell. He almost expected
that the tale would be ridiculed
as one Of his many ardent
dreams. Yet here was the
chest. They could not gainsay
that And thern were the