The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-11-07

y w
He passed his hand oyer his forehead.
acter according to Its place in combi.
nation. This plan enables words to be
written with much fewer letters than
are contained in the ordinary alphabet
and to be expressed with not more than
four characters-as, one to represent the
root of the word, one for the termina-
tions, one for the part of speech, one for
such common combinations as ion, ght,
ment, phi, and SO on. Thus, if in the
cipher ikmn meant writing, then iklm
would mean writer, illnm written OF
wrote, and kiln to write. Further mod
iications were indicated by the capita,
letters, and others of different kind by
the periods and commas.
But it will not be necessary to carry
these hints any further. Enough has
been said to enable the reader, if he be
so minded, to work out the problem
Keppel in the course of twenty minutes
had read the cipher letter. which, trans
lated from the French into English, rar
as follows:
Arrangements have been perfected.
Name of messenger, Maurice Solange.
Trust him. He leaves Paris February
fifteen. Will take easterly route, anG
should arrive not later than June. He
will telegraph from Panama. Send tc
meet him at New Orleans. Treasure
packed in box, concealed, as already ad-
vised. Approximate value, twenty mill
ion pounds sterling. In case of rob
berry, death or accident inform us by
cable. On receiving treasure store qui-
city (phno) in private vault. Rate OF
commission, one per cent. per annum.
We intend to declare war in early sum-
mer, but circumstances may delay.
Winter campaign not desired. If sue
cessful Solange will bring back treasure.
Keep him with you meanwhile. If de-
feated we shall leave at once for New
York incognito (ngil F.). Empress and
son to England. Keep us constantly in
formed of your movements Estimate
SO far as possible whether American
sympathies incline toward France OF
Germany Would it be advisable tc
bring about collision between Germany
and United States! Is it possible that
arrangements can still be made about
Mexico? If we miscarry with Germany
something must be done to consolidate
and stimulate imperial sentiment here.
Our hand and seal"
The political immortality indicated by
this document did not at the time par
ticularly impress Keppel; his interest
was monopolized by that part of the let
ter relating to the treasure. For some
minutes his mind staggered in bewilder-
ment at the suggestion presented to it.
1t seemed far more incredible now than
before that's great fortune should actu-
ally be within his reach. He had dreamed
wild dream of hundreds of thousands
of dollars and it had almost seemed real
to him, but now that he heard, as it
were, the very jingle of hundred mill
ions he could net believe it. And yet
the evidence that fortune not less vast
lay possibly within few yards of where
he was sitting was more than plausible
The more he examined it the more plaus-
ible did it appear.
He endeavored to review the situation
step by step. He had found a man who
manifestly carried some weighty secret
on his mind. This man, who was dying
of yellow fever, spoke of one Maurice as
being dead and as haunting him. Who
could Maurice be but the Maurice So
lange mentioned in the cipher letter?
Maurice, then, according to the letter,
had been dispatched in charge of treas
ure to America by way of India and the
Eo r ~ fr,. IL;
making such a voyage to be visited by
yellow fever. Maurice may have died
of it, or he may have been murdered.
Be that as it might, the man whose body
lay within there had evidently got hold
of the treasure and had brought it here.
He had said that he meant to dispose of
it piece by piece He had spoken of the
emperor. Who could this emperor be
but Napoleon? And by whom, unless by
Napoleon, could the cipher letter have
been written? Napoleon, for reasons of
hia own, had determined to send this
treasure to some one in New York. Who
was that person? The cipher letter had
been found in the pocket of Harry Trent.
There was therefore no escape from the
conclusion that Harry Trent must have
been the consignee of the treasure
Harry Trent, again, was a dealer in
precious stones, and was known to be
personally acquainted with the French
emperor. The pieces of the puzzle fitted
into one another like mosaic. And by
a strange fatality Keppel Darke, who
had been wrongfully accused of murder
ing Trent, had, through that accusation,
been brought in contact with a fortune
not inferior to any in the world.
But where was the treasure? Was it
in the neighborhood?
Keppel looked about him. A. garden
two or three acres in extent, long since
gone to seed, adjoined the house. Out
side the garden was waste of stunted
woodland, extending to the swamp on
one side and toward the ocean on the
other. To the westward lay a sort of
pasture, with few struggling apple
trees growing upon it. The place was
deserted farm, such as is often met with
on Long Island, and may not have been