The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-11-22

plunuer, upOu buc 'uOOhS y oO""~y'
this which, turned into cash, would
have made a man rich beyond the
dreams of avarice, was the possession
of one who lived like miserly beggar,
grudged himself and his flesh and
blood the common necessaries Of life,
and had never been known, from boy
hood upward, to give starving fellow
creature SO much as a crust of bread
or to drop penny into the poor boxl
% William Jonesl o William Jonesl
William Jonesl
The above reflection belongs not to
the present writer, but to my adven-
turous discoverer, the captain Of the
caravan.
AS Brinkley proceeded on his tour OF
inspection he became more and more
struck with wonder. Nothing seemed
too insignificant or too preposterously
useless for secretion in that extraor-
binary ships cavern. There were
mops and brooms, there were holy
stones, there were "squeegees, there
were canisters Of timed provisions,
there were bags Of weevil'd biscuits,
there were sacks Of potatoes (which
esculents, long neglected, had actually
sprouted and put forth leaves), there
were ring-bolts, there were tin mugs
and pannildns, and, lastly, mirabile
dictu, there were books-said books
lay piled on the top Of heap OF sacks
and were in the last stage Of mildew
and decay. For what purpose had
they been carried there? Certainly
not to form library, for William
Jones could not read. As curiosity
deepened, Brinkley opened some of the
forlorn volumes covered with mildew
and full of hideous crawling things.
Most were in foreign tongues, but
there were several English novels half
century old, and book OF IA
nous Voyages" also in English.
Near to them were some large paper
rolls-ships charts, evidently, and al
most falling to pieces. And on the
top of the charts was tiny prayer
book, slime-covered and dripping wetl
What possessed Brinbley to examine
the prayerbook | cannot determine,
but in after years he always averred
that IL was an inspiration. At any rate
he did open it, and Jaw that the ily-
leaf was covered with writing, yellow,
difficult TO decipher, fast fading away.
But what more particularly attracted
his attention was loose piece OF
parchment, fastened TO the title-pago
with rusty pin, and covered also with
written characters.
Fixing the candle on nook in the
damp wall he inspected the title-page,
and deciphered these words;
"Christmas-eve, 1854, on board the
ship Trinidad fast breaking up on
the Welsh coast. II any Christian soul
should find this book and these lines
where | place them, II they sink not
with their bearer ION whom / leave my
last despairing blessing) to the bottom
Of the sea, or II God in His infinite
mercy should spare and save the little
child" (The book trembled In his
hand as he read. The writing went
on:) 81 cast her adrfft In her cradle In
| bRnL OF bHOTe, Oh htbAo heAe iheoo "
my own hands. 'Tis o desperate hope.
but He can work miracles, and II II II
His will she may be saved. Attached
TO this holy book are the proofs Of hei
poor dead mothers marriage and my
darlings birth. May she live TO In
,herit my name. Signed, MATTHEW
THoRPE MONK, Colonel Fifteenth Cav
airy, Bengal" r.a IS, ~. -
The mystery was deepening indeed
At'last Brinlsley thrust the book an'
Its contents into his pocket and, afte
one look round, took the candle ant
made his way up the rocks and out o
the cave. When he saw the light o
day above him he blew ont the ligh
and crawled up through the aperture
Then, standing on the lonely sand hill
he surveyed the scene on every side
There WINS no sign OF any living SOU
Carefully, but rapidly, he returne
the trapdoor TO Its place, covered
with the stones and liberal handfuls G
loose sand and walked away, talSin
. care for the first hundred yards I
obliterate his footprints as he went
INI" 49,