New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-08-19
TREASURE COVE
A LEGEND OF THE TROPIC SEAS

c,as. 80 The paciic and battles in beauty the sands
of lonely beach, where the waves ane and itS
royc is smooth and peaceful, being well pro'cctcu
BIZ line of breakers that here lie furnner out ao
shore than is usual in such places Diagn "sg s;"J
the hack ground OF crimson and gold Witn Whicn
tho great orb decks his descent TO his toiip' "
boat looms up, rounding the point from tne %"
into the creek thence opening MANI , nor loan
ashore and draw the canoe up beyond danger OF
drifting . 40. :, ;e
arlv nightfal as they alight on the banK ~! i
sfa:s arc coming out and reflect themselves IN l's
sea- and far away CLEAN the lights from sca' o,
cabins The chattering blackbirds nave uo 'SI
home 70 their nicht-haunts, and the belated guis
arc winginc toward their craggy nests III tIe
cticc of the darlScned water the maneroVes rus
sadly The broad banana leaves wave in the piinrna
ton further inland toward the savannans. en- nmo
mournful cry of the lurking jacai resouhus ron
the thicle and from the forest comes the FOE 9
the tiger-the jaguar, while thousand lnsv. .
cali from the jungle Nature seems Gaining toTesU'
saa heaven, and earth. all animated creatures up
pear he in prayer: The only SOUNDS OF aeuf nto
arc the spIashes Of the countless sh TINT leap INTO
Tho air and fall back into the placld, onW"ru-uoW-
ing water Of the bGrca, and the tfui CLEAN OF 1ne
myriad fredics against their 1orless nns reon
Even these however show the hight OF ther erg IN
sh phosphoresccnt lamps bat languidly as II iieS
lacked energy stimulus for more sus'aineu
The mon from tho boat, who had sat down upon
The hank. as if weary from their task OF rowing,
arise RS the moon climbs slowly UP IRON t.s
Just Wonder in the thicllet' SAYS one, is the
spot have marked ont on the parchment VIA; We
have left in your sea-chest that each OF us might
be able 10 trace the way again should aught befall
tho other You can see the palms spoke OIL Two
tall hut slender ONES, growing close together
I see" SAYS the other briefly; " 1t is not tar
TO carry. and we'll enough for us, for the load is
heavy enough -
rho weight of it, rejoins his companion, " if it
werc theirs for the carrying And it is ours be-
yond question. No one can claim IL from Us,
though If cur comrades KNOW Of our having IL
they might determine TO take share by foul or
by fair means ~
They have come to The boat now and are lift
inr out the lold from ita massive looking coiier
under whose weight the Two, with their forces
combined, still sjaggcr. And so they so INSTEAD
lily up the bank and into the jungle to the foot
of the tall young palm.trccs, and there, pyIns the
shade and mattock with right good Will, they
soon have dug pit among the noddng ferns ana
other her5agc, rank and clustering, and with many
groan and strain ng Of knot;el slnews, uuey
lower into il the heavy, pr olouS coDer
And now 10 bury our treasure" says ne ! VINO
has first spoken, " 70 cover 1t over SO well tha'
none bat ourselves cln find IL ever"
Aye, bury it deeply says the Other Tor tue
heavy wing Garth hcirayS 10 secrets"
" / am not 50 sure Of that, returns the former !,
as the SEA civcs up its dead from time TO Tune, 50
the earth has been known 10 lay bare ghasiy bur
led horro,s---" tho sentence is never finished As
the speaker has been stoppnG to plSA INTO inc
Inc mattocll, has half lifted II now ana tnen II
rcsolutcly and at last he lifts IL suddenly on hlgh
md sends il crashing down upon the skull OF IN
dcfcnccl IS, unsuspccting man before him. a tcai-
torous cOwardy murder, The victim 1alls IN q
huddicd, shapclcss mass; his body is CONFUSED III
ono or two long, horrible quivers ana theD Una.
FORM so lately full of strength and vlgor, is inert
and still forever.
Tho assassin stands stoclxstill for few moments,
gazing upon the work of his hands, upon the run
from the spot, and even takes few Wild step'
toward the crcclS-sdc, but suddenly he stops, re-
turns TRUSTS the body into the pit above the
treasure, pushing it with the mattock, carefully
avoiding it's touch with his hands Then hnr
rcdy frantically, lie throws the dirt upon 1t, until
the pit is level with the surrounding plane ere
he turns away again. The freshly -moved earth
shows plainly its disturbance, larglsh mound re-
mains displaced by the box aud the body OF tho
dead man. the ground about is trampled and IN
denied, and even one spot, ominouSy darker than
the rest where the moonbeams stream through th(
palm leaves, shows where the life-blood Of the muir
dcrcd man had poured out IN ptlous waste ano
But the red-hand,d one no longer notes aush,
of this. The silence ana the solitude OF the spo
weigh upon him with potent, dreadful terror
and his only thought and care IS to lice from IL
Why, tic very palms above his head, rqstilh!
thinks, with ineligible voices. So he dashe
maGly through the low growth of the jungle, ant
reaching the boat, Jumps in, casts loose the rope
md pushes off in haste from that shore accurSed
But has he left his sin and his awful fear be
hind him Not Even here. on the bosom o
the tranquil water a thousand witnesses seem t.
nurmur of his crime. The voice of the distan
tiger. that roars in the jungle he fancies nigh
be the wall OF his victim. The luminous wake o
a phosphorescent fish has tcrrors Tor MN; he see
in il the gleam of the ghostly moonlight, hltern
through the palm-leaves on that paihd counte
needless of his course and. instead OF roundin
the point, he is going straight on, out toward IN
breakers. lie looks up to heaven IN desperfJJl
hope of solacc; alas but heaven itself deride
and threatens, he thinks, for in the flying scuds
cloud he sees but spectres. On. on he hurrle'
bending to his oars til his frail bark bounds an
fhe lion wing swelling water, now grow
ing mere turbulent with every impulse that urge
the light boat forward. The roar Of the breaker
in his cars is demoniac but he needs not the warn
ing: rather he hears in the clamOr the cutlery G
dcnunciaton. He is in the midst of churnla.
uprear itself from the raging, waves, and wres
an oar from him. As he bends 10 snatch at IN
shattered fragments, the other Slips from ms nan
ard goes spinning away in the moonllgIIt as
vhrling in weird dance of mockcry. His boa
crashes on the reef, whose fantastic mantle at
spray, flung high in the air, he takes at the 81
preme moment for another phantom. There is
brief struggle between stupendous force ana a
otom-and the man and his sin are buried III III
waves forever
Long years have passed. The, two men WI
once landed here are forgotten, the late OF inc t
buried in oblivion unknown inaeea, 4L in nsF con IL
about?-the spot is known as The Cove OF u
Treasure No one knows how or When
why The name has come TO be applied mere
no definite tradition legend concerning u
matter: but through some subtle med!um the a
ISOLATION of ideas has become flHed one. Al
evil renufation. and here indeed, there is som
what OF definite shaping. For the story goes that
ngh,lall grisly spectre comes 1orth from the
shadow and purSues the alirghted wayfarer.
aIl the country around there Is not human Deli
Who will approach these palms when me sun
fairly sinking, and in truth they are summed .an
cost Of wide circuit at any hour whatsoever.
Once again-but the hour is now high Inid-aitt
noon Of a brilliant tropical day-once AGAIN lItt
boat comes around the point and makes for .
beach Of the barra. and once again two men step
tho shore. They stand brief while contcmplatlN
impressed by the absolute repose OF the seer
The broad green leaves Of the bananas are scar
astlr all sensitive as they are TO the llghte
zephyr Those uncouth forms that salute the eJ