, 1870-07-16

long way OF, but the Twelve strokes sourdsd
clearly acroes the long tretch Of bare 6slds,
now covered With snoW. -
scriven bad risan up, I'd roughly drawn hi.
companion ont Of tho shdow OF the stonas-
Az the last stroke died sway they began to
effort from The cart in which they
were embedded; they ,wayed about aud
leaned against each cthe like tipsy men
then sphneing forward iIreguJarlY they
rushed away together in tn direction Of the
river, bounding ever the frozen earth, and IN
on the heath and the great cluster Of reeds
Ike wisps Of straw.
Sc1iven seized Beneadik's arm. "Come,"
be said, in voice SO huArea tint no one woald
have recognized it and they 10th ran to the
place where the stones had stosd. The ground
vas ploWed up as Il b! tomo-ssells on : bat,
tle-fieM, and In every hole werescen gold aud
silver and precious stones.
Beneadk WIS 80 dtzzled that Ia would have
stood AtM to gaze ut them, but a,riven forced
bun b 70 st1op and pick up some 1.-THE treasure;
" Take ~ you can he whispered, " they will
be- back Immediately"
bs As s., b bsoest bsposs hG @ IL The empty bags that
eadic also stuffed the gold into his pockets,
and both his hands were full when loud and
terrible noise made him start up suddenly.
The stonest +" he cried: and they were in
fact rushing back again even faster than they
had run away, as II they we're in hurry to re-
which they watched. As they advanced they
formed themselves into an immense circle,
and Eeneadik saw at glnnce that they were
surrounded.
eve are lost!" he cried.
Not I" said the beggar, drawing from his
poeom the cro6a-wort aud the dye-leaved
clover that it had cost him so much trouble to
find on the eeashore. The sStones of Plou-
chinec never harm any one who carries these
plants with him. I must have ! baptized
Christian to stay here nfter have carried oil
tho treasure, and I expec: this favor from
yon," he said, with diabolical laugh.
The Stones turned tside as he presented the
magic plants to them, and, forming them
selves again into column behind the largest
one, they advanced directly upon Beneadik,
who had fallen OH his knees in an agony Of
terror.
The bcggar by this time h.d shut up his
oags', s. an and t,s,s was PREPARING p to fly; n
terrible battalion h1d reached the plo1man
Of Plu7igne1, but at the sight Of him the larg
est stone stood suddenly still 1T bore the
sign Of the Gross, and could do no harm to
Christian. Beueadik was still on his knees,
copfusedly murmuring prayers mingled with
placed iteelf in front OF him like rampant,
and the rest, separating, rollsd into .hair
l,laces, once more hiding. from human gaze
those treasures on which rash eyes had ven
t,1red to look for time.
scriyen meanwhile found the gold he had
collected pre- 8 go heavily on his shoulders
that he threw away his bags, hoping some
other time to come back and look for them.
Ills only thought now was to save his lie, for
when the large stone had accomplished its
work Of protection it began to roll back, Ike
tho others, into its place; the beggar was in
front Of it, and though be held up the magic
plants in his trembling hands, they had no
power over the stone on which the sign Of tho
cross had been made; it rolled on, leaving
the miserable man behind it, cruahed to death
under its weight. His horror-atEicken COM
panion, appalled, by the sight, fell forward in
sensible on the ground
Benesdk, appeared the next morning at the
farmhouse load ed with gold, and staggering
under Gle bags he had picked up on the heath;
but be bad grown ten years older, and it WAS
only after many years Of happiness with Ma
rien1ik and his children that he ceased to
trembIe when he heard the clock stHko II at
midnight.