St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1899-05-06

CRY DL htlP. LEAP"
Harris then caught sight OF hole IN
the thick verdure and vines OF the pain
over which they had just come, and
approaching, found that Mike mad
fallen down the deep shaft OF an Old
Spanish well. With Van Weeks aid,
Harris quickly pulled away the vines
| arf1. eained a better idea of the dImen-
sions of the hole. 1t was six or seven
fleet across; they had walked unsas-
| pectingly along the very brink OF II.
| SIS the water deep, Mike? Can you
get foothold, to keep your head out!
Harris shouted down to him.
Little enough!" cried Mike. Sure
Its deep as the say and cowld as the
/ gravel"
/ Harris had a surveyors tapeline IN |
his pocket. He threw the reel END
down, holding fast to the other.
aCatch hold of that" he cried. Easy! |
EDon,t break it. 1t viii help you to keep
i vour head above water till we can get a
lime from the launch" He sent Pablo
of on run to fetch the line.
Some minutes elapsed before it could
be brought, and meantime Mike haa 10
smpport as little of his weight as pos
s.ble by the tape which Harris helo'
ana barely kept his head and neck
above the cold well water, like pull
| frog at the margin of tank.
Van Week then tied loop in the
, end of the launch-line and lowered It.
sNow get your foot in that Loop, Mike,
and then seize hold above, and we WILL
mill YOU out!" Harris called down to
him.
The combined strength of the three
barely sufficed to haul the Irlshman up.
Foot by foot they hoisted him. dripping
: and trying to aid them by catching
Itoe-bold and finger-hold here and there
In chinks of the old masonry. the
well had been lined up with stone
blocks. in cement.
Fl They had him within few feet OF
the top when his toe dislodged one OF
the stone blocks and it fell ldoWn Win
a splash. But the next moment Mike
got his arms out and was dragged forth'
4 very wet and Shiny object.
d "Bad 'cess to the haythen that leaves
o their wells uncovered" were his hrst
T. words, But thing about the hole
- in the wall from which the. stone BLOCK
E, had slipped appeared to interest him.
I for all dripping as he was, ne got Gown
d IN his knees and looked down att
fl s.I'm thinkin' that was a very quare
hole.n he said to Harris. "Dye Know,
o fancied caught the CLINT OF bottle a.
a / passed that hole, sor."
$, Harris and Van Week laughed tn'nK
r INC this hint that Mike desired some
I'd thing to warm him up. But he was no'
y joking. ).
aSure. / can see the nose av it now!
lg | he exclaimed. .'Wait bit. while. pu
d. me fut in the moose av the rope again
IN and Thin houid on tight while take
ie peep down.
III They let him down a few feet Whe
ne he drew out from the hole in the wei
nd wall a, large, square -shouldered betti
or of very clumsy shape.
as ST have itla cried Nike and the,
sir pulled him out again. "And now di
es veg ever see the likes OF that for
er bottle.', he exclaimed. "Bedad, bu
ST the ould stopper isno better than puni
ed What do ye make of it. sor: ne asRes
ms and handed it to Harris
or THE bottle was d lopsdded affair
impure green glass. and contained VIVA
by looked through the glass like sma
of bullets, Harris picked out the st oppe
EN- which was of wood wrapped IN cTun
eer bling leather. Some moments Wel
ad REQUIRED to extract it. To their grez
I'm surprise, the round. bullet-hke obJec
me rroyed to be large pearls, some OF the
ng very beautiful. There were l4s
- them.
yht van Week, who had seen jewels az
Old nearla in Holland, was Of the oplnae
the that they were of great value.
req Their first thought, after looking
llo, the contents of the bottle, was
search the hole in the wall for furth
ms treasure. But they found nothing
the cept. small, moldering box with
by yer crockets at the corners Ihis :
cal ing opened. was found to contain O.
ses colored parchmentss evidently OF =
rch nature of royal letters or deeds OF g
or conveyance, and also exactly hu
our dred Spanish gold coins of apparent
or about the weight and value of
one aoubloon.
md '.Well, Mike, this is your find ID;
nee ris said to him. '.I congratulate yol
aft. Faith, then. how wpd hey found
first if yez hadnst pulled me out OF the o.
tied well? Tell me that. sorr!" exclaim
red Mike.
wn- what is your idea, then?' Har
own asked him.
r to "share and share alike, sor. Tn
it is wud be no other fair way"
man "Ineluding Pablo?"
% in "sure! Didn't the nayger help P
'ath. me out 2"
the They steamed back to the city q
was showed the pearls to a dealer the
ood- The man was astonished at the
,self and beauty Of many Of them,
the would not say what he thought 7
hum were worth An English dealer
vine length rated the market value
dis a,610. or not far from s16,55o.
d a They had little doubt that this
boot. lie OF pearls and the box had been
Q the cealed IN the well at the time when
been city was taken by the pirates m
than two centuries ago. and that
aan. person who secreted them had peris
gem in the sack of the town. There &C
shall be no hope, therefore, of finding
nd go rightful possessors.
me Tt will not be thought strange