The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1904-05-23
Where the
Finger Pointed
lorlgInall

'e~ossr Va eHS HtAtON AhE pAdSG. was
to be sold to pay debts that had been
accommodating for century. The pres
ent owner was to become Of age on
the very day OF the sale. To add to
his distress he loved a younger daugh
ter of Lord Montague, neighboring
landowner.
Verne was sitting in room that had
been occupied ever since the house
was built three centuries before for a
library. The shelves were filed with
books made when the printing press
was novelty. ON one side of n large
bay window stood revolving geo
graphical globe: opposite II a stntue OF
n Sir Hugh Verne who had been dead
$50 years He had been miserly. and
under his regime the estate had in
creased In value, but nj his death the
funds he was supposed to have ne,
cumulated did not appear. He had
during his later days erected the statue
OF himself In his library. directing that
no other monument 10 his memory be
placed. The forehnger OF the right
hand of the statue pointed directly 20
the globe. One Of his descendants.
thinking that the finger indicated a
\ place where some OF his missing wealth
was hidden. had had the globe taken
apart; but finding nothing of value, It
had been restored The present Sir
Hugh's father, Sir Thomas Verne, had
opened the wall back Of the globe at
point in line with the finger. but he,
too. had been disappointed. He had
found the estate impoverished by his
predecessor and had brooded over the
misfortune he saw surely coming fer
his son. From the sons boyhood he
had heard his father debating as TO
the meaning OF the pointing finger and
believed he had some reason for sur
missing that 1t referred to hidden
money.
Sir Hugh sat gloomily looking at the
statue, thinking of the family tradi-
ton. 1t was an hour before noon, and
the day was the 21st OF September.
Neither the hour nor the date made
any impression on the young baron,
except that the date was present in
his mind as the day previous to the
sale. Nevertheless an idea occurred to
! him, an idea which came down through
thousands of years. He had read that
when the great pyramid of Cheops was
built to entomb king an inclined pas
sage was left. through which star at
the vernal equinox would shine In
upon the mummy. Sir Hugh noticed
that the sun was shining in through
the bay window upon the statue The
shadow of the index finger lay upon
the wall midway between the ceiling
and the floor The young man noticed
the shadow and kept his eye upon 1t
as 1t slowly sank toward the floor,
moving at the same time toward the
east Why the pyramid OF Cheops en-
tered his head and why he made a
mental connection between 1t and the
shndow he could not tell. he after
ward tried to trace the steps leading
him to his idea, but failed. Neverthe-
less It came to him that II 1t was not
now the vernal II was the autumnal
equinox. Then, suddenly. the bell on
the town clock struck the hour Of
noon.
His idea had been born
Rising, he seized an antique dagger
hanging from mantel and hacked a
cross upon the point covered by the
shadow of the index finger.
That afternoon he darkened the
room, locked the doors, and. with q set
Of mason's tools. began to make a hole
in the wall where he had carved the
cross. The plaster was soon scraped
away, and behind II was stone differ
ing from its neighbors In Its shape.
which was an octagon. On the stone
from each OF the right angles had been
cut cross lines, and their intersection
lay exactly Mt the spot where the
shadow point had lain that day at
noon. The stone was lmbedded in an
inch of mortar, which was easily
Clipped away and the stone removed,
leaving an orifice into which the baron
could hold candle and see what lay
beyond. What he did see was a vault
heaped with gold soverelgns. On the
back OF the stone was cut in rude let
ters-doubtless by the man who had
deposited II there-these words:
No fool shall inherit my savings. II any
of my descendants has the wit TO find
this gold he VIII have the good sense TO
use It to the advantage OF the estate.
Wondering how this vault could have
remained so long unknown, the baron
examined It's surroundings and found
that 1t had been space left unused by
the architect who had built the house
That evening mason was called in
to enlarge the orifice. and by midnight
the baron began to count his newly
found treasure. separating the soxer-
eigns into heaps Of fl.000 each. making
exactly City heaps, without sover-
eign over or short. The next morning
the sun was not high In the sky before
his solicitors had paid of the incum-
brances on the estate. and there was
no sale Indeed, instead OF parting
with the home OF his ancestors. while
his solicitors were paying on the debts
Sir Hugh was experimenting corps
OF assistants he had called In TO make
hurried PREPARATIONS for the celebra-
ton OF his coming Of age. The neigh