, 1891-08-02

Tents OF this o would be enough TO
make a man rich for life. There was
not one that was not of royal magnih-
cence. Where had they all come from!
That is a question that doubtless never
can be answered. Napoleon the First,
in his campaign, had an eye to the pc
cuniary future of his dynasty, and he
must nave helped himself with a free
hand whenever opportunity offered.
Could those stones nave spoken, they
might have told tales that would make
the enchanted valley of Sinbad and Alad-
din's palace seem tame. There were a
few superb rings in the collection, but
otherwise, as has been stated, all were
naked.
Solange was far enough from compre-
bending the significance of the sight
Are these all, sirey" he asked. lifting
his eyes to the emperor's face.
'They could be exchanged for a good
deal of money! returned Napoleon quiet
ly. Have you any idea how muchg"
SIN truth, l don't know much about
such things. l never owned Jewels in
my life. But now, then, l remember. A
friend of mine once had one, not 50 large
as the least of these, which he said cost
a thousand francs. OF course, l did not
believe such a story, but were it only
half true l a understand that all these
would be very valuable. Many thousand
francs, perhaps; fifteen or twenty thou
sandyr
"A philosopher, possibly-if he were
really n philosopher-might value them
at less than that sum" said Napoleon,
who had been watching the soldiers face
keenly, without seeming to do so. But
our artificial modes of life tend to give
them an artificial Worth. Besides. they
nave the interest OF history and associa-
tons. Most of them belonged to my
famous uncle, and were obtained by him
during mis- campaigns. Others came in
other ways. Blood has been split for
them; romances are connected with
them. At the present time, however,
there are but one or two persons, in adj
dition to ourselves, who are aware that
this collection exists. The secret could
not be safely divulged, for men have
risked and lost both their lives and their
souls for less han n thousandth part the
money that these stones would bring"
Solange opened his eyes. 'Of course,
then, my guess was too small-much too
small" he remarked. Fifty thousand
francs, them The emperor's face re-
manned in%scrutable. Solange took a long
breath. Come, let us say a hundred
thousandYn he exclaimed, recklessly.
THAT seems to be an immense sum, !"
said Napoleon.
"Assuredly, ii would seem so to any
man. A man might labor night and day
for a hundred years and not get together
30 much as that"
Every true. Nevertheless, my brave
Solange, if l were to pay you every day
this sum of one hundred thousand francs
and continue those payments, not for a
week, or a month, or n year., but for
fourteen years, | should still have paid
you barely the value in gold represented
by this little boxful of stones They are
worth, in other words, at least five hun
bred million francs"
The soldiers jaws CAPPED, but came to-
gether again without n sound. His bluff
visage became pale. He stared stupidity
around him. He moistened his dry lips
with his tongue, but still was unable to
utter a word.
"You perceive, therefore, -" the emperor
continued, chat, as l said, it is no light
errand that you are to undertake. 1t is
not too much to say that you will nave
not only my fortune, but the future of
the empire in your hands.'
Observation-Disclosures gasped So
LANCE at last. Great Godi 1t is n night
marei Fiye-hundred-mill"-
Come, come; we are wasting time"
said the emperor briefly. lyon must
fix your mind, not upon the millions, but
upon the disposition you are to make of
them. You will carry the gems packed
in this box as part of your baggage, but
to protect you against custom house in
~vestigations they will be prepared in q
manner that will be afterward explained
to you. You will proceed from here to
New York, whittier q letter has already
been sent, informing the consignee there
of the probable date of your arrival and
of other necessary particulars. The
lame of this consignee is Harry Trent;
he is a diamond merchant in New York,
and a nan personally known to me. He
is instructed to retain them in his keep
ing until further ~notice-until the issue
of the coming war is decided. If we are
victorious the gems will be returned here,
If otherwise l shall follow them there.
Do you understand mel"
II do, sire" replied the soldier, who
had by this time recovered his self pos
Il btooiOiy AL iitA "do q hC" al VI DLlhG
in his demeanor, showing that he had
begun to appreciate the distinction that
had been conferred upon him.
1.-The route you will take" continued
the other, Twill not be the usual one
across the Atlantic. Wan might break
out before you arrive and your vessel
might be captured by the enemy's cruis-
ers. You will therefore cross France to
the Mediterranean and proceed thence
by way of Egypt to the Red sea, and SO
by way of Australia to the Isthmus of
Panama At Aspinwall, on the northern
side of the isthmus, you will take q
steamer to New Orleans, whence you
will travel ~ railway to New York.
You will, course, receive a memo
randum of 3 itinerary and of all the
other details of your journey. Do you
wish to say anything
"Only one thing, sire. 1t is possible
that death may overtake me on the
route. In that case"-
"In that case you will have lone your
best, and l shall regret the loss of a
faithful servan even more than of the
millions. No scheme that mortal mar
can devise is free from the liability to
error or miscarriage. Disaster may over.
take this, as well as others; but / shall
have the satisfaction of knowing that
adopted the surest means of success with
in my reach. However, we will antici-
pate your safe arrival. Meanwhile, go
and prepare yourself for the journey,