The times., 1900-12-30

and hummed and bit; a red and green par
rot sat on a bough and screamed at us
There was no attempt at concealing the
mouth Of the cave. Indeed. we presently
hit upon n regular path running from II
to the hut. but now green with rank
| weeds and grass.
THE poorest hidden treasured puzzle
I've ever heard Of" commented Mowbray,
striking match and entering. followed
by Paxton and myself. Wouldn't pass
muster on small boy. Talk about an
anti-climax-"
/ But here he started back with an oath
exclaiming that he had trodden ON a dead
body. In minute we were all three out
| side again.
''Tut, tut" said Mowbray, irritably and
unjustly. What are you running away
for? It's only dead man. But / wish
we had candle something Didn't
| we see lamp in the hut? VIII some-
body fetch it?''
| In a few minutes I returned with an
earthenware bowl full of cocoarut oil in
which swan a wick. Lighting this. we
| entered once more.
| Sure enough. not far inside the cave
lay man. his head pillowed on folded
rug. great white beard almost covered
| his face. reaching from the cheek-bones
! gled mat on his chest. His head was
quite bald. He lay straight, his hands
crossed on his breast. his lips parted in a
quiet smile. natural death, evidently.
And everywhere around him, and far
away back of him, were piled stacss and
| heaps of whitish- grey looking objects,
|. each somewhat the shape of Dutch
| cheese. but differing widely in size. The
cavern was broad and lofty, and its fur
ther end, so far as could be discerned in
the dim light. was filed with the things
whose mass reached nearly to the roof.
"Eberhardt Bech. presume" muttered
Mowbray, holding the light to the quiet
face. alias Cranky Jack the German.
But what in the name of all that's curl
Gus are those tnings? The maniac's hid
den treasurer"
"a treasure. indeed!" suddenly ex-
claimed Paxton. who had picked up one
OF the Jumps and was closely scrutinizing
1t. DO you know what this is? It's In
dia rubber. and, as far as I can judge, of
tho very finest quallty-equal to anything
ever saw in Brazil, and twenty times
the size they make the raw stuff into
there
Well said Mowbray, fndiferentIy,
ms OF no use to US, that know of. We
don't own factory for making garden
hose and goIoshes. Come along, let's
plant the old chap and clear out % this"
But. man aIiye," almost shouted Pax
ton, becoming, excited for once in his life.
You don't understand. Seei there's
tons and tons of the stuff! And it's worth
five shillings a pound at the last, and
constantly rising in pricei Look at this
lump I'm holdillg! It can't weigh less
than twenty pounds, and must be worth
hye or six sterling. Now look around you
ebxa 1r4 - -
are. and of larger size. too. Directly /
noticed all those clay pans and Gala
bashes, and the great fig over the hut,
and remembered what the fellow in the
lugger said about tapping trees, I began
to tumble to the secret. The tree was
one OF the finest specimens of fieus elas-
tica l ever saw. That dead man discov-
cred a forest of them. not far away. Dis
covered, evidently. also a very perfect
form of coaeulation-far before the ones
In common use. Three years treasure?
l should say so, Perhaps twenty or thir-
ty tonsi Think of IT, And 1 know what
I'm talking about! Pure? 1 should
smilei Looki" and Paxton bounced the
big lump till 1t flew of the ground like
football
This was probably the longest speech
Paxton had ever made in his life; and
certainly 1t was to some purpose. Vague
ly. Mowbray and myself knew that india
rubber was vegetable product; that 1t
was used in many ways, from erasing
pencil-marks to riding upon. But before
Paxton explained we did not know that
the worlds supply of caoutchouc was run
ming short, and the price consequently
running up in such fashion that a stock
such as lay around us actually meant
small fortune.
Still. there wasn't enough glitter about
the thing to induce enthusiasm; and
though Paxton convinced us, we took our
luck soberly enough. Underneath the
great tree we buried the old man, deep as
be could have wished. And then we set
to and loaded the Ruby, working night
and day, with much anxious watching
lest German gunboat should suddenly
appear and confiscate the whole outfit
But we got the lot safely on board and
away. Nor was Paxton mistaken in any
OF his assertions except in the matter of
price. There were twenty-f five tons of
caoutchouc. and 1t brought six shillings a
pound; figure that. after paying all ex-
penses. left US with considerably over
45,O0O as each mans share of the dead
gatnerer's heard.
We are now, thanks to the rise" thus
made. all three of US comparatively
wealthy men. And when we meet "un-
der the ishes.' which is pretty often. we
never part without drinking TO each 9TH
er, muttering meanwhile, a shibboietf Of
which people around can make nothing
'Caoutchouc." Arthur Barry in the
Strand Magazine.