The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-10-07

colorod than that which surrounded the
edge of the broken patch. He drew his
chair closer to the wall, and in examia.
ing found that hole had once boen made
through the lathing about a foot square.
| The pieces had afterward been spliced
and new coat Of plsstering overlaid.
| His curiosity was now excited to know
tho object of the opening, and so he
brought o hammer from a chest and
proceeded to draw the nails. After re-
moving the pieces he reached in and be-
gan to explore. There was nothing to
be found, however, so he washed his
hands and began to clear away the de-
bris.
As he was about to replace the
pieces of lath he thought he saw a
string hanging down into the cavity.
He reached his hand again into the
opening, took hold Of the filament and
pulled. but it promptly broke. He e1-
amined the fibers and discovered that IL
was an old piece of silk cord, now ex-
tremely rotten and discolored. He be.
came more curious and resolved to trace
the mystery to its source. He reached
his hand into the cavity rs 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 q stronger pull, but
the cord broke, this time at the point Of
attachment.
He improvised hook by driving O
nail into the end of piece of board,
and with this succeeded in drawing
something toward him. Finally he was
able to reach the object. He drew il 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.
"Well, you are queer fish in queer
waters" said Severn to himself with
suppressed excitement. II guess you
must have lost your bearings or you
would never have been swallowed by
this shark of wall I'll find out what's
inside of you at any rate," and taking
up hammer he struck the old lock a
heavy blow. He struck it again and
again, but finally it broke and the lid
flew open.
Severn drew back in astonishment
and wonder, for his eyes rested upon
large leathern 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 a sparkling
row of rings, and as he held them
up to the light he saw by their briliancy
that they were diamonds of rare value.
He found some papers that purported
possession OF large amount of English
property in one Cyrus Holloway, great
grandfather of his present landlord.
There was an inventory of the contents
OF the box and the amount counted up
into the hundreds of thousands.
He was overwhelmed by the discoy.
cry and sat down to collect his thoughts.
He remembered 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.. Hollo-
way was mostly of his own acquisition.
There could be no doubt that the box
belonged by right to his landlord, but
the temptation was terrible. There
was no chance of discovery if he kept It
himself, and besides it could add no
material happiness to the legitimate
owner, for he already had suficiency.
To Severn it represented all the COM
forts of life. He could pay all his
debts, free his fathers farm from the
mortgage, complete his education and
afterward provide home for Mary.
The perspiration stood in beads on his
forehead as he struggled against the
tempter. Finally he arose and with
compressed lips donned his hat, and
locking the door behind him he turned
his steps toward Mr.. Holloways.
"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 ss he
beheld the contents. He tucked the
box under his coat and left the house,
with An admonition to Severn to keep
quiet for few weeks.
Severn felt intensely relieved. II
have been saved from worse fate than
poverty" he thought, as he sat down to
his book.
That evening Mr.. Holloway's agent
called to announce that Severn would
be allowed time on his loan, and that he
might have much better room in one
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 myster-
ious good luck, secured lucrative work,
by means of which he completed his
course in college very comfortably. On
the day of graduation Mr.. Holloway
met him at the door OF the church, and,
after grunting congratulation, invited
him to call the nsxt morning st his
office.
AT the appointed time he was on
hand. II need an honest man to at
tend to my business, and if you wish to
take the position / offer you will be able
to pay what you ewo me-" said Mr..