Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-06-24

III my nand mad been accidentally
lshaken?
My curiosity was excited, and bent
close to examine the lid of this funeral
chest. There was no name on it-no
mark of any sort, save cne-a dagger
roughly painted in red Here was a
mystery! | resolved to penetrate it.
l set up my candle in a little crevice
of one of the empty inches, and laid the
, pearl and diamond pendant beside it,
thus disembarrassing myself OF all
! incumbrance. The huge coffin lay on
its side, as | have said; its uppermost
corner was splintered; l applied both
| hands to work the breaking further
asunder these already splint portions.
! AS | did so leather pouch or bag
rolled out and fell at my feet. [ picked
it up and opened tit was full of gold
pieces! More excited than ever, l seized
large pointed stone, and by the aid
! of this extemporized instrument, to-
! gether with the force of my own
arms, hands, and feet, | managed. after
some ten minutes hard labor, to break
open the mysterious casket
When | had accomplished this deed
| stared at the result like man stupi-
fed. No moldering horror met my
| gaze-nO bleached or decaying bones:
no grinning skull Knocked me with it's
hollow eye-sockets. | looked upon q
treasure worthy of an emperors envy!
The big coffin was literally lined and
hacked with iOca1cI1lo bIo r-aoItI, E-;f+;v
large leather bags tied with coarse
, cord lay uppermost; more than half of
these were crammed with gold coins,
the rest were full of priceless gems
necklaces, tiarras, bracelets, watches,
chains, and other articles of feminine
adOrnment were mingled with loose
precious stOnes-diamonds, rubies,
emeraldS, and Opdls, some of unusual
size and luster, some uncut, and some
all ready for the jewelers. setting.
Beneath these bags were packed a
number of pieces of silk, velvet, and
cloth of gold, each piece being wrap
ped by itself in a sort of oil-skin,
strongly perfumed with camphor and
ether spices. There were also three
lengths of old lace, fine as gossamer,
matchless artistic design, in perfect
| condition. Among these materials lay
two large trays Of solid gold work
manship, most eXquisitely engraved
and Ornamented, also four gold drink
iEg-cups, Of quaint and massive con-
structiOn. Other valuables and curl
GUS trifles there were, such as an ivory
statuette of Psyche on a silver pedes-
tai, a waistband of coins linked to-
gether painted fan with a handle set
in amber and turquois, a fine steel
dagger in a jeWeled sheath, and mir
70 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
frarcs-in all far surprising what |
had myself formerly enjoyed from my
own revenues. | plunged my hands
deep in the leather bags; I fingered the
rich materials; all this treasure was
mine! I had found it in my own burial
vault! I had surely the right to con-
slider it as my property? I began to
placed there without my knowledge?
The answer to this question occurred
to me at once. BrigandS! Of course!
what fool [ was not to have
! thought of them before: the dagger
| painted on the lid of the crest should
have guided me to the solution of the
/ mystery. A red dagger was the recog-
riZed sign-manual of bold and dan
gerous brigade named Carmelo Neri,
who, with his reckless gang, haunted
the vicinity of Palermo.
"SO!" [ thought, this is one of
your bright ideas, my cut-throat Car
melo! Cunning rogue. you calculated
well-you thought that none would
disturb the dead, much less break open
q coffin in search Of gold. Admirably
! planned, my Carmelo! But this time
/ you must play a losing game! A sup
/ posed dead man coming to life again
/ deserves something for his trouble,
and 1 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 | meditated for some minutes
on this strange affair. If, indeed
and I saw no reason to doubt it-I had
Glanced to find some of the spoils OF
the redoubtable Neri, this great chest
must lave been brought over by sea
from Palermo. Probably four stout
rascals had carried the supposed coffin
in mock solemn procession, under
the pretense of its containing the
body Of a cOmrade. These thieves have
a high sense of humor. Yet the ques-
ton remained to be solved-How had
they gained access to my vault, unless
by means of a false key? All at once
| was 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 light it again, but I was
puzzled to imagine the cause of its sud
den extinction. | looked about me in
the Temporary gloom and saw, to my
surprise, a ray Of light proceeding
from corner of the very niche where
had fixed the candle between two
stones. l approached and put my
hand to the place; a strong draughr
blew through a hole large enough tC
admit the passage of three fingers.
quickly relighted my torch, and ex
aiming this hole and the back of tn;
niche attentiyely, found that foul
blocks of granite in the wall had beer
removed and their places supplied by