The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-10-05
CHAPTER I.

room in Shaftoe street, Bristol It was
an untidy room, and through the pun
gent incense of ships plug, which one.
of them was smoking, there 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
penis twined themselves into Shiny knots
ina glass case in one corner. And where
there were none Of these things there
were books-Dooks' everywhere-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 close
mat down over his wrists gave sug-
gestion Of burly outdoor strength
strangely homogeneous in such room
as this. His dress, which was that of a
captain in the merchant service, bore
out this appearance Of incongruity.
Presently he removed the pipe from
his mouth and, leaning forward, tapped
the other mans knee with the-stem
"Can we do it, doctor?" he asked
anxiously. ''The gold must be there;
enough of it to make us both million
aires, most likely. The point is-can
we lay our hands on it?'
At this question the other man rose
from his chair and walked over to the
glass case where the serpents were. For
fully five minutes he watched their
slow, purposeless contortions without
speaking. Then he returned to the ta-
BILE, reached for the tobacco jar and
rolled himself thin and very tight
cigarette Now, whether it was that DR..
Tring did not share his comrades 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-
anything, whether of encouragement or
the reverse, on the shriveled, chartlike
face Of his friend.
The doctor took a 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
"a 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
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 I told
your" said he
= CD. w lAOuoaU Az OVC1.
sAnd you don't think it can be done2
Man, it s bound to be million at leasti
And it's there, tell you, just waiting
for us to take it. =
81 don't go SO far as to say that it
can't be done, replied the doctor with
some hesitation. sit may be, Colepep-
per, it may be. But don't like to COM
NIT ynveolf mill IN c11ro -
"Oh, come, that's betterl' exclaimed
the captain with returning animation
IF you say it's possible at all, that's
enough for me. If DIR. Tring says
thing can be done, then DR.. Tring and
Captain Colepepper between 'em will do
it. .
"Umph" said the doctor shortly.
"a million of gold-or two millions,
maybe, I" went on the other, mouthing
the big numbers as though the very
manner Of saying them would make
them bigger. .We shall be able to do
things with that"
.sNo 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 log 2"
II 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 I
expect, added the captain meditative-
~, tPm called after him in a way, as
my names Nicholas too. But for the
matter O. that, my grandfatber's name
was Nicholas. There always has been
one in the family, you see. =
''And this Nicholas the First-what
was he2"
pirate, replied the captain shortly.
'tHe 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. I"
Eyes, !" said the doctor. ""The law
was not SO squeamish in those days as