The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-01-18

the hours when she slept sitting before
the great old open fireplace in the COM
mon room, Ethel lying in an adjoining
chamber so that could see her through
the open door and hear. her slightest
move. Her illness andmy own lack
of frugality had somewhat reduced our
stock of money, and = had already
taken the preliminary steps toward
mortgaging the old homestead, and
only waited her, conValescence to con.
clude the operation. Night after night
| sat watching the forms and scenes
that pictured themselves in the glow.
ing wood Goals piled beneath the great
andirons, and thought and pondered
on the mystery of old Forbs' money.
| was convinced that it could not have
passed out Of existence so abso.
lutely as to leave no shadow or
fragment remaining; but in reply to
my constant query, ttWhat could have
become Of it?' the wood fire only shot
its hickory sparks further out on the
hearth and the old clock licked solemn.
ly and monotonous]y along in it's &C.
customed corner.
Though I had looked the clock all
over back, front, top. bottom out.
side and inside--many a time since
have been master at Oversee, it never
struck me that there was anything un.
usual about it except the little me.
chanica1 figure on top, which INDUCED
in angular antics with every musical
ring of the mellow hour bell, until to.
wards the morning of January 25th I
caught myself saying in whimsical
sleepincss, els it seven or sixteen
minutes past seven 60 and somehow
the prompting figures seemed to stand
out palmer than had ever seen them
before. They were only a cramped
and brownish figure "7,' which was
inscribed close to the numerical TX.
and like "l6' close to the numerical
'. 1t happened to be exactly a quar-
ter OF five, and tho scanty hands Just
placed their points on the figures.
Did you ever have some slight, un.
meaning, nonsensical idea drop into
your mind, and lodge and annoy YOU
with the persistency of cinder in
your eye? Well, that seven to sixteen
cluug to me with like ridiculous per.
tinacity. All day I saw it, and heard
it; next night I dreamed of it, and af.
ter being haunted by the crippled "7''
and grabbed ''16" for a week. 7 told
Ethel of it; and it nearly worried the
life out of the poor sick creature, for
it seemed to absorb her thoughts as
completely as it had mine.
/ convinced myself that the figures
were somehow connected with the
missing fortune, and | sevened and
sixteencd everything to which that
mathematical combination could be
applied. I added, subtractcd and mul.
tiplied, and applied my result to every.
thing about the place, from the boards
in the floor to the trees in the richard,
Ethel watched ME, deeply Interested
and amused, but said nothing in aid or
criticism, until one day she suggested
that maybe l was going wrong alto.
gether.
"Has it not occurred to you,'' she
asked, *'to take the numbers on the
clock-case into consideration? Nav
not the singularity Of their arrange.
ment have something to do with the
solution of the mystery?'
If you will believe me, I heard that
clock say t'SeVen by nine" as distinct.
ly as could ever hear anything in my
life. '1@ 1'
Seven by nine and sixteen by five, of
course it was, and went to adding
and counting with renewed vigor, be.
ginning with my usual starting point.
the FIREPLACE. I did not believe that
there was any single brick there I had
not touched, but mechanically began
with the first methodical arrangement
that presented itself. 1t was a deep,
cavernous affair, with q capacity for a
full cord of wood, such as distinguish
ed the generous housekeeping Of our
ancestors it's two sides were built.
each OF fifteen bricks from front to
back, and nineteen bricks from hearth
to mantel. The back ran into chin.
ney, and no count could be made of its
construction, and, for analogous cause
the hearth was not taken into account.
10 the sides, for these obvious reasons.
l applied myself, and naturally began
with the side next to the clock. Six.
teen only could be counted up or down
and l counted up; then five from tho
front, and around the brick, at the
juncture of the lines firm and solid.
with the mortar around it disturbed.
After several futile endeavors found
that sixteen by five from top and front
indicated loose brick, below the or.
dinary line of coal and ashes, remoy.
ed it with trembling agitation. I
searched the cavity it left, but found
nothing but a handful Of loose frag-
ments Of mortar, which had filled the
broken inner corner. In my disap.
pointment I flung the brick into the
fire with an emphasis that nearly
smothered me with smoke and ashes.
The old clock was saying, "Don't
get mad ~ and half made up my
mind to smash it, for it's aggravating
and siruating tone; but Ethel hap.
penned t. make the same remark, and
as could not use them both alike
did not proceed to extremities, but
simply kissed her and stopped the
clock.
But my passion had made the long
sought solution possible, for seven by
nine, from top and front again, was
loose and easily removed. I suppose
I had tried and pried that identical
one fifty times before, jnstigated by
the fact that the mortar between it
and it's neighbors was more deeply
grooved than almost any other in
sight, but, heretofore, it had been
apparently one of the solidest in the
side; now it yielded to the slight
est pull. When it came entirely out
l discovered that it was only half
brick, with an ingenously fitted iron
back, provided with a staple in which
a bolt had evidently played. The bolt
dr0Dnpd when tho first hrinlr ,uoa l,oa