The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-10-20

xI.ar,
did come in, could have rushas his
arms After dinner our time w,s 80 80 ~,
with questions and answers on b,A -
"By the by, Frank" said Tom s,, S
''you mentioned something str,nso "hoyt
your first night here-connected ,1;,b vonr
uncle. Tell me all about it.n
He listened attentively whAs+ ra-
lated my dream. When | had suishod
he rose, and going to thu oah;net
took one of the books t,oOo The
shelf He looked over it carefullv ond then
inspected more of the volumes vUhan he
had spent some time in this war he came
back to the fire with disappoinsd look.
Cant make any thing out of ma bool,su
said he, standing with his backn he bIaze
and with his hands thrust dan in his
pockets, except that the old%v had
peculiar fancy to letter the bske of the
volumes with the alphabet instai Of num-
bering them. Some of the pages,re marked
with red cross, but the mates on them
don't appear to throw any lightn the sub
iect"
After giving vent to his feeingin several
vigorous pulls at his pipe, Ton fixed his
eyes thoughtfully on the old disk on the
table. This seems a curious .ssk. Per-
haps you may have overlooked SINE clue to
the mystery contained in it. Fould you
mind me looking into its"
Iopened the desk, but We coulfin moth
ing Of consequence in it,
"You haven't looked int he socset 1ver,n
said Tom ''All desks havS ono 49,. y
try my hand" Suiting tn action to the
word, he gave the bottom 4 the desk such
blow that a small compliment which mad
escaped nv notice flew orer and something
fell with ringing sound o the floor Tom
uttered a satisfied sound and picked up
key Of curious and antide workmanship.
This will most likely Vlock the mystery
since YOUR uncle seemso have put it away
so carefully"
We started on voyse of discovery over
the old house Many the cupboards and
boxes were unlocked and those which were
fastened could be cened by some Of the
keys with which theawyer had furnished
me. After along bnt, we gave the thing
up as a bad Job. Tied out, we retired to
rest, and forgot our disappointment in sleep.
Next moning, alter breakfast, Tom com
menced a sketch ofGhe front of the mansion,
at whichne WORKED hard till dinner time.
In the afternoon We went for walk. Thus
a week went by, varied only by little fish
ing in the pool The picture was finished,
and another begun. One afternoon, Tom
said b, should ike to have another shy at
the mysterious library. 81 have been think
ing i; over all tie week, and fancy have
made a discovery. You will notice, on
looking through the books carefully, only
one page in each is marked, and that all
the marks occur in the first score or so of
leaves in each volume. Now, what set me
thinking was the within of your uncle hav-
ing the alphabet marked on the backs of the
books This one marked A is crossed under
the number of page 80; the next book, B,
under number 5 G, under number l; D, un-
der number IS; E, under number 3; and F
under number s. Now, taking the numbers
of the pages to represent corresponding let
tiers Of the alphabet, we get the word
SEARCH. l haven't got any furthur yet,
but we must work it out together"
| jumped up and seized Toms hand.
''You have hit it now for certain, my dear
fellow"
Don't be premature. 1t may only turn
out mares nest after all. However, here
goes W 1Cb db bllt IOOU VI buC ulhbiCi'
Working eagerly, yet carefully through
all the volumes, we got the VS-Ss-sN- re-
results Numbers or pages mrGed with
the red cross, and the corresponding letters
10, 5, 1, IS, 3, s, 8, /, Is, 3, 6, 2l, r. r. %,
S EA r HCA REF U L L Y
%. s, 5, Z, Is, u, 4, IS, Is Is, 10.
THE G o L d r o IN
"Well," said Tom, when we had Uade out
the above, this certainly looks like find.
Let us set about examining this same Gold
Room at once"
There was a chamber on the second floor
of the house having the walls covered with
leather, on which great mum Der of elab-
crate designs were stamped in gold; hence
its name. We hurried to this room and set
to work to try and discover the secret.
There was scarcely any furniture; what
there was, we carefully eXami ned, but to no
purpose.
"Never say die" said Tom "We must
now try the walls" He commenced tap
ping and feeling in all the odd corners; went
into a cupboard, tried the window-seats
and, as a last resource, turned his attention
to the chimney piece which asvery large
and highly carved. The mantel was high,
and projected good way over the hearth.
The panels on either side were ornam ented
with grotesQue figures cut in bold relief.
Tom looked up the chimney, raped the
woodwork, and pried into each little nook.
was similarly engaged, but with no sue
cess. An exclamation from Tom caused me
to rush to his side, when | saw him pushing
at a small grotesque head, enclosed in a
wreath of leaves and flowers. This seems
to give little. Frank" said he; and exert
ing his whole strength, the projection sank
into the panel, which slid a little to one side
and disclosed dark opening.
"Stop here amoment, Tom" saidI, highly
excited, "while get a light. We must be
on the eve of great discovery" Hurrying
down stairs, got old Griggs to light Ian.
tern; and snatching up a chisel and ham.
mer, made my way back as fast as could
We forced the panel far enough to allow
us to enter, and CROPPED our way along q
dark, musty-smellng passage, only feebly
illuminated by the lantern. Stumbling
along in what seemed nearly one erection
we came to a steep light of stairs, evidently
built in the thickness of the wall, and end
ing in small door, at which we stopped
Feeling no latch, we gave a simultaneou:
heave, and, bursting the obstacle, fell for
ward into q room. Recov ering ourselves
we searched about on the floor for the Ian
tern, which we discovered in a crushed con
dition, and the light eXtinguished
Here's a pretty go ~ cried Tom. otis 81
dark we can't find any thing One of III
had better go back and fetch light"
volunteered to stay. Tom felt his way slow
ly down the stairs, and after what seemed
an age, returned with candle and box o
matches.