Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-08-10
AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY,
BY !. r, ARMSTRONG,

bacco and bakers goods enough to
make total value of one hundred
dollars.
Il don't care for the money" he
repeatedly insisted. What makes me
mad, though, is their taking advan-
tage of my deafness and coming in
here during Georges absence-that's
meanness! I'd give twice its value to
see them we'll settled where they be-
long"
Gaius and l, upon my return with
the news, became SO absorbed in dis
cusSing it that what he was to tell
me was forgotten until the following
evening, when he CALLED my atten-
ton to the lights and a diagram he
had made, illustrating tick relative
positions.
kneeling at the window, the sill of
which was very high, he said, This
straight, horizontal line represents
the level of the window-ledge, and
these little circles at different heights
above the line and scattered along the
paper are the thirteen houses visible
in the daytime on the other side of the
river. You see some of the circles
contain each dot inside; they are
the houses where lights ae commonly
seen evenings.
Il saw only seven lights when /
drew this, and they are SO widely
separated l think they can all be To-
Gated by daylight but now | can see
eight lights-the new one is pretty
near those two farthest downstream.
If that proves to be the one we have
often seen at midnight, l would like
to know just where it is"
Probably it is in the room of some
invalid" said /; perhaps the house
where we saw that consumptiye
young man the first time we were
across the river Don't you remem-
Der the fellow who tried to sell US
the fancy pigeons?"
Yes; and by daylight l can make
out the farmhouse. | should not be
surprised if it were the same place"
Sticking pin into the window
sash, he took from the stand a strip
of pasteboard, made pinhole through
one end, and looked through it at the
pin and the distant light.
That's all right" said he, pulling
the stand under the window. Upon
it he piled books, in such Il position as
to hold the pasteboard strip perpen-
dicularly. Then he peeped through
the pinhole as if it We're gun-sight,
and carefully adjusted it at the right
elevation. Turning to me, he said,
Look through it."
l did so, and saw that pinhoIe, angie
and light were exactly on the line.
Now let it remain there till day
light, and We'll see then what house
were aiming at" said he.
Say, Ebert" called Gaius, early
next morning, "have you been med
ding with this?"
why, no, of course notr' ! replied,
with a touch of indignation. whats
the matter:"
1T doesn't point at any house this
morning." he said.
What does it point atT' l asked.
why, there's nothing in range ex-
ccpt that old pile of rubbish on the
farther bank of the river, There isn't
much to be seen but part of a roof,
= and that seems to be fat on the
ground. One thing is certain, any
now; the light is not ut the house
where We saw the sick man"
| went downstairs and returned
with tield-glass borrowed of a board
er. 1t disclosed very little, and SO l
said, "When we can get the time,
Gay, let's go over there and inspect
the premises; my curiosity is reused
about this business"
'I1l go,' Gaius replied. Lets say
Saturday afternoon, if it does not
rain"
We saw the light as usual on Thurs
day and Friday evenings, and Satur
day afternoon found US early on the
opposite side of the river, which we
reached n a rowboat. With the
sluggish current We moved slowly
toward a point opposite the rubbish
heap. There we pulled ashore in
shallow water.
The rubbish-heap appeared to be the
ruins of house, little of which re-
mained except the roof, which, upon
the collapse of the supporting tim
bers, had fallen and split apart. One
half stood on edge on the cellar bot
tom, the other half lodged on the first
and on the wall in such a manner as
to enclose and re-roof about a third
of the cellar.
There was no entrance discoverable,
no holes through which anything ex-
cept impenetrable gloom could be dis
tingushed, and nothing in surround
ings Oh the outside mass of rubbish
broken boards, rotten straw, sawdust
and go forth-to indicate the presence