The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-05-24

stone which covered it was just
too heavy for man to move
unaided. What would he do nextR
outside, even if he had someone neon whom hon
he could trust, without the unbarring
of doors and considerable risk of detec-
ton. 1t was better, if he could, to have
his helpmate inside the house. But whom
could he ask? This girl had been de-
voted to him. A man always finds it
hard to realize that he may have finally 70
lost woman's love, however badly he
may have treated her. He would try by
few attentions to make his peace with
the girl Howells, and then would en-
gage her as his accomplice. Together
! they would come at night to the cellar,
and their united force would suffice to
raise the stone. So far [ could follow
their actions as if ] had actually seen
them.
/ "But for two of them, and one
woman, it must have been heavy work
the raising of that stone. a burly Sus-
sex policeman and / had found it no
light job. What would they do to assist
them? Probably what | should have
done myself. [ rose and examined care
fully the different billets of wood which
were scattered round the floor. Almost
at once I came upon what l expected.
One piece, about three feet in length,
had a very marked indentation at one
end, while several were fattened at the
sides as if they had been compressed
by some considerable weight. Evidently,
, as they had dragged the stone up they
had thrust the chunks of wood into
the chink, until at last, when the open
ing was large enough to crawl thru,
they would hold it open bya billet placed
lengthwise, which might very well be-
come indented at the lower end, since
the whole weight of the stone would
press it down on the edge OF this other
slab. So far was still on safe ground.
HAnd now how was / to proceed to re-
construct this midnight drama? Clearly,
only one could fit into the hole, and that
one was Brunton. The girl must have
waited above. Brunton then unlocked
the box. handed up the contents pre-
sumablv-since they were not to be
found-and then-and then what hap
pened?
"What smouldering fire of vengeance
had suddenly sprung into name IN ms
She saw the man who had wronged, her
-wronged her, perhaps, far more than
we suspected-in her powerf was
f a chance that the wood had
slipped and that the stone had shut
Brunton into what had become ms
sepulcher. Had she, only been gullsa
, of silence as to his fateF Or mao SUM
| Sudden DlOW lIOIA AC1
the h support away and sent the slab
crashing down into its placer Be tha1
as it might, I seemed to see that Wo-
man,,s figure still clutching at her treas
ire troye and flying wildly up the wind
:: ing stair, with her ears ringing perhaps
| with the muffled screams from peh!n9
} her and with the drumming OF 1renZieH
hands against the sap Oh stone .,s ~Ai 70
D was choking her faithless lovers HE
: out. ,
"Here was the secret of her blanched
face. her shaken nerves, her peals Oh
historical laughter on the next morn
Q mo, Bnt what had been in the box:
What had she done with that7 or
course. it must have been the old metal
| land pebbles which my client hao
e dragged from the mere. She had throWn
them in there at the hrst opportunity
!. to remove the last trace OF her crime.
. HFor twenty minutes I had sat notion
less. thinking the matter out; MUS
q crave still stood with very pale race,
q Swinging his lantern and peering down
= into the hole.
: ".These are coins of Charles the
+ first said he, holding out the few
n which had been in the box; you see we
were right in fixing our date tor tne
:, Ritual.
!. "sWe may find something else of
q Charles the first [ cried, as the prop
a able meaning of the first two questions
{ of the Ritual broke suddenly upon me-
y LET me see the contents of the bag
y which YOU ished from the mere
> 1--WE assembled to his study, and he
laid the debris before me. l could IN:
derstand his regarding it as Of small
y, ~ Importance when [ looked at 1T, for the
i metal was almost black and the stones
= lustreless and dull. l rubbed one OF
ILl.o c1ppua however. and IL
e glowed afterward like a spark In the
e dark hollow of my hand. The metal
e work was in the form of double ring
l but it had beer bent and twisted out
t of its original shape.
l. "sYou must bear in mind said l.
: that the royal party made heaa IN
9 England even after the death Of the
t they probably left many OF their mos
precious possessions buried behino
t them. with the intention of returning
O for them in more peaceful times
!. "sMy ancestor, Sir Ralph Musgrave
+ was a prominent Cavalier and the
h right hand man of Charles the SECOND
$ ""sAh, indeed 1 answered. 'Wel
r now. I think that really should give
d us the last link that we wanted:
f must congratulate you on coming into
o the possession. tho in rather tragic
,s manner. of a relic which is of great IN
- trinsic value. but of even greater I'M
= portarce as an historical curiosity
g what is it, then!' he gasped II
4 establishment.
a HsIt is nothing less than the ancient
II II crown of the kings of England
- 'The crown!'
g Precisely. Consider what the: rit
70 ual says. How does it run? Who's
Is was it9'' ellis who is gone. ~ That
re was after the execution of Charles
~ Then. "Who shall have it?' He who
u will come That was Charles the sec
u ond. whose advent was already lore
s. seen. There can, T think, be no doubt
u that this battered and shapeIess dladen
g once encircled the brows OF the roya
~ Stuarts.' 80,
rs And how came it in the pond?
N "sAh, that is question that VII
~ take some time to answer: And witt
20 that I sketched out to him the. whole
q. long chain of surmise and OF proc
n which I had constructed. The twllgh
a had closed in and the moon was shining
/ brightly in the sky before my narrative
~ was finished
- and how was it than that Charlie:
d did not get his crown when he re
n. turned9' asked Musgrave, pushing bacl
t. the relic into its linen bag.
,e q 'Ah, there you lay your finger upor
[ the one point which we shall probably
If never be able to clear up. 1t is likely
h that the Musgrave who held the secre
h died in the interval, and by some over
] sight left his guide to his descendant
If without explaining the meaning of it