Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-06-06

pieces. wore cAcllcu tllan ever, i
seized a large pointed stone. md by
the aid of this cXtcmporiZed inst.'u-
nent, together with the force IF my
own arms. hands and feet, managed
after some ten minutes hard labor
TO break open the mysterious raSkct.
When l had accomplished This deed
stared at the result like Il man stu
! pcted. No mouldering horror net my
gaZc-no blanchcd or decayins bones;
no grinning skull Knocked me with it's
| treasure worthy of an empcror's
envy! The big coffin was literally
lined and packed with incalculublc
wealth. Fifty large leathcrn bags
tied with coarse cord lay upperu.o.t.
More than half of these were
cralnmei with gold coins. the rest
We're full of priceless gcmsA necklaces.
tiaras. bracelets. Watches chains a1.d
other articles of feminine adornm ent
Were mingled with loose precious
stoncs-damonls, rubies. cmcrnlds
aud opals, some of unusual size and
luStrc. some uncut and some ,lrsaly
for the jewelers. setting. Beneath
these bags were packed Il numbcr Of
pieces of silk. velvet and cloth of ,old.
each piece being wrapped by itself i'll
Il sort of oil-SliiD. strongly perfumcd
With camphor and other spices.
There We're also three lengths If cid
lace, tine as sossamer, Of matchless
artistic design. in perfect condition..
Among these materials lazy two large
trays of solid gold workmanship. nest
cNQuisitely engraved and ornan1cntnh.
also -four drinking cups of quaint
and massive construction. Other
valuable and curious tritles there We're,
such as an ivory Statuette of Psyche
on a silver pedestal, q waiStband of
coins linked together n painted fan
with II handle set in amber and tur-
quoisc, Il fine steel dagger in n jcweled
sheath. and Il mirror framed in old
pearls. Last, but not least, at the
very bottom of the chest lay rolls
upon rolls of paper money amounting
to some millions of francs-n all far
surprising what had myself former
ly enjoyed from my own revenues.
plunged my hands deep in the leath-
ern bags: | fingered the rich mate
rails: all this treasure was mine!
had found it in my own burial vault!
| had surely the right to consider it as
my property. l began to consider
how could it have been placed there
without my knowledge? The answer
to this question occurred to me at
once. Brigands! OF cou.se!-what n
fool l was not to have thought of
them before the dagger painted on
the lid of the chest should have
guided me to the solution of the mys-
terry. A red dagger was the recog-
nizcd sign manual of bold and dam
Gus brigand named Carmelo Neri,
who with his reckless gang haunted
the vicinity of Palermo.
SOL" | thought. "rhis is one of
your brigh, ideas, my cut-throat Car
mclo! Cunning rogue! You calculated
well! You thought that none would
disturb the dead, much less break
open Il coffin in search of gold. Adj
m.r;bly planned, my Carmclo! But
this time YOU must play Il losing
game. y supposed dead man coming
To life again deserves something for
his trouble, and | should he Il fool not
To accept the goods the gods and the
robbers provide. An ill-gotten hoard
of wealth. no doubt:-but better in my
hands than i'll yours. friend Carmclo."
And mcdit:ltcd some minutes on
this strange affair. IT, indeed-and l
saw no reason to doubt i'll had
Glanced TO find some of the spoils of
the redorbtable Neri, this great chest
must have been brought over the sea
from Palermo. Probably four stout
rascals had carried the supposed coffin
in Il mock solemn procession, under
the prctcnse of it's containing the body
Of q comradc. These thieves had a
high sense of humor. Yet the 1ues-
ton remained to he Solvcd-how had
they gained access to my ancestral
vault unless by means of a false key?
All at once l was left in darkness
My candle went out as though blown
upon by gust of air. ] had my
matches and of course could easily
li-h: il again. but ! WAS puzzled to
imagine the cause of its sudden en-
''nrtion. looked about me in the
temporary gloom. and saw to my sur
Prise a ray of light proceeding from
corner of the very niche where l had
fixed the candle between two stones.
! approached and put my hand to the
place-,l strong dr;lusht blew through
hole large enough to admit the pas
sage of three fingers. quickly relit
my torch. and examining this hole and
the back of the niche attentively,
found that four blocks of granite in
the wall had been removed and their
places supplied by thick square logs
cut from the trunks of trees. These
logs were quite loosely fitted. took
them out easily one by one, and then
came upon close pile of brushwood.
AS gradually cleared this away a
large aperture disclosed itself vile
enough for any man to pass through
without trouble. My heart beat with
the rapture of of expected liberty; l
clambered up-I looked-thank God!
saw the landscape--the sky! In two
minutes l stood outside the vault on
the soft grass, with the high arch of
heaven above me, and the broad bay
of Naples glittering deliciously before
my eyes! l clapped my hands and
shouted for pure joy! was free!
Free to return to life. to love, to the
arms of my beautiful Nina free to re-
sumo the pleasant course of exist
ence on the gladstone earth-free to
forget, if could, the gloomy horrors
\ of nv nram0t1,ra hrrio1 Jf Nor,oolo