The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-03


made through the lathing about a foot
square. The pieces had afterward been
spliced and a new coat Of plastering
overlaid. Ills curiosity was now excited
to know the object of the opening, so he
brought a hammer from chest and pro
ceeded to draw the nails. After remov.
ing the pieces he reached in and began
to explore. There was nothing to bs
found, however, so he washed his handR
and began to clear away the debris.
AS he was about to replace the pieceA
of lath no thought he saw string hang
ing down into the cavity. He reached
his hand again into the opening, took
I hold of the flarnent and palled, but ii
promptly broke. He examined the
fbers and discovered that it was an old
piece Of silk cord, new extremely rotten
and dincolored. He became more curl
Gus and resolved to trace the mystery TO
it's source. He reached his hand into
the cavity as far as he could, following
the cord. Again he pulled, and this
time it resisted and he felt something
at the other end move slightly. He
gave a stronger pull, b1,t the cord broke,
this time at its point of attachment.
He improvised hook by driving
nail into tle end Of piece Of board,
and with this succeeded in drawing
something toward him. Finally he was
able to reach the object Ho drew it in
front Of the opening, and with both
hands lifted an old mahogany box out
upon the floor. For some time he sat
staring at it in curious suspense.
'sWell, you are queer fish in queer
waters" said Severn to himself with
suppressed excitement. II guess you
must have lost your bearings or yon
would never have been swallowed by
this shark OF wall. I'll find out what's
inside of you at any rate" Dnd taking
up hammer he struck Tho old lock
heavy blow. He struck it again ard
again, bnt finally it broke and the lii
few open.
Severn drew back in establishment and
wonder, for ais eyes rested upon a large
leatnern bag, and beside it were two
bars of gold. With trembling hands he
loosened the strings Of the sack and
opened it to find it full of gold coins.
There were several compartments IN the
chest In one he found sparkling row
Of rings, and Us he held them up to the
light he saw by their brilliancy THAT
they were diamonds of rare value. He
found some papers that purported pos
session Of q large amount Of English
property in one Cyrus Holloway, great
grandfather of the present landlord.
There was al. inventory of the contents
of the box, aud Che amount counted up
into the hundreds OF thousands.
He was TerMhelmed by the discov-
cry and sat down to collect his thoughts.
He remem bered now of having once
heard that Mr.. Holloway had come of
wealthy ancestry, but that during the
Revolutionary war the largest part Of
the property had been lost, and that the
fortune Of the present Mr.. Holloway
was mostly of his own acquisition.
There could l,e no doubt but that the
box belonged by right to his landlord,
but the tenn tAtion was terrible. There
was no chance Of discovery if he kept it
himself, and besides it could add no
material hsppiness to its legitimate
owner. for he already had suf6ciency.
To Severn Il represented all the com
forts of life. lie could pay all his debts,
free his fathers farm from the mortgage,
complete his education and afterward
provide home for Mary.
The peIsptrstion stood in beads on
his forehead ~ he struggled against the
tempter. Finally he rose and with com
pressed lips donned his hat, and locking
the door behixsa him he turned his step.
toward Mr.. Eolloway's.
"Of course it's mine, every cent OF
it" said Mr.. Holloway. when an hour
later he stood before the opened box
His eyes CLEANED with satisfaction as
he beheld the contents. He tucked the
box under his coat and left the house
with an admonition to Severn to keep
quiet for 8 few weeks.
Severn fel. intensely relieved. 81
have been saved from worse fate than
poverty" he thought as he sat down to
his books. M
That evening Mr.. Holloway's agent
called to announce that Severn would
be allowed tins on his loan and that he
might have g, much better room il. ole
of his new houses, with unlimited time
for the payment of rent.
Severn was overjoyed; he sent the
money to his mother, moved into his
new quarters and afterward, by 9rsys-
FERROUS good luck, secured lucrative
work, by means of which he completed
his course il college very comfortably
Ga the day Of graduation MI. Holloway
met him at the door of the church, and
after grunting him congratulation in
vited him to call the next morning at
E;H Office.
At the appointed time he was on hand.
II need an honest man to attend to
my business, and if you wish to take the
position l offer you will be able to nay
what you owe me-" said Mr.. Holloway.
A year later Severn went away for
few weeks and when he returned Mary
came with him. Mr. Holloway proved
good friend i'll his way. and when he
died a goodly share of the proceeds of
the old chest passed as legacy to
Aa A rt1,ry Cavo1n -Chioauo E,pppiue,