Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-05-31
ready for burial. But how was he to dig
a grave? He had no spade. Yet the

Itduy IOT UuTidl. Dub uOW was uc w uie
a grave? He had no spade. Yet the
body could not be left above the ground;
it might breed pestience. This refiec-
tion led to another. If the man had died
of yellow fever all his clothing must hold
the contagon and should be burned.
Keppel resolved TO do this AZ once. The
coat and trousers were lying on a stool
at the head of the bed. He took them
up, and some papers slipped from the
pocket and fell on the floor. He exam
ined them, at first indiiferently, then
with more interest. There was pass
port with several viSes upon it, showing
journey through Egypt, India, Aus
tralia and Panama. There were several
letters, apparently from persons OF high
authority in Paris, recommending the
bearer, Maurice Solange, to the good
offices of foreign conSuls. 1t appeared,
moreover, that Maurice must have been
parsonage of some Importance, or, at
any rate, that he had been intrusted
with an important mission. These let
tiers of recommendation could have been
delivered only by the French emperor's
authority.
But the nature OF the mission was not
specified in the papers 1t even seemed
as if this Specification had been care
fully intended. There was reason,
then, for keeping the thing secret-a
secret of state.
Was it likely, however, that the poor
wretch, whose body lay yonder awaiting
burial, would murder Il man for the sake
OF a secret of state? Nothing was less
! likely. What good could the secret dc
the murderer? Was it thing he could
sell? Some secrets were salable, no doubt
But Maurice, an authorized agent on hi:
way to America, must have been coming
to impart the secret TO the government
here; therefore no sale could have been
contemplated. Besides the dead man
had said something about a treasure
millions of money. That mi yht have
been the mere rawlings Of insanity; but
possibly it was not. A murder com
mitted for millions Of money was com
prehensible, and this would account FOL
the murderer's strange behavior. Or
the other hand, if those millions haC
been stolen, where were they? Were
they about the premises?
Keppel Darke had never heretofore
regarded money as a supreme object O
ambition. But things were changed
with him now. He was an outcast from
society; mankind was hostile TO him; IL
the unequal contest he was disposed Il
improve whatever advantages came II
his way. If, then, millions of none!
were within his reach he was not in
mood to let them escape.
Here Keppel gave short laugh. Th'
millions probably had no existence
whatever, except in the imagination o
an insane man.
| = He turned over the papers once more
Among them was one small document
folded square, that he did not remem
Der noticing before. He was about II
pass it over, but an idle impulse caused
him to change his mind and open 1t
The odd aspect of its contents attracted
his attention.
1t looked something like long sum II
algebra. There were columns and com
binations of letters. There were als'
written words in the French language
For several minutes Keppel contem
plated the paper without a suspicion o
its significance. 1t was not sum In al
zebra. There were no equations; no
or V, no powers or signs. 1t might be
memorandum in shorthand or cipher
Yes, it was probably cipher memoran
dam. But it was not all in cipher. The
words seemed to be comment or eX
PLANTATION.
SIT strikes me-" said Keppel to him
self chat Eve seen something like thi
somewhere. &C. Kphl.-S. limp Tha
looks familiar"
All at once he began to feel in hi
pockets with signs of excitement.
Here IL was-the newspaper cutting
containing the cipher letter found on tn
person of Harry Trent after his death
Keppel spread it out on his knee ant
compared it with the anomalous docu
ment In moment he uttered cry o
surprise-surpriSe that his wild antici
patton had been fulfilled.
The cipher of the letter and the ciphel
of the document were Identical. Blu
the latter was the key TO the former
and the explanation OF it, and by its ait
Keppel could read the mysterious com
munication as easily as he could con
strue French