The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-11

aboard Of this ship, SIR said. he. He was q
hard7facoa man, and yet could SEQ that he had
What's tho mnttcri"
"Murder's the matter, sir. There's a man
here with his brains beaten out"
Killed in tho stormi" said /.
Maybe 20, air. But iii DO surprised IL you
think so after you have seen him."
This way, sir.-hore In tho main deckhouse.'
There appeared to have been no nccommoda-
house for the Captain, another by tho MAR
hastchwSy with The cooks galley attached to i,
was to thu middle one that tho mato led me.
AS you entered, the galley with It's litter Of
tInablod pots and dishes was upon the right,
hunks for tho officers. Then beyond there was
a place about II foot square, which was III.
the walls were q number, of packets done up il
coarse cloth and carefully dashed to the wood.
striped red and White. Ii GHS the F EsG" was so So
where The iishtS ri diPcS Siis' upon pom L L T That O opS
scqnent measurement, 4 feet 3 inches in length,
3 feet . inches in height, and 3 feet across
But it was not TO the box that my eyes or
my thoughts, wero turned AS entered the store:
room nn On the floor, lying across the litter q
man, with a short, curling beard. He lay as
far as It was possible from the box, with his
crimson halo WINS printed upon tho white can
vas on which his load was resting, and little
Itu TlObDllS- WTtNIncu themselves around MS
swarthy neck and trailcd away on to the floor,
but there was no sign Of a wound that ] could
sec, and his face was as placid DIS that, Of a
l could perceive his injury, and then 1 turned
away with an exclamation Of horror. He had
standing behind him: A %friEhtful blow had
s smashed Il ! din in tho top Of his head and penetrated
placid, for death must have been absolutely "
instantaneous, and the position OF the wound
showed that he could never have seen the per.
is that foul play, or accident, Capt. Bar.
cl9ayf" asked my second mate, dcmurelly. :,
man has been murdered-struc down from
above by a sharp and heavy weapon. But who
"H e' was Snu a Common ,s sailor gru sir" said the mate,
You can sec that IL you look at his fingers
He turned out his pockets as he spoke. and
string and a bundle i Of brazilian iI,n' io iS,cc .af'0'
.Hullo. look Mt this said he.
blade which he had picked up from the floor.
The steel was shining and bright, 80 that wo
the dead man had apparently held It in his hand
when he was struck down, for 1t still lay within
1T looks to me, sir, as II he knew he was in
danger and kept his knife handy said the
mate. However, we can't help the poor begRar
dashed to the wall. They seem to be idols and
weapons. and curios of all sorts done up in old
That's right" said 1. ,...They are the only
things of value that we are likely to get from the
cargo. Hail the bark and tell them to send the
other quarter boat to help US get the stuff
While he was away 1 examined this curious
RR1h%nS aSrio Shiss w HaS Sc eo% %ra ippe our %p tR RSsf i eaSid
only form "A general idea as to their nature, but
the striped box stood in a good light where /
could thoroughly examine IL. On the lid, which
was clamped and cornered with metal work,
there was engraved a complex coat Of arms,
was able to decipher rs meaning: 'Thc treasure
chest Of Don Ramirez di Leyra, Knight of the
eral of Terra Firma and of the province Of Vera
Quas.' In one corner was the date 1906. and
S %ri the other le 8 h LARS white !S label, : upon which was
Questcd upon no account to open this box The
same, warming was, repeated underneath in
and heavy one OF engraved steel, with n Latin
motto, which was above a seaman's comprc-
By the time / had finished this examination Of
the peculiar box the Other quarter boat, with
Mr.. Armstrong. the first officer, had come along
side, and we began to carry out and place in her
the various cur!osities which appeared 10 be the
only objects worth moving from the derelict
bark, and then Allardyce and l, with the car
penter and one seaman, carried the striped box,
I %Ri g ~ e o Ins o baIa THING i !, Sn to our sbc bSat m and
die thwarts. for it was so heavy that it would
have given the boat a dangerous tilt had we
left him where We had found him. The mate
had a theory that at the moment of the deser-
ton OF the ship this fellow had started plumber
ing, and that the Captain. in an attempt to pre-
serve discipline, had struck him down with a
seemed more probable than any other %expIana.
tion. and yet 1t did not entirely satisfy me,
either. But the ocean is full of mysteries, and
we were content to leave the fate of the dead
seaman Of the Brazilian brig 10 be added to that
long list which every sailor can recall.
the deck OF the Mary Sinclair. and was carried
by four seamen into the cabin. where between
space for it to stand. There it remained dur
ing. supper, and after that meal the mates re.
manned with me and discussed over a glass of
Rrog the event Of the day. Mr.. Armstrong
was n long, thin, vnlturc.like man, an excellent
seaman, but famous for his nearness and cupid
ly, and already he had begun, with glisteninF
eyes, 70 reckon up how much it nigh, be worth
TO each Of US when the shares OF the salvage
"If the paper, said that they were unique,
Capt. Barclay, then they:may be worth ANYTHING
licvc the sums that the rich collectors give. A
thousand pounds is nothing TO them. Wen
have something to show for our voyage, or l
"Idon't think that" said / AS far as I
can see. they arc not very different from any
other South American curios."
well. sir. I've traded there for fourteen
voyages, and ] have never seen anything like
that chest before. That's worth a pile OF money
just as it stands. But it's SO heavy that surely
there must be something valuable inside it. Don't
III you break il open you will spoil it as lk ely
as not. said the second mate.
his Af hasd nS s oba siSa a anS h is f fonRt IF Phi it w ndse
within a few inches Of the lock"
The wood is oak" said he, and 1t has
shrunk q little, with age. Il ! had a chiscl or a
strong-bladed knife l could force the lock back
without doing any damage at all.
me think OF the dead seaman upon the brig.
II wonder If he could have been on tho job
when, some one came to interfere with him."
said |.
II don't know about that, sir, but I am per-
fcctly certain that ! could open the box. There's
IA scrcwdriver here in the locker. Just hold tho
lamp, Allardyce, and Ill have It done in II brace
of shakes"
Wait II Bit said I, for already. with eyes
which cleaned with curiosity and with avar-
ice. he was STOPPING over the lid. II don't see
that there is any hurry about this matter.
You've read that card which warns us not to
open il. II may mean anything or il may mean
nothing. but somehow feel inclined to obcr
y. After, all, whatever is in i Will keep, and
opened in the owners offices as in the cabin Of
the Mary Sinclair"
The first officer seemed bitterly disappointed
at my decision.
surely, sir. you are not superstitious about
it," said he, with u slight sncer upon his thin
lips. III ii gets ont of our own hands and wo
don't see for o.nrselves, what Is inside i we may
That's enough. Mr.. Armstrong.' said |