The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-07-24


of the richest men in the world. There
are millions-millions! l have told no
body. No one knows l am here. If they
came they would take it all and put us
i'll Jail. What is the sense of that? Maui
rice knows, but he can't tell; it isn't
Maurice-it is his spirit, that's all. He
can't speak, he can only look; and no
one but can see him. We are safe if l
get we'll"
"You had better keep quiet" said Keep
pei. You're firing yourself out and
you're talking nonsense. There is no
treasure here; if you didn't die of the
fever you would starve to death, as far
as can see. What is your name, and
what did you come here for?"
Il am poor peddler. peddle wax
fruits. l came here to be out of the way
not to be interfered with. l shall take
them down to New York and sell them,
one at a time. The least of them is
worth one hundred thousand francs.
There are thousands of them"
Keppel turned away impatiently. 81
am going to take nap" he said. 81
saw some fishnet3 and bagging in the
kitchen, and I'll make bed of them
here in the corner. If you want any
thing you can call out"
He got the materials and made his
bed accordingly. His fatigue was SO
great, after the exertions and excite
menu of the previous two days, that he
fell asleep the instant he lay down. He
was awakened by wild scream and a
heavy fall.
He raised himself up, still heavy and
bewildered with sleep. At first he did
not remember where he was. Was he
in his prison cell? or had he been hanged,
and was this after death? In a few mo-
ments he came to himself. The candle
was faring in the socket. The faint
gray Of dawn was coming through the
dusty panes of the eastern window.
Who had screamed? The sick man, of
course. Keppel looked toward the bed;
it was vacant. What had happened? He
got to his feet and made step forward.
He trod upon something that yielded
beneath his weight. 1t was the body of
the invalid. Recoiling, he fetched the
expiring candle and bent over it. The
mans body was drawn together, lying
on its side The hands were over the
face, III the right hand was long
knife.
Evidently lie had crawled from his bed
andstolen on Keppel with the intention Of
stabbing him, but just before he could
accomplish his purpose the specter by
which he imagined himself haunted had
interviewed. The man was dead. The
candle fiickered and died out. Keppel
made spring for the other candle, but
remembered that he had no matches.
He could not stay with the body in the
darkness, so he made his way to the
open air. The morning sky was clear
the eastern horizon a pale yellow. He
paced up and down before the house till
the sun rose, his mind full of gloomy
thoughts. Horror and misery pursue
him everywhere. He had the revolver
in his pocket; why not use it on himself
and end all? He paused, debating the
question, but finally shook his head. He
had had so many escapes lately that he
persuaded himself he might have been
preserved for n purpose. The unclouded
sun, rising over the blue verge of the
distant ocean, was an omen of hope He
turned, and reluctantly re-entered the
house.
The sunlight fell upon the corpse as it
lay there. Keppel set resolutely to work.
CT
and rolled up the body in blanket frem
the bed. He tied it round with a piece
of rope from the fishnet. 1t was now
ready for burial. But how was he to dig
a grave? He had no spade. Yet the body
could not be left above the ground; it
might breed pestilence. This reflection
led to another. If the man had died of
yellow fever all his clothing must hold
the contagion and should be burned.
Keppel resolved to do this at once. The
coat and trousers were lying on stool
at the head of the bed He took them
up, and some papers slipped from the
pocket and fell on the floor. He ex-
amined them, at first indifferently, then
with mott interest. There was pass
port with several vises upon it, showing
a 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 Of
fees of foreign consuls. 1t appeared,
moreover, that Maurice must have been
IA 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 non-specifcation 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 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 his
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