Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1903-04-04

| pected TO see its towers rising RI tbo
sky; put there was no castle in SIGHT
and, what was worse, no one seemed
70 kno" anything about the estates.
He had nearly given up hope. when
one bright midday he entered an old
wood, and, almost worn out. STONED
for meal of bread and milk at tbe
hut of an aged shepherd. Having eat
en- his luncheon on the doorstep. the
knight asked the old man whether
there was castle in the neighborhood
the Castle of the Beeches
Let me Think said the old shep-
herd, slowly. 81 have heard of if.
Yes; it comes back to me. 1 think 7
went there when boy 1t was a fine
old place. Yes; it was surely a fine
old place, fine
"Thank you,'' said Sir Alan. to
bring the old man back to his subject.
Can you direct me to it?''
at was sixty years ago. replied the
shepherd, ''but l believe it is at the end
of the woodroad yonder"
Thanking the peasant and giving
him his last piece of silver, Sir Alan
walked briskly into the wood. The trees
grew so Tricky together that it was
twilight at noon On that road, but the
| knight pressed bravely on, hoping his
| long walk was ended. In and out
amid the tree trunks wound the unused
roadway, and just before sunset Sir
Alan found himself near a great stone
pillar which he saw only dimly in the
dusk.
cat last!" he exclaimed. "Here is
my castle, can see lhe gateway; and
he went eagerly forward.
There was the gateway, it is true;
but there was nothing else. One great
stone pillar, on top of which was a
stone dragon with wings, stood alone
| in the forest All about it were the
dense woods where the squirrels ran,
the birds chirped, and the beetles
crawled, with no one to disturb them.
| Sir Alan sank down on the broken
| threshold. 1t was some time before he
could speak. At length he looked up.
cit cannot be the place." he said;
the old shepherd was in his dotage."
| LUZ SfSh oo AAC OEo1AC 4Ao OJC0 CtsoGAAS
the name Castle of the Beeches" cut
in the stone of the pillar. There could
| be no mistake. The king had given
him ruin.
And there on the foot-worn old step
Sir Alan stood and watched the sun
| go down. Gradually the night came on,
and still Sir Alan sat unmoving.
! At last he rose.
81 should bruise my shins If / did
not break my neck" said he, "were I
to attempt to find my way out of the
| forest in the dark. An old soldier can
be happy anywhere. Come, I'll sleep to-.
night in my castle, if never again!"
So saying, he gathered great piles Of
dry leaves and made of them comfor-
table pallet, and then he lay down and
slept dreamlessly till morning.
just as the sun rose Sir Alan awoke
and, like an old campaigner, was on
his feet at once. He brushed the
leaves from his doublet and hose, and
prepared to leave his estates"
He looked up at the grinning
stone dragon on the pillar. Good
luck to you, old fellow, and may you
keep as happy as you look" he ex-
claimed, gaily. 81 hate to leave you
alone. But l have my living to make,
and the morning hour has gold in it's
mouth you know"
AS Sir Alan spoke these joking
words he happened to gaze at the drag
on's open jaws, and, queerly enough,
- Io oil I'M
| there.
"You have gold in your mouth too,
it seems." exclaimed the knight; "or
at least the sun is shining on bright
| leaf there. Let us see."
Out of idle curiosity he swung him.
self up by the branches of an old tree
| that leaned against the pillar, looked
into the dragons mouth, and there he
found golden key.
ga key without door is of little
use," said the knight, drawing it forth;
but as he lifted it he found gold
chain attached to the top of the key,
and at the end of the chain was gold
box containing a strip of parchment
safely sealed and wrapped. He drew
| it out and read these lines:
Ruin above and wealth below
Search for treasure ere you go.
You may be certain that Sir Alan
| obeyed. And he was rewarded by dis
covering a tiny keyhole in the slab
on which the dragon sat. The key
| fitted; he turned it; whirr1ng and
rumbling was heard near by, and sud-
denly the old stone threshold fell In
ward, leaving flight of steps visible.
Down these went Sir Alan, and found
himself at the end of long passage.
He had flint and steel with him, and
soon made a torch of bark and leaves.
When he had light, he saw that he
could follow the long passage into
| the treasure-vaults of the old Castle OF
the Beeches, where there were great
chests and stout linen bags filled with
| treasure.
Sir Alan took only enough OF the
gold to fill his pockets, and then re-