Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-05-31

meet him at New Orleans. Treasure
packet in box, concealed, as already ad-
vised. Approximate value, twenty mil
lion pounds sterling. In case of rob-
berry, death or accident, inform us by
cable. On receiving treasure store quiz
city (phon) in private vault. Rate OF
commission, one per cent. per annum.
We intend to declare war in early sum-
mer, but circumstances may delay.
Winter campaign not desired. III sue
cessful Solange will bring back treasure.
Keep him with you meanwhile. III de-
| feated we shall leave at once for New
York incognito (ngil F.). Empress and
son to England. Keep us constantly in
formed of your movements. Estimate
so far as possible whether American
sympathies incline toward France or
Germany. Would it be advisable TO
bring about collision between Germany
and United States? Is it possible that
arrangements. can still be made about
Mexico? If we miscarry with Germany
something must be done to consolidate
and stimulate imperial sentiment here.
Our hand and seal"
The political immortality indicated by
this document did not at the time par
ticuIarly impress Keppel; his interest
was monopoli-ed by that part Of the let
ter relating to the treasure. For some
minutes his mind staggered in bewllder-
ment at the suggestion presented to it.
1t seemed far more incredible now than
before that a great fortune should actu-
ally be within his reach. He had dreamed
4 4 IL, cf nhs
of dollars, and it had almost seemed
real to him, but now that he heard, as
it were, the very jingle of hundred
millions he could not believe 1t. And
yet the evidence that fortune not less
vast lay possibly within few yards of
where he was sitting was more than
plausible. The more he examined it
the more plausible did it appear.
He endeavored to review the situa-
tion step by step. He had found man
who manifestly carried some weighty
secret on his mind. This man who was
dying of yellow fever, spoke of one
Maurice as being dead and as haunting
him. Who could Maurice be but the
Maurice Solange mentioned in the
cipher letter? Maurice then, accord
ing to the letter, had been dispatched
in charge of a treasure to
America by way of India and the Pacific.
1t was not uncommon for ships making
such voyage to be visited by
yellow fever. Maurice may have died
of it, or he may have been murdered.
Be that as it might, the man whose body
lay within there had evidently got hold
of the treasure and had brought it here.
He had said that he mennt to dispose Of
it piece by piece. He had spoken OF the
emperor. Who could this emperor be
but Napoleon? And by whom, unless by
Napoleon, could the cipher letter have
been written? Napoleon, for reasons OF
his own, had determined to send this
treasure to some one in New York. Who
was that person? The cipher letter had
been found in the pocket of Harry Trent.
There was therefore no escape from the
conclusion that Harry Trent must have
been the consignee of the treasure.
Harry Trent, again, was dealer in
precious stones, and was known to be
personally acquainted with the French
emperor. The pieces of the puzzle lit
ted into one another like a mosaic. And
by strange fatality Keppel Darke, who
had been wrongfully accused of murder
ing Trent, had, through the accusation,
been brought in contact with fortune
not inferior to any in the world.
But where was the treasure? Was 1t
in the neighborhood?
Keppel looked about him. A garden
two or three acres in extent, long since
gone TO seed, adioined the house. Out
side the garden was a waste OF stunted
woodland, extending to the swamp on
one side and toward the ocean on the
other. To the westward lay sort OF
pasture, with few struggling apple
trees growing upon it. The place was a
deserted farm, such as is often met with
on Long Island, and may not have been
inhabited for many years. The treasure
was probably buried somewhere about
the grounds-it might be far or near.
Wherever it was, it was worth searching
for, and Keppel resolved to examine every
square foot of ground within a mile, If
necessary, before giving it up. This
might take time-weeks or even months.
Meanwhile, he would have to live in the
house: and the first thing to be done
was to get the dead man and all his be-
longings out Of it.
TO BE CONTINUED.