The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1902-11-15

quest, for he knew that his daugh-
ter's interests would be safe in the
hands of that gentleman. As soon
as the business could be adjusted, the
happy pair sailed for America, ex-
pecting Karl to reappear upon the
scene at any day to take charge of
affairs there at Berlin.
But he did not come, and, unknown
to them, was anxiously awaiting
word from the beloved fatherland.
Finally he wrote his sister a letter
of inquiry as to her silence, which
reached her a few days after her
arrival in America. Three months
more passed, and at the time of the
final struggle with the mysterious
piano Mrs. Briggs was daily expect
ing another missive from her wan
dering brother.
The letter failed to come; but the
brother arrived in it's stead. Sun
burned, weary, and heartily salts
fled to refrain thereafter from his
long, aimless journeys, he appeared
at her door one morning, to be well
come.
Explanations over, he began to
glance casually about the room, and
Immediately his eyes fell upon the
new piano.
whats this for?" he queried.
where's fathers piano?"
Its haunted" replied Mrs. Briggs,
with subdued voice
Haunted? Tut, tut!" And without
further comment he seated himself at
the familiar old instrument at the
opposite side of the room. Eagerly
he struck the central note +, then
listened intently. Next the note +,
G.; and as the laughter began its
wierd reverberations he turned to his
sister with smile of triumph.
Haunted, is it?" he cried, exultant-
ly. mo, no, Gretna. That's just what
was hoping for. Come, sit down, and
I'll tell you all about it."
Leading her to divan near by, he
seated himself beside her, and began
to explain carefully the hitherto un-
fathomed mystery.
"When was about to leave on this
last trip, you remember, father
called me to him and we had long
conversation. That morning he told
me for the first time the exact
amount of his fortune-about $10,-
000,000 in American money-and gave
me working knowledge of his three
establishments. He had long been
thinking of selling his interest in the
factories at Paris and London, but
was not yet ready to close negotia-
tions. Whenever he did so, that would
necessitate the handling of large
sums of money, and he was then at a
loss to know just which city
whether London, Paris, or Berlin
to deposit the bulk of his fortune in.
He expressed the fear that you
could not manage affairs, as you
had never handled money except to
spend it. read his thoughts and Of
fered to give up my trip, but he
would not consent to that. Instead,
he exacted a promise from me that
when should return this time /
would remain at home and devote
myself to business.
"Well, when he had explained
everything so thoroughly that knew
just what was depending upon me, he
then told me that he was afraid to
leave his fortune all in one bank, and
that he intended to divide it into two
sums. The smaller amount he would
leave in the bank with which our
family has always done business;
the other-and now comes the Sc
cret of the piano.
| "You know as well as I that father
did every bit of the work on this In
strument except, perhaps, the carv-
ing. He spared neither pains nor ex.
pense in building it, for it was to be
a family treasure so long as an atom
of it remained. Well, that morning
he took me to it and removed part
of the case, showing me that the
rear of the musical framework was
double, with space enough between
the boards to admit ones hand. In
that space is peculiar bit Of mech.
anism Of fathers own devising, which
he termed laughing-jack. 1t car
be connected with the musical up
paratus by means of very slender
wire, which is brought around past
the sounding board in such q way
that no one can find il unless he
knows beforehand just where to look
| for 1t.
"To show me how 1t worked he at.
tached the wire to the hammershanl
of string near the center OF the
instrument, and struck that note with
his finger. At once the laughter be.
gan, just as it will do now. He played
a strain or two, and the thing kept
laughing as long as the piano con.
tinued to sound. This amused me
so that laughed in earnest. He
feared that you might hear us, so he
released the hammershank from the
secret wire.
HE then told me that he was
thinking seriously of depositing his
money in a bank in foreign country
so that the lawyers and sharpers
would not be so apt to discover IL
and perhaps purloin part of it in case
should not be Mt home. He men.
toned England and France, because
of his factories being ut the capital