Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-06-15
CHAPTER |.
THE YELLOW MANUSCRIPT.

OF them was smoking, tnere struggled
another and more unpleasant odor, the
musty spirituous smell of badly kept
anatomy museum. Human skulls and
arm bones Uttered the tables, monstrosi-
ties in wide mouthed bottles jostled
other stuffed and moldy monstrosities on
the shelves and couple of bloated SER
pents twiNed themselves into Shiny knots
in glass case in one corner And where
there were none of these things there
were books-books verywhere-even
in the corners of the deep armchair in
which one of the men Che of the ships
plug) was sitting Their sharp edges
made dimples in the comfortable round
ness of his figure, but he was excited.
and if they hurt him he did not seem
TO notice it.
He was big man, red faced and
heavy, and the hair growing in a close
mat down over his wrists gave a sug-
gestion of burly outdoor strength
strangely homogeneous in such room
as this. His dress, which was that of n
captain in the merchant service, bore
out this appearance of incongruity.
his mouth and, leaning forward, tapped
the other mans knee with the stem.
"Can we do it. doctor?'' he asked
anxiously. 1.-THE gold must be there;
enough of it to make MS both million
aires, most likely. The point is-can
we lay our hands on itl"
AT this question the other man rose
fr,,,, bic oboir nnJ VyolloJ oyor 70 n
glass case where the serpents were. For
fully five minutes he watched their
slow, purposeless contortions without
speaking. Then he returned to the ia
BILE, reached for the tobacco jar and
rolled himself a thin and very tight
cigarette Now, whether it was that DIR.
Tring did not share his comrade S ex-
citement or that his leathery brown
face was too thickly scared with deep,
permanent lines to allow any passing
emotion to affect his expression it is
impossible to say, but the fact remains
that even Captain Nicholas Colepep-
per's sailors eye was unable to read
anything, whether of encouragement or
the reverse, on the shriveled, chartlike
face of his friend.
The doctor took long pull at his
cigarette, drew the smoke deep down
into his lungs and kept it there for
about half minute; then he spoke, and
with each word the imprisoned smoke
crept furtively in broken spurts from
his mouth and went to Join forces with
the heavy clouds which the captain was
blowing with impatient energy from
his pipe.
Captain Colepepper sir, you ask me
whether we can raise that Spanish gold
Ga whole shipload of it, if your story
is true) from where it now lies, imbed-
ded deep in the ooze of the Atlantic. l
answer you that don't know"
The captain had evidently expected
q more encouraging reply, and the
vicious way in which he bit at his pipe
stem showed how much he was disap-
pointed
you've thought over what 1 told
you ?" said he
Eyes. I've thought it over"
"And you don't think it can be done
Man, it's bound to be a million at least
And it's there, tell you. just waiting
for us to take it. "
Il don't go SO far as to say that it
can't be done" replied the doctor with
some hesitation. 1T may be, Colepep-
per, it may be. But don't like to COM
NIT myself until IN sure"
"Oh, come, that's BETTER" exclaimed
the captain with returning animation
eff you say it's possible at all, that S
enough for me. If DR.. Tring says a
thing can be done, then DR.. Tring and
Captain Colepepper between EN- will do
it"
"Umphl" said the doctor shortly.
"a million Of gold-or two millions,
maybe" went on the other, mouthing
the big numbers as though the very
manner Of saying them would make
them bigger. 1--WE shall be able to dc
things with that"
mo doubt, said the doctor dryly,
"if we get it, but it seems to me that
if we try we're more likely to lose the
little we have and our lives, too, per-
haps"
"But the manuscript, doctor, the
manuscript" It's all down there as
plain as the rule O the road at sea. -
"Who was this Nicholas Colepepper,
and where did you find his logT"
81 found the log in a lumber chest
down at our old farmhouse in Devon
shire, and the Nicholas Colepepper who
wrote it was an ancestor of mine.
expect" added the captain meditative-
ly, II m called after him in II way, as
my names Nicholas too. But, for the
matter O. that my grandfather name
was Nicholas. There always has been
one in the family, you see,
"And this Nicholas the First-whai
was hep
Pirate, replied the captain shortly.
"He doesn't say so himself, of course.
Calls himself an honest buccaneer in
his log, but expect pirate was about
the real size of it.
Yes said the doctor. THE law
was not SO squeamish in those days as
it is now don't fancy you need ht
afraid that You are doing an injustice
70 your ancestors memory Piracy was
an eminently respectable calling in thu
time of good Queen Bess -
"Of course it was!' agreed Captain
Colerepper excitedly. "And don't you
see, that's Just what makes me so cock
sure that the story is truel"
DR.. Tring nodded, and. toying alb
sently with human thigh bone which
1r;,, he tnl I-a1 G.