Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-12-10

burned, weary and heartily satisfied
to refrain thereafter from his long,
aimless journeys, he appeared at her
door one morning, to be welcomed as
none but sister can welcome.
Explanations over, he began to
glance casually about the room, and
Immediately his eyes fell upon the
new piano.
"What's this for?" he Quericd.
where's fathers piano?"
"Its haunted" replied Mrs. Briggs,
with subdued voice.
Haunted? Tut, tutw And without
further comment he seated himself at
the familiar cid instrument at the op-
posite side of the room. Eagerly he
struck the central note E, then list
ened intently. Next the note L, and
listened again. Lastly the note G;
and as the laughter began its weird
reverberations he turned to his sister
with smile Of triumph.
Haunted, is it," he cried. exult-
antly. 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-
fathomable mystery.
when I was about to leave OH this
last trip, you remember, father called
me to him and we had long conver-
sation. That morning he told me for
the first time the exact amount of his
fortune-about S10,000,0O0 in American
money-and gave me a working ,knowl-
edge 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
negotiations. Whenever he did so, that
would necessitate the handling Of large
sums Of money, and he was then at
n loss to know just which city
whether London, Paris, or Rerlin-
to deposit the bulk Of his fortune in.
He expressed the fear if such should
be the case he knew that you could
not manage affairs, as you had never
handled money except to spend it. l
read his thoughts and offered to give
up my trip, but he would not consent
to that. Instead he eXacted promise
from me that when should return
this time 1 would remain at home and
devote myself to business.
'Well, when he had explained every
thing so thoroughly that 1 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 lie would leave in
the bank with which our family has
always done business; the other-and
now comes the great secret of the
piano.
"You know as we'll as I that father
did every bit of the work on this in
strument except, perhaps, the carving.
He spared neither pains nor expense
in building 1t, for it was to be 4 family
treasure so long rs 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 q
peculiar bit Of mechanism OF fathers
own devisicg, which he termed laugh
ing-jack. 1t c2n be connected with the
musical apparatus by means of very
slender wire, which is brought around
past the sounding board in such q way
that no one can find it unless he knows
beforehand just where to look for it.
ITO show ME how it worked he at
tached the wire to the hammershank
of string near the centre of the ill.,
strumeDt, and struck! that note with his
finger. AT once tho laughter began,
just as it Will do now. He played a
strain or two and the thing kept laugh
ing as long as the piano continued to
sound. This amused me so that
laughed in earnest. He feared that
you might hear us, so be released the
hammershank from the secret wire.
'He then told me that he was think
ing seriously of depositing his money
in bank in foreign country, so that
the lawyers and sharpers would not
be so apt to discover it and perhaps
purloin part of it in case l should not
be at home. He mentioned England
and Trance, because. Of his factories
being at the capital OF each country.
I sanctioned the suggestion, whereupon
he explained that if lie deposited his
money in England, at London. he
would attach the laughing-iacll to the
note e, by which should know that n
letter Of introduction to the cashier Of
the Eank of England was secreted in
this recess at the back Of the piano.
If he left the money in Paris he would
attach the wire to the note +, mean-
ing France; if in our home city. to-the
note &, signifying Germany. or
course when lie gave me these instruc-
tions he took it for granted that
would get word Immediately if he
Should die ere returned, so thai you
would not need to be alarmed by the
laughing jacks mcrriment. Hc said
further that il he should die 50 sud-
denly that lie could not attend to this
1nft