The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-20

cation Which the old man had with his
race, the only one in the village who
would approach him or allow his app
preach.
There was no subject about which
there was more discussion in Abblesey
| than whether old Conger had or had
not scraped together any valuables by
his toll on the beach and if he had.
where he kept them. Diverse opinions
Were held and stoutly defended. and
many a quarrel had arisen behind the
life boat house on these points.
Reiterated discussions of this kind at
length had a practical effect upon one
of the fishermen Jake Warper had
great liking for beer and tobacco. and
an even greater dislking for work, the
inevitable result being that he not only
suffered from a chronic lack of the lux
| uries, but that he and his numerous
| family had rarely even sufficient of the
bare necessaries of life, This man Of
ten thought to himself, as he listened.
how absurd it was to imagine cid Con-
ger having money without his knowing
| how to use it; the sooner it got into
the hands of some one who did know
what to do with it, the better. For
time his superstitious dread of the old
man held him back; it was no joke to
NEEDLE with man who might bewitch
you, or do you no one knows what kind
of dreadful evil but at last his cupidity
got the better of his fears and he
| planned a robbery.
/ Knowing the old mans habits and
haunts, it was easy enough for Jake to
choose a night when the sand-walker
was following the ebb miles away to
enter the cuddy Of the Sarah and Ann
and ransack it. There was not even
q lock to force; the side over the latch
was unsecured, and he had simply to
draw it back and drop in through the
opening. This he accordinSly did,
though with considerable misgiving
| 1T was foul den, and after he had
| closed up the hatchway again the
stencil of it almost sickened him, al
belt his stomach was none of the weak
| est. 1t was not high enough to allow
man to stand upright, and only bare
ly long enough for him to lie down in
at full length. 1t had probably never
been intended for anything more than
a store closet to hold spare sails and
| fishing gear. Underfoot the timbers
| narrowed sharply TO the keel but the
angle was filled in with heap of filthy
rags upon which it was evident that
the old man slept. A tin mug and two
or three old cooking kettles, one of
which was filled with water, were the
! only visible furniture of the place.
| Jake lit his candle and searched care
fully into all the crevices of the planks,
forcing his fingers into every Granny
large enough to admit them He ex-
pected every moment to hear the chink
of coins, but was disappointed. Then
he made sure the hoard must be hidden
under the rags on the floor, and set
| himself to turn them all over, but never
so much as a bolt of copper did he
| discover among them. So, cursing his
luck, he made up his mind that the old
man must have a hiding-place some
where in the cliff, and that sooner or
later he would track it, and so hurried
out through the hatch again glad to
breathe clean air.
If he could have seen into the den
when the Conger returned that night he
would have cursed louder than ever.
Before the old man had got quite
through the hatch he became aware
that there had been a stranger in the
Pio1N- l-CitiIlS OIOp On tilc
heap of rags he shook with terror,
great beads of perspiration burst out
on his forehead, and he muttered and
moaned like one in delirium. 1t was
some moments before he recovered
himself sufficiently to move about When
he could. he dragged aside the rags
with trembling hands and sank on his
knees on the bare timbers Running
l.; q
boats bottom he found a certain notch,
and there he pressed hard till a mar
row strip of wood was tilted out of its
place so that he could touch the sur
face of the ground upon which the boat
rested. Then he threw himself down
at full length beside the aperture and
thrust his arm through it. 1t was
evident that at one place there must
be deep hole in the ground, for his
arm sank in right up to the shoulder.
1t was full of stagnant water which
gurgled as he disturbed it, low cry
of relief escaped him, and withdrawing
his arm he fastened to light his lantern.
Then he spread a broad piece of rag
near the light and sank down again
beside the hole.
Up to this time his dog had looked
on with shivering curiosity but it
seemed to be satisfied now that affairs
would take their accustomed groove
and coiled itself up to sleep.
The old man CROPPED downward
through the black water to the bottom
of the hole and withdrew from it
handful of coins which he placed on
the rag. Again and again he plunged
in his arm, bringing up each time some
pieces of money or other treasure At
length these became scarcer and he
stirred up the pool into thick noisome
mud before his fingers could secure the
stragglerS. When there seemed to be
none left, he rose up and, seating him.
self beside the pile on the rag, ran his
fingers through it. The pinched and
anxious look had left his face and he
seemed to have grown suddenly young
er He commenced to sort out the
coins into little piles, muttering all the
While to himself just as he did when
walking alone by the sea. The light
of his lantern was so dim that he must
have recognized the coins rather by
touch than by sight; but he fingered
over the work as if it were very pleas
ant to him.
one two, three, four-where's the
other? All! here it is-fve Them five
from him the bark drowned. One, two,
three. yes that's right-that's the for
eigner. One, two. three, four, five, six,
seven-want some more yet Eight,
nine, ten, eleven. All. that was grand
haul. not many like that! Where's the
six from the fishing smack? Aye. an
then ten from him near Black Gap?
Aye! and that should leave eighteen
more in gold. that I've got at odd times