Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-06-06

DitttS. HiOIe GACllbu tidu ever, L
seized a large pointed stone, and by
the aid of this extemporized inst:u-
ment, together with the force IF my
own arms, hands and feet, l managed,
after some ten minutes hard labor,
to break open the mysterious casket.
When l had accomplished this deed
1 stared at the result like a man stu
pefied. No Wondering horror net my
gaze-no blanched or decaying bones;
10 grinning skull Knocked me with its
hollow eye-sockets. l looked upon a
treasure worthy of an empcror's
envy! The big coffin was literally
lined and packed with incalculable
wealth. Fifty large leathern bags
tied with coarse cord lay upperu,ost.
More than half of these were
crammed with gold coins, the rest
were full Of priceless gems necklaces,
tiaras, bracelets, watches, chains ard
other articles Of feminine adornme nt
werr mingled with loose precious
stones-diamouds, rubies, enleralds
and opals, some of unusual size and
lustre, some uncut and some already
for the jewelers. setting. Beneath
these bags were packed Il number Of
pieces of silk. velvet and cloth of ,oid,
each piece being wrapped by Itself in
a sors Of oil-skin, strongly perfumcd
with camphor and other spices.
There were also three lengths If cid
lace, fine as gossamer, OF matchieSs
artistic design, in perfect condition..
Among these materials lay two large
trays of solid gold workmanship, most
exquisitely engraved and ornamenteh,
also four drinking cups OF quaint
and massive construction. Other
valuable and curious tribes there were,
such as an ivory s~tatuette Of Psyche
on a silver pedestal, a waistband OF
coins linked together, a painted a
with a handle set in amber n tur-
uuoise, a fine steel dagger in a jeweled
sheath, and a 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 f~rancs-in all far
SURPRISING what / had myself former
ly enjoyed from my wi revenues. l
plunged my hands deep in the leath-
ern bags; I fingered the rich mate
rails: all this treasure was mine! l
had found 1t in my own burial vault!
l had surely the right to consider 1t as
my property. I began to consider
how could It have been placed there
without my knowledge? The answer
to this question occurred to me at
once. Brigands! or cou-se!-what a
fool / 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-
nized sign manual Of a bold and dan
Gus brigand named Carmelo Neri,
who with his reckless gang haunted
the vicinity Of Palermo.
"So!" l thought. "This Is one OF
your bright ideas, my c~ut-throat Car
melo! Cunning rogue! You calculated
well! You thought that non would
disturb the dead, much less break
open a coffin in search of gold. Ad-
m.rably planned, my Carmelo! But
this time you must play a losing
game. A supposed dead man coming
to life again deserves something for
his trouble, and l should be a 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 In yours, friend Carmelo!'
And l meditated some minutes on
this strange affair. IL, indeed-and /
saw nc reason to doubt it, had
CHANGED to find some OF the spoils of
the redoubtable Neri, this great chest
must have been brought over the sea
from Palermo. Probably four stout
rascals had carried the supposed coffin
in a mock solemn procession, under
the pretense of it's containing the body
of a comrade. These thieves had a
high sense of humor. Yet the ques-
ton remained to be solyed-how had
they gained access to my ancestral
vault unless by mean Of a false key?
All at once l vas left In darkness.
My candle went out as though blown
upon by a gust of air. l had my
matches, and of course could easily
ligb. Ii again. but / was puzzled TO
imagine the cause Of its sudden ex-
tinction. l looked about me in the
temporary gloom, and saw to my sur
prise a ray Of light proceeding from a
corner of the very niche where i had
fixed the candle between two stones.
l approached and put my hand to the
place-a strong draueht blew through
a hole large enough TO admit the pas
sage OF three fingers. l quickly relit
my torch, and examining this hole and
the back of the niche attentively,
found hat four blocks of granite I'm
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 a close pile of brushwood.
As l gradually cleared this away a
large aperture disclosed itself wide
enough for any to pass through
without trouble. My heart beat with
the rapture of of expected liberty; 1
clambered up-I looked-thank God!
l saw the landscape--the sky! In two
minutes / stood outside the vault on
the soft grass, with the high arch OF
heaven above me. and the broad bay
of Naples glittering de~liciously 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, IL I could, the gloomy horrors
OF my premature burial. Ii Carmelo