, 1891-08-23

You thought o could rob me"
Keppel Darke, finding that the red
haired man was a F~renchman, spoke to
him in that language, with which he had
a tolerable familiarity. Dupont, indeed,
had lived in London, and knew enough
English to make himself understood
butln MS present desperate condition his
thoughts inevitably expressed themselves
In his mother tongue, and much of the
time he was probably not aware of what
he was saying. He had been i'll four
days, the seeds of the fever contracted
on board the ship having broken out two
or three weeks later. Delirium OCCASION
ally overcame him, and he would mutter
things that he fancied he was keeping
locked in his heart.
Are you alone hereYr asked Keppel
Have you no physician
mo, no." replied the other. II shall
soon be well. need NJ one. Who sent
you here? Who are you? | am only a
poor man. Have You seen Maurice1
BAIL he is dead. You can't deceive me.
1 have done him no harm. | buried him
the captain and l. lie cannot come
back"
"What is your disease" Keppel asked.
"They all had it-all but the captain
and me. had seen yellow fever before;
! was not afraid. Ishall get well; | am
not going to die with all these millions
Il am a poor man; | have wandered up
here; I'm looking for work. Maurice
he follows me everywhere. What differ
ence can it make to him what | do with
the treasure? A dead man has other
things to think about. The emperor has
anaTN1h Without ILL NNIu4 :. l.. l.A =.
robber2 He stole them; | have AS much
right to them as he" His voice sank in
unintelligible mutterings.
What does all this meanY' said KEEP
pei to himself. "Treasure-the emperor
IA dead man-robberyl He has muir
dered somebody, probably. And he has
yellow fever. He'll die of it, too, and l
may catch it myself. No matter: here /
am, and here l stay, for tonight at least.
1 can't go any farther. and | can't leave
a dying man either, even if he is a muir
derer. l have a special sympathy for
murderers, l suppose. At any rate, l am
as much of a vagabond and desperate as
he is. This is a poor place to die in, but
he will be better off with me here than
he would be alone. Though he doesn't
Beem very h~ospitable. I'll make myself
ut home"
He raised the head of the sick man,
smoothed out his pillow and rearranged
the bed clothes. As he was STOPPING to
tuck the blanket under the mattress he
felt something cold touch his forehead,
and lifting his head quickly confronted
the muzzle of the revolver within an inch
Of his mouth. The sick mans finger was
upon the trigger, and his features were
twisted into n hideous look of terror and
malevolence. Keppel had the instinct to
remain perfectly still, with his gaze fixed
upon the other.
"You thought you could rob me" said
Dupont, between his teeth. I'm not to
be robbie while I'm alive, and you shall
die first. know you-accursed spyl'
His long yellow finger had begun TO
contract to pull the trigger. Keppel's
lips grew white; death looked ugly. Sud-
denly n startling change swept over Du-
points visage. His red eyebrows lifted
in a strange stare, his eyeballs protruded
and his black lips curlcd back from his
teeth. But his eyes were directed no
longer upon Keppel, but to the farther
corner of the room. The next instant he
had pointed the revolver in that direc-
ton, and fired over Keppel's shoulder,
almost d%eafening him. He then dropped
the weapon and sank back screaming,
with his hands over his face.
Keppel secured the revolver, and then
looked round. There was no third per-
son in the room. The bullet had passed
through a wainscot panel.
"What the devil were you shooting
att he demanded sternly.
ga hu1Iat ,.,pft I'm H.. ~
the man; "he can die but once. But he
comes-he is always here. It's the treas
nre he wants. What can n dead man
do with treasurer
"Your dead man has saved my life, at
all events" muttered Keppel, land I'm
obliged to him for it. As for you-welll
You will never harm any one again.
This is an ugly night; / wish it were
over. And what of tomorrow
He found another candle, lit it, and,
having put the revolver in his pocket,
set out to explore the house. There was
scarcely anything in it except the bare
rooms; but in n closet in the kitchen he
found some loaves of bread almost az
hard as stone. He soaked it in water
and ate some of it. He brought a glass
of water for the sick man, who drank it
eagerly. That good! the poor wretch
said. Il hall get we'll"
~ don't think you will get well,n re-
turned Keppel. lyon look TO me like n
dying man, and you had better realize
it. l know nothing about the treatment
of yellow fever, and it's no use trying to
find a doctor tonight. If you are alive
tomorrow I'll go for one. Meanwhile, if
there is anything you want done, in case
you do die, you had better let me know
it now"
Bring no one here" said the other.
with tremulous earnestness. Listen.
When / get well / will divide with you;
there's enough for both; we shall be two
of the richest men in the world. There
are millions-millionsi | have told no
body. No one knows | am here. II they
came they would take it all and put us
in iail. What is the sense Of that Man
TWENTY DOLLAR GOLD PIECES.