Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-01-18
revolution, left will and vast for.

I revolution, left will and vast for
tune"
Eyes, my father told me all abou
| it."
"Well, in those troubled times, hi
was fortunate enough to be able tt
realize all his investments in and neal
Paris-everything he possessed, il
fact, except this far off schateau-an6
convert the same into hard cash. His
fortune over and above this property
exceeds million sterling. Both the
will and all traces of the where
abouts of the fortune were lost UNI
til a few weeks ago. They are in
Paris now in the hands of my client.
Attached to the will is plan marking
the exact spot where the iron chest
containing the fortune lies buried. II
is on this very property, M. Villebois;
but neither you nor any man in all
creation could discover it, even though
lifetime were spent digging into
the bowels of the earth. These are my
terms, M. Villebois. You must sign a
deed making over to me one-half Of
your Inheritance. Out of that half
will pay to you the hundred thousand
pounds purchase money, SO that you
will receive about six and four hun
dred thousand pounds"
But the fortunes my birthright!
surely commission"
you have heard my conditions, M
villebois. If you want the whole
search for it, especially if you want to
shorten your life by bitter disappoint.
ment. Here are the deeds ready for
your signature" added NJ. Latour, as
he drew from his pocket two manus
cripts, and placed them on the table.
well, if 1 must" sighed M. Vile
bois.
mo, no! all you must do is to please
yourself"
So NJ. Villebois, without further hes
| itation, seized the proffered pen and
signed the two documents which re-
lated respectively to the assignment
of half the fortune, and to the sale
of the chateau for the sum of one hun
dred thousand pounds, payable twelve
hours after possession.
Every good" exclaimed M. Latour
placing the document in his coat
pocket.
"The Chateau Briancourt is my
property from this moment" Then
whispering in the ear of M. Villebois,
he continued: "The secret I sell tc
you only, you understand. You must
find pretext to send away that ser
want of yours till tomorrow morning
l will be here at o'clock this even
ing. Be alone and ready with pick
a shovel, lantern and a stout rope
Then with lordly flourish of hi.
left hand the new owner of CHATEAU
Briancourt babe adieu to the Devil
dered NJ. Villebois and departed.
jeanette was pleased to hear tina
she could go to visit some of her rela
tives about four miles away and re
turn the next day. Principally at tn,
appointed hour M. Latour tapped a
the door, which was opened by NJ. Vii
lebois, whose features betrayed hi:
mental agitation.
rs all ready?" inquired M. Latour
gayly.
Eyes, have everything here" re
joined M. Villebois.
Follow me then, to the Kitchen
said M. Latour, leading the way. 90
have the whole plan of the place in my
minds eye"
Taking the pick in hand, he wrench
ed up the wooden flooring, under
which lay stone slab with an iron
ring in it. On raising the Saba flight
,of narrow stone steps was discovered.
Down went M. Villebois with the Ian
followed by AAff.kateur, carrying
the tools.
"One-two-three PAGES to the right
of the bottom STEP" said M. Latour, as
he strobe forward and suddenly stop.
ped. "This is the spot-just here.
Now we shall have to raise these
bricks
Then the two men set to work hack
ing out the brick and the earth below
them to depth of four feet, when the
pick struck something very hard.
cts the chest!" murmured M. La
tour, in suppressed tone, as if he
were afraid the very walls might heal
him. "That's right, shovel out the
earth. Here, give me the rope. Al
soon as we get down to the handles
| will S1i {t,.O, rb
while you loosen the earth around will
the pick"
With feverish excitement M. Vile
bois seized the pick and labored witt
all his feeble force to remove the sui
rounding earth.
There, I've got the rope through
one HANDLE" said M. Latour, as h
crouched down to draw the end over t
the other side.
But how shall we open the ches
when we've got it up?" gasped M
4 Villebois.
ooh, leave that to me. All the need
full for that little job is in my pocket
So they picked and shovelled unit
the second handle was free for tn,
rope to pass through it. Then a kno
was adjusted, so that both the mel
4. could pull on to single line to rails,
the chest to the surface.
Its coming! It's coming. B,
Heaven, the million at last" cried tn,
excited M. Villebois.
But M. Latour kept cool head, and
kneeling down, he placed the shovel il
a manner to prevent the chest slippin,
back.
Pulling with all their might, Mr.. La
tour at the pits mouth and M. Vile
bois just behind him, the chest wal
slowly drawn to the surface, and M
Latour knelt again to detach the rope
while M. Villebois seized the pick, an,
raising it high in the air, Glove tn,
hairless skull of his partner.
Hurting aside the lifeless mass, will
the implements found in his victim.
pocket he labored with almost super
human force to break in the chest
And when, at the end of an hour, TIL,