The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-11-11

brick into the fire with an emphasis that half
smolhered me with smoke ana ashes.
The old clock was saying, Don I get mai
Don't get mad 4" and | kali made up my mind
10 smash il for its aggravating ana lnsinuai.
ing tone; but Ethel happened TO make The
same remark, and rs could not use them
both alike | did not proceed to rXlremit 6,
but simply kissed her aud stopped tie clock.
But my passion had made The long sought
solution possible, for seven By nlEe, from top
and front apain, was also loose ana easily re-
moved. suppose had tried and pried that
identical one fifty tunes before, lns'igatcd by
the fact that the mortar between 1t and lis
neirhbors was more deeply grooved than Al.
most any other m sight, bat heretofore it had
been apnarenily one Of the sOlidcst in the side;
now it welded TO the slightest pull, When it
came entirely out | discovered HAT it was
only baif a brick, with an lngenously fitted
IRON back provided with u staple in which
bolt had evidently played. The bolt dropped
when the frs: brick was lO0sencd, and sprung
into the staple when the connecting rods base
was pressed back by the lower brick and rag.
mems of mortar. | knew by the coincldsn-
ces of the clew and results that | was on the
eve of fortune, but dared not proceed further
alone. There were good and sufficient rca-
sons enough occurred 10 me why further in
yesilCaliOn should be continued in the pres
ence of spectators. It was too late TO proceed
that night, 50 kept watch and Vigil until the
little vIllags was astir again. BY nine O'Clock
the next morning the local lawyer, mason
carpenter and constable had answered my
summons, and we carefully examined the
chimney, within and without.
The house had been SO cunningly construct
ed that the chimney, apparently flush with
the main wall, had room for n cavity on the
right hand side, more than a foot wider than
the wall was at its junCture with The wall in
TO which It ran, and instead Of beng Of sin
gle four bricks thick, 1t was double that, with
space of eight inches between. We did not
stand on ceremony in breaking through the
inner wall and dragging out an iron case
eight inches wide, two feet long, and three
feet deep, supplied on the end next to the side
of the fireplace with a slit like those in the
ends OF letter boxes, only considerably larger,
which was exactly opposite to brick number
seven by nine
1t was the miser's repository, constructed
on the principle of chlld's bank, to receive
all but give up nothing until broken into by
force. A more careful device could not be
TO guard its contents, for we had to
call in the village blacksmith to enable us to
penetrate to It's bearded wealth. Besides gold,
bonds and notes, it contained Triptoemus'
Forbes will, devising all he died possessed
Df to Ethel, as the one reparatlon in his pow.
,r to make for the evil he had exercised to-
wards her father.
In difference to the opinions of my neigh
Dors / have caused n costly tombstone to be
erected To the memory of Ethels uncle, but
n my heart there is a prouder monument
'aised to the honor of the old Dutch clock
or from it really descended the Inheritance
We enjoy,