The Opelousas courier., 1903-06-06

herd, slowly. II have heard of it
Yes; it comes back to me. / think
went there when a boy. 1t was a fine
old place. Yes; it was surely a fine
old place, q fine
Thank you," said Sir Alan. tc
bring the old max back to his subject
Can you direct me to it,"
at was sixty years ago." replied the
shepherd, "but I believe it is at the enc
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 thickly 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.
AT last!" he exclaimed. Here is
my castle, l can see the gateway; and
ne went dSerly loIWdlu'
There was the gateway, it is true;
but there was nothing else. One great
stone pillar, on top of which was d
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
could speak. At length he looked up.
at cannot be the place." he said;
the old shepherd was in his dotage."
But even as he spoke his eyes caught
the name Castle of the Beeches" cut
in the stone of the pillar. There could
be no mistake. The king had given
him a 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.
II should bruise my shins If I did
not break my neck" said he, "were l
to attempt to find my way out of the
forest in the dark. An old soldier can
be happy anywhere. Come, Ill6sleep to-
night in my casale, if v again."
So saying, he gathered great Mes of
dry leaves and made of them a conTfsor-
table pallet, and then he lay down and
slept dreamlessly till JmorNing.
Just as the su04t rose SID Alan awoke
and, like al 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. Il 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,
there seemed to be a golden CLEAN
there.
"You have gold in your mouth, too,
it seems!" exclaimed the knight; cor
at least the sun is shining on a 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 a golden key.
"a key without a door is of little
use," said the knight, drawing it forth;
but as he lifted it he found a gold
chain attached to the top of the key,
and at the end of the chain was a 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 60.
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; a whirring and
rumbling was heard near by, and sud-
denly the old stone threshold fell in
ward, leaving a flight of steps visible.
Down these went Sir Alan, and found
himself at the end Of a long passage.
He had flint and steel with him, and
soon made a torch Of bark and leaves.
When he had a light, he saw that he
could follow the long passage into
the treasure-vaults of the old Castle of
the Beeches, where there we're great
chests and stout linen bags filled with
treasure.
Sir Alan took only enough Of the
gold to fill his pockets, and then re-
turned to the court.
The king laughed mischievously
when he saw the knight returning.
"And how did you find your es-
tates?" he asked. IA little out Of re-
pair?'
II am satisfied said the knight,
"for, though the castle was gone, the
land is rich in minerals"
You're welcome to everything you
find there" said the king, smiling an
aside to the prime minister.
So Sir Alan became wealthy, and
having learned in his poverty to live
without needing much, he never was
spoiled by his good luck.
He did not marry the princess, I am
happy to say, for he found a much
finer wife.