The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-06
DR. LovEJOY's TREASURE
BY W. D. MERGER.

most practical and resourcefui or wo- men. the doctor would have not dis covered his fortune and the two would not have been married. which really would have been too bad as It was a beautiful wedding and the twain make one of the most distinguished couples in our set. Besides they wanted eacn other dreadfully.
 Of course there was nothing against pr. Lovcioy excepting his emptiness of purse. He was of excellent family and the most charming of men with character beyond question and ability of a high order But of what use was all that when his bank account was expressed in four figures and his proies- sion yielded him only the barest living still he had the audacity to fall Tn iove with Miss Raymond who inherited great fortune from her maternal grand
 father as we'll as being the sole heiress of old Raymond of Wall street, wno
 was worth nobody knows how many
 millions Of course the idea was pre-
 posterous, as Raymond pointed out to
 the young doctor. but Lovejoy was SLOW
 to see 1t until the old banker talked ana other pleasant subjects as to make
 the suitor so furiously angry that ne
 abandoned his suit and retired from the
 field resolved never to press it again
 untiI he could show fortune sufficient
 to match that of his lady love.
 Now Miss Raymond had mind of
 her own entirely separate ana ois-
 tinct from that of her father and she
 was very much in love with the doc-
 tor. She would willingly have listened
 cd to his suit even though her father
 disinherited her and would have been glad to have turned her own fortune
 over to the management or her nus
 band. She knew of no better use TOT
 n fortune than to secure her dear est hearts desire But pr. Lovejoy had
 all the pride naturally pertaining to
 a pauper and old Raymond's insinua- tions about fortune-hunters rankled in his breast and he was not Tn frame of mind to pursue his advantage. He did not give up hope of the fair Mae but told her that if she would wait he would go forth and seek his fortune. whereupon he would return and get a rating at Dun's, to which ne could refer her sordid father.
 She asked him where he would go and how seek his fortune. and he hint ed gloomily of South Africa or Aus tralia. Now Miss Mae being shrewd little lady had her doubts about tor- tunes laying around South Africa or Australia or other distant lands walt ing to be picked up by impecunious and high-headed medical gentlemen. So she got Dr. Lovejoy to promise to lot her know before he decided on any thing definite.
 Now Dr Lovejoy held a position on the staff of a great hospital and one day while he was still struggling with
 the problem as to where and how to ac- ouire a fortune an emergency patient was brought ina man who Ihad beep
 stabbed in a saloon quarrel When the doctor told him he could not be saved and had but a few moments to live, the
 man told him what purported to be the secret of a hidden treasure.
 sTf I'm all in. Doe, all right" he
 said, "Rut it's blamed hard luck right now, when I've got the game beat. Well. it's me own fault for getting pfped right when I was ready to realize. Now. see here; you take good care O me and if croak I'll leave you the records where to find the biggest hidden treas ure that has happened since Captain Kidd four-flushed the world. IF
 get well. I'll take you in halves--so you see. you win either way"
 At first Dr. Lovejoy thought it was the delirium, but the intense earnest ness of the man impressed him; and after the end came he took the package thrust into his hand just before the
 death fattIe sounded in the drawn throat and opened it. The package i contained little moro than rough maps and directions. A mis-spelled letter briefly suggested. rather than told. the story and explained the maps and draw ings. Spanish Joe, half-breed pirate
 of the early part of the nineteenth cen- tury, had hidden an immense treasure the proceeds of his life of crime-on an island off the Florida coast, and had sent the rough directions to his old mo- ther in Portugal. The papers had mis. carried, and after long and bloody eX- perfence had fallen into the hands of the man who had died under Dr. Love- joys care
 The Doctor read. pondered and be- | lieved. Here, right at hand, was his | fortune, ready-made. Here was hts l opportunity to bring the purse-proud | Raymond to his feet. When he thought | of 1t in cold blood he, laughed at him. self for a credulous fool; but when | he examined the maps and papers his heart beat fast and his blood leaped even as the blood of mankind has ever ! leaned in the quest of the yellow treas | ura
 Finally mindful of his promise. he | decided to lay 1t all before Mistress Mae Raymond He nerved himself ! for burst of ridicule from that prac- ticaI young person, but had resolved
 to pursue the search whether or mo- The heiress listened to the story at- l tentively After he had finished she sat for long time, thinking deeply | Finally she said:
 Lacy. I believe the story may be ] true. It's worth trying, at any rate. | What are your plans?"
 Dr. Lovejoy leaped to his feet in joy.
 ''Gl6ry be. I'll win sure if you believe 1 in the scheme" he shouted, T start tomorrow for Jacksonville. I will
 charter tug or yacht of some sort
 and find the island. After l find 1t, I
 will go alone and find the treasure.
 I'll trust nobody"
 T am afraid you will need help when
 you find it-and you may be In dan
 ger among strangers afterwards" she
 saId gravely Then, as with a sudden
 Inspiration. T have an idea. You know how deeply interested am in your
 success. I would like to be near when you make your find. Cousin Tom has
 just launched his new yacht and has in- vited me to take the initial cruise. I'll
 dare him to take me to Florida. He is
 too game to refuse. You wait a week
 until we get there, then appear as if by accident. Then tell Tom your plans
 under bond of secrecy, and I'll make him take his boat along with yours} Then when you get the treasure you will have friends in sight to protect
 it."
 Anything that would bring Mae Ray mond near him was welcome to Love | ioy. so he fell in eagerly with her plan. | rom Raymond and unfolded a private plan of her own. Tom opened his eyes | in surprise, demurred--and finally sur I rendered to his pretty cousin. The next | few days were busy ones for him. He
 was seen lodging In and out of banks, | safety deposit vaults and the subtreas-
 ury, besides haunting yachting supply