The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-02-27

no blanched or decaying bones; no grin
ming skull Knocked me with its hollow
eye-sockets. l looked upon treasure
worthy Of an emperor's envy! The big
coffin was literally lined and packed
with incalcrlable wealth. Fifty large
leathern bags tied with coarse cord lay
uppermost; more than half of these
were cNmmed with gold ceins, the rest
were full of priceless gems-necklaces,
tiaraS, bracelets, watches, chains and
other articles of feminine adornment
were mingled with loose precious stones
diamonds, rubies. emeralds and opalS,
some of unusual size and lustre, some
uncut and some all ready for the jewel
er's setting. Beneath these bags were
packed a number of pieces of silk, vel
vet, and cloth of gold, each piece being
wrapped by itself in sort of oilskin,
strongly perfumed with camphor and
other spices. There were also three
lengths of cid lace, fine as gossamer, OF
matchlesS artistic design, in perfect con-
dition. Among these materials lay two
large trays of solid gold workmanship,
most exquisitely engraved and orna-
mented, also four drinking cups of
Quaint and massive construction. Other
valuable and curious trifies there were,
such as an ivory statuette OF Psyche on
a silver pedestal, a waistband OF coins
linked together, painted fan with
handle set in amber and turquoise,
a fine steel dagger in jeweled sheath,
and a mirror framed in old pearls.
Last, but not least. at the very
bottom Of the chest, lay rolls upon rolls
of paper money amounting to some mil
lions of francs-in all far SURPRISING
what / had myself formerly enjoyed
from my own revenues. l plunged my
hands deep in the leathern bags; / fin
gered the rich materials; all this treas
ure was mine! had found it in my own
burial vault | had surely the
right to consider it as my property? i
began to consider-how could il have
been placed there without my knowl-
edge? The answer to this question oc-
Cured to me at once. Brigands! OF
course!-what q fool was not to have
thought Of them before; the dagger
painted on the lid Of the chest should
have guided me to the solution of the
mystery. A red dagger was the recog-
nized sign-manual Of bold and danger
Gus brigand named Carmelo Neri, who
with his reckless gang haunted the
vicinity of Palermo.
500" thought. This is one Of your
bright ideas, my cut-throat Carmelo!
Cunning rogue! you calculated well,-
you thought that none would disturb
the dead, much less break open coffin
In search of gold. Admirably planned,
my Carmelo! But this time you must
play losing game! A supposed dead
man coming TO life again deserves some
thing for his trouble. and l should be
fool not TO accept the goods the gods
and the robbers provide. An ill-gotteE
hoard Of wealth, no dOubt:-but better
in my hands than in yours, friend Car.
melo!"
And / meditated for some minutes or
this strange affair. If, indeed-and
saw no reason to doubt i'll had CHANGED
to find some of the spoils of the redoubt.
able Neri, this great chest must have
been brought over the sea from Palermo.
Probably four stout raScalS had carried
the supposed coffin in mock solemn
procession, under the pretence Of its con-
tanning the body Of 4 comrade. These
thieves have high sense Of humor, Yet
the question remained to be solved
How had they gained access to my an
cestral vault, unless by means OF false
kew?
All at once l was left in darkness. My
candle went out as though blown uDoD
by gust of air l had my matches,
and OF course could easily light II again,
but was puzzled to imagine the cause
Of its sudden extinction. / looked about
me in the temporary gloom, and saw to
my surprise a ray Of light proceeding
from a corner of the very niche where
had fixed the candle between two
stones. i approached and put my hand
to the place-a strong draught blew
through hole large enough to admit
the passage of three fingers. quickly
relit my torch, and examining this hole
and the back of the niche attentively,
found that four blocks of granite in the
wall had been removed and their places
supplied by thick square logs cut from
the trunks OF trees. These logs were
quite loosely fitted. / took them out
easily one by one, and then came upon a
close pile of brushwood. As gradually
cleared this away large aperture dis
closed itself wide enough for any man to
pass through without trouble. My
heart beat with the rapture of expected
liberty; / clambered uD-I looked
thank God! / saw the landscape-the
sky! In two minutes stood outside the
vault on the soft grass, with the high
arch of heaven above me, and the broad
bay of Naples glittering deliciously be-
fore my eyes! clapped my hands and
shouted for pure JOY! l was free! Free
to return to life, TO love, to the arms OF
nv beautiful Nina, free to resume the
pleasant course Of existence on the glad
some earth-free to forget, II j
could, the gloomy horrors of my prems-
ture burial. If Carmelo Neri had heard
the blessings l hesped upon his head
he would for once have deemed himself
saint rather than brigand. What did
/ not owe to the glorious ruffian! For.
tune and freedom! for it was evident
that this secret passage into the Romani
vault had been cunningly coEtrived by
himself or his followers for their own
private purposes. Seldom has any man
been more grateful 10 his best benefac-
tor than was to the famous thief upon
whose grim head, as l knew, price
had been set for many months. The
poor wretch was in hiding. Well the
authorities should get no aid from me, ]
resolved, even If / were to discover his
whereabouts. Why should / betray
him? He had unconsciously done more
for me than my best friend. Nay, what
friends will you find at all in the world
when you need substantial good? Few,
or none. Touch the purse-test the
heart!
What castles in the air / built as
stood rejoicing in the morning light and
my newly acquired liberty-what dreams
of perfect happiness fitted radiantiy be-
fore my fancy! Nina and would love
each other more fondly than before, ]
thought-our separation had been brief,
but terrible-and the idea Of what 1t
might have been would endear us to one