Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1889-01-11


quest, II not too great tax on you
you go with me, and show me where
tho rogues bu,lcd my jewels. Ahl Mr.
Brainard, you do not know how much
feel the loss OF those. No one but Q
collector can appreciate that part oi
It,"
His eyes fairly sparklod with enthus-
iasm ns he spoke of his collection, and
tried to make me understand that the
beauty and rarity which his specimens
possessed were seldom oqualed even in
public collections.
"0f COURSE said he, "thero will be
no chance of recovering any thing; but
you know we might find some clew at
the spot whore the things were buried,
which would lead TO the apprehension
of the robbers. Can We drive thereP"
mo; the shortest and best way, as 1t
seems to me, is to take n boat and drop
down the river to the nearest point and
walk from there"
We did so Immediately, and when we
arrived at the place where intended
to leave the boat, Mr.. Hammond ex-
claimed;
"Why, this is the very spot where
tho boat was found, when we were
searching for the gardener! 1t was the
finding tho boat which led to the theory
that John had come down here to
bathe, had been taken with cramps and
drowned. ! have not favored that the
ory at all. John was not the sort of
man TO be drowned while swimming"
was almost persuaded by the mans
manner and his evident willingness to
60 to the place that he was innocent OF
deceit.
'I am afraid this means that you will
never see your collection again, Mr..
Hammond" / said. The disappear
ance OF the gardener, and the finding OF
the boat here, are proof enough, to my
mind, that he came hero and dug up
the treasure and went off with it."
"Of course, of course; don't expect
to find any thing here; but we may find
clew.n
When we arrived at the opening in
the woods and saw the bowlder on
which l had seen Mr.. Hammond sit
ting that day, the scene of month ago
came back so vividly that again l felt
sure that this was the man whom saw.
/ could not understand his self-posses-
sion. Was he doing all this for
blind?n
He looked with much interest when
pointed out to him the top of my OBJ
servatory, just peeping over the trees,
i'll the distance, and said:
How fortunate that you were study
ing sun spots that day, Mr.. Brainard;
but for that, 1t would all have been u
mystery still"
Then turning to the rock, he contin-
ued:
"ls this the placer"
YES" said |, somewhat surprised
that he should have asked; for l was
very sure / had not told where the
trunk was buried.
Trying not TO show that / was sur
prised, ] said:
LET us look this place over carefully,
before disturbing any of the leaves or
earth"
We did so, and found nothing.
Nov, we will see il the trunk has
been dug up. think if it had been the
place would not have been so carefully
recovered"
then looked for the tools under the
rock, and found them without difficulty.
l went to work Immediately, and began
to scratch away the leaves, preparatory
to digging, when saw something gilt
ter among the leaves.
"Ha! A clewm ] exclaimed, STOPPING
TO pick it up.
1t was an old-fashioned watch key-a
large oval piece of chalcedony, set in
gold. Holding it up for Mr.. Hammond
to see, said:
This may lead to the discovery OF
the robbers, and possibly to the re-
covery of your property"
He was silent.
Looking up from the key in my hand
/ saw that he was deathly pale, and
trembling violently.
So" / thought sat last, your self
possession deserts you"
Feeling sure that the key belonged to
him, and that he had dropped it there,
said:
That did not belong to the gardener,
did it?"
NO" he answered, almost in a
whisper; "that belonged to my father,
and to my grandfather before him."
"Oh! Then it was among the stolen
jewelry? The rogues dropped it when
they buried or dug up the trunk"
mo; it was not among the stolen
things" Mr.. Hammond replied, in a
measured sort of way. There was
something about the tone OF his voice,
which had sadness in it, ] thought.
Not liking TO watch his discomfort, /
began digging energetically. / had
not dug far, when the spade struck
something soft and yielding, yet with
resistance enough to stop the spade.
struck 1t again; and this time / uncov-
cred what appeared to be cloth; and
the next stroke showed it to be the
sleeve Of mans coat. with gaastly
hand protruding from it.
jumped back with cry OF horror.
At the same instant similar exclama-
tion escaped Mr.. Hammond's lips.
This is work for the coroner" said /.
"And the hangman," added Mr.. Ham
mond, in II whisper.
My first thought was of the missing
presence of the murderer as we'll as the
murdered. Could it be possibleP II so.
why had he come here and let the dis
covery be made? Moreover, what mo-
tive could have induced him to kill the
gardenerP These thoughts flashed
through my mind rapidly.
Second thought caused me TO look
more closely at the dead hand. Per-
haps this was not the gardener after