, 1890-08-14

told him of the alkaline propVi''eo
of the water, he turned his morse
back. Dlsmountiug, he wiped the
mud from the animals knees anu
then proceeded to rig up his canoe
From the place broken by the horsei
he discovered that the white san.'
formed covering an inch or more
over what appeared to be very SOU
mud-bog.
Rigging up his bark canoe he tried
to launch 1t after breaking the crust
before 1t with his stout cane, ahu
then by polling II along managed 70
work IL away from the shore. Az
the depth Of some six feet his pole
struck u hard bottom against whicn
he could push. The farther he went
the softer became the bog III W las1
in his wake stagnant water rose ana
stood.
$50 much the better for me on
my return" thought he. A.,
The sun shone tiercely down; tne
glare, the heat, We're Intense. hlS
face blistered and his hands began
TO neal from the hard work OF pol
ing. But he pressed resolutely on,
full of the wild hope of finding MD
den treasure.
Night overlook him half way be-
tween the shore and ship with an
aching, throbbing head, bllstered
hands and hult-parched tongue,
for he drank but sparingly oil the
cantcens he brought with him, not
knowing what might belall INN pc
fore his return. He lay down IN ms
fruil boat and fell into IL hetVy
sleep.
When he awoke the sun was ris-
ing, and stiff and sore, he addressed
himself To his task. The old snip
sill lay before him, so II was no
mirage, as he had feared.
The sun was sinking when ne
reached the side of the vessel and
touched her with his pole. III Is
pole did not run through her-she
was no mirage-nor did she crunibie,
but Law careened to one side all worn
and battered. He clambered on
deck, aud now, ia II place which
limited of life, he began to feel ter
ribly alone, and started at the noise
his heavy boots made on the worn
old deck. ,
Bits of rusty iron, which had
once been cannon, lay about, Inc
hatchway to the cabin had been
battened down. Selling II bit OF
broken spar he forced 1t open and
descended.
In the cabin, in sort of berth,
lay the figure of n woman, her
wasted limbs covered by a silken
gown. In u chair beside her half
reclined a man in AN attitude indi-
eating the abandonment of despair.
He seemed in the very prime OF lie,
but thin and worn. Austin gazed
upon them for an instant, feeling
dazed. Then, as the onter air
rushed In, the figures crumbled aud
vanished like phantoms of the
night. Only little heaps of dust
told where they had once been.
Uponf the clumsy table Austin
found n bit of paper covered with
faded characters. With some diff
Guilty he deciphered the old style
Spanish, and made out statement
that the ship had been driven off 10y
storms and finally wrecked on the
shore of an unknown gulf; that the
crew had mutiuied and deserted af-
ter imprisoning him, the captain,
and his wife in the cabin, leaving
them there TO starve; and that, IL
seems, had been their fate.
Overcome at the sight, Austin re-
treated to the deck and after gazing
ut the sky, the white desert sand
and his horse neighing for him in
the distance, felt convinced that he
was not In "A horrible dreamland he
now hurried to explore the other
parts of the ship. No vestige of life
could he find anywhere. But, in
the hold of the vessel were packed
bars of bullion and sacks of Spanish
doubloons!
Yes, here was wealth; boundless
wealth! He drew Il long breath and
his head swan. At last he was
rich!-his day dream accomplished.
In his wild JOY he forgot all
about the hapless captain and his
wife, and set 10 work with u Will to
bring OH deck IA number of bags of
doubloons. He piled up far more
than his boat would carry, but he
determined at once to load her and
water in his canteens was getting
low.
BY the time this was accomplished
the sun was high in the heavens,
and, heavily laden, the skiti moved
slowly through the thick, muddy
water. He had not made half the
distance when the sun went down,
and crouched among his heaped up
wealth he passed u wretchcd night.
With the duwning of the day the
shrill cries of his horse and the
trampling Of his hoofs fell upon his
ear. What could he the matter
with him? He shouted to him and
was answered 10y his shrill whinny-
ing. With the rising of the sun ne
could see that the horse had freed
himself from where he had been
hobbled and was now galloping
about.
What was the matter? Had he
gone mad? Perhaps he had for
want OF water, for he had had none,
and in the excitement of visiting
and scratching the ship he had for
gotten all about him. Indeed, when
he started, he had not dreamed the
trip would have taken him so long.
Poor beast! How careless he had
been.
Before the day was done he could
feel yet more keenly for him, for his
canteens were exhausted and he
himself half parched with thirst.
But bear up, bear up, he told him.
sell, for boundlcss wealth was his.
The sun was near its setting when
he landed and hurried to where his
canteens lay piled up beneath his
saddle, The saddle had been paved
and torn the canteena cruahaI , 4