The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-08-02


the officers with charts of the part of
the Agra fort and mark the place in
the wall where the treasure was hid.
Mai. Sholto was to go to India to test
our story If he found the box he was
to leave it there, to send out small
yacht provisioned for voyage, which
was to lie off Rutland island, and to
which we were to make our way, and
finally to return to his duties. Capt.
Morstan was then to apply for leave of
absence. to meet US at Agra, and there
we were to have final division of the
treasure, he taking the majors share
as well as his own. All this we sealed
by the most solemn oaths that the
mind could think or the lips utter. 1
sat up all night with paper and ink,
and by morning had the two charts
all ready, signed with the sign of four
that is, of Abdullah, Akbar, Mahomet
and.myself.
well, gentlemen, weary you with
my long story, and 1 know that my
friend Mr.. Jones is impatient to get
me safely slowed in chokey. I'll make
cit as short as 1 can. The william,
Sholto, went off to India, but he never
came back again. Capt. Morstan
showed me his name among a list of
passengers in one Of the mail boats
very shortly afterwards. His uncle
had died, leaving him a fortune, and he
had left the army, yet he could stoop
to treat five men as he had treated us.
Morstan went over to Agra shortly
afterwards, and found, as we expected,
that the treasure was indeed gone. The
scoundrel had stolen it all. without
carrying out one of the conditions on
which we had sold him the secret.
From that day l lived only for VEN
geance. 1 thought of it by day and l
nursed it by night. 1t became an over
towering, absorbing passion with me.
cared nothing for the law-nothing
for the gallows. To escape, to track
down Sholto, to have nv hand upon his
throat-that was my one thought. Even
the Agra treasure had come to be a
smaller thing in my mind than the
Staying of Sholto
''Well, have set my mind on many
things in this life, and never one which
did not carry out. But it was weary
years before my time came. have
told you that l had picked up some
thing of medicine. One day when DR..
Somerton was down with fever lit
tie Andaman islander was picked up
by convict gang in the woods. He
was sick to death, and had gone to
lonely place to die. l took him in
hand, though he was as venomous as a
snake, and after couple of months L
got him all right and able to walk He
took kind of fancy to me then, and
would hardly go back to his woods,
but was always hanging about my hut.
LEARNED little of his lingo from him,
and this made him all the fonder of me.
''Tonga-for that was his name-was
a fine bOatman. and owned a big, roomy
canoe of his own. When found that
he was devoted to me and would do
anything to serve me, saw my chance
of escape. talked it over with him.
He was 20 bring his boat on a certain
night to an old wharf which was never
guarded, and there he was to pick me
up. l gave him directions to have sew
eral gourds of water and lot of vans,
cocoanuts and sweet potatoes.
He was staunch and true, was little
Tonga. No man ever had a more faith
full mate. At the night named he had
his boat at the wharf. As it CHANGED,
however, there was one of the convict
guard down there-a vile Pathan who
had never missed a chance of in
sulting and injuring me. 1 had
always vowed vengeance, and now
had my chance. l was as if
fate had placed him In my way that
might pay my debt before left the
island. He stood on the bank with his
back to me and his carbine on his
shoulder. looked about for a stone to
beat out his brains with, but none
could 1 see. Then a queer thought
came into my head and showed me
where could lay my hand on a weap-
on. I sat down in the darkness and I'M
strapped my wooden leg. With three
long hops l was on him. He put his
carbine to his shoulder, but l struck
him full and knocked the whole front
of his skull in. You can see the split
in the wood now where hit him. We
both went down together, for could
not keep my balance, but when l got
up found him still lying quiet enough.
/ made for the boat and in an hour we
were well out at sea. Tonga had