The Washington herald., 1907-12-08

mighty heavy,' was his comment. as he
succeeded in dragging 20 the bank which
sloped the most something square and
solid and % great weight. Here it was
seized by half dozen hands. and soon
there lay upon the bank under the trees
a square. shabby. old portmanteau. stout
and strong. well corded. and strapped
and locked, and without any indication Of
IT'S owner. There was not even a luggage
label OF any OF its four sides. or any
c.rd or lettering whatever.
The dun eyes Of the rustlcs began 70
CLEAN with cupidity and the love Of sensa-
ton when they crowded round the prize.
whispering 20 each other that It was
fun of gold most like" and jewels TO
make your mouth water" Already il had
sot abroad that there were TWO criminals
connected with the outrage upon the
young gentleman; that they had got
away. and that they We're suspected of
more than one crime
In the imaginations Of the villagers
these crimes now took shape. and they
pictured to themselves the two criminals,
escaping from the justice that they feared
was on their heels down in the South.
"LunnOn-way,' coming up here together,
engaging cottage and stealing out ut
night, as Miss Grey had already admitted
they had done with luggage for the Red
Lion which never reached that h0stelry
Surely. the villagers thought. the two
men were burglars. who. fresh from a
series OF exciting and clever robberies,
had come away with their booty and
dropped it in this deserted POND in the
neglected park, hoping 10 leave il safely
hidden there until they should find means
Of coming TO fetch il away
Eager for unearned gain. the men asked
themselves how much OF the haul of dia-
monds and gold, rubies. and emeralds and
sUchlike would fall TO their share If they
made themselves actively useful I'm recOv-
ering the stolen treasure Surely q hand
some reward was IN store for them, And
50 they crowded round the inspector and
lnce. both OF whom We're very grave and
silent. and by no means as jubilant con-
cerning the ind as the group around them.
The Inspector. indeed. had had certain
words whispered in his ear by James
Ince which made him anxious TO get rid
of his too eager assistants. who were
pressing round in the hope Of seeing the
portmanteau forced open there and then.
Their disappointment was great when
be declared that there was no need 10
open the portmanteau. as they knew what
was in it. And the villagers We're ex-
changing Disconnected murmUrs, express
sive Of bafiied curiosity when the tall man
who had fished out the prize called out
Blat he had come upon something else.
There was a rush 10 the edge of she
pond again, and with a little more trou-
D. hr1-
Of different shape, long instead of
square. but with the same remarkable
absence Of label or name
Curiosity grew stronger. but still neither
the Inspector nor James Ince made any
attempt to open either of the trunks. The
crowd. growing awestruck with suspense
and vague uneasiness, waited and
watched, impatient and eager. while sue
cessive fshings brought up another and
yet another prize. until in the end two
portnanteaus and two wooden boxes. all
securely fastened. all heavy. all mysteri-
Ops in their anonymity stood in a, line
upon the brink of the pond.
Then repeated searchings having failed
to bring up any further treasure. the
crowd. exasperated and dismayed, We're
informed that 1t was not proposed to
open the boxes then; that they were 10
be conveyed TO the Doncaster police sta
ton just as they were.
BY this time, owing to arrangements
which had been made quietly by Ince
while the search was going on. COW
cred cart had been brought from the
village TO the nearest gap in the park
wall& and under the direction of the in
spector, and watched by James Ince, the
steadiest of the men assembled round
were allowed TO transport the mysterious
boxes one by one TO the cart, in which
they were all deposited within a few min
utes All remarked upon the weight of
the boxes. and grumbled at not being
allowed to see the jewels and gold they
contained.
When the task was accomplished,
James Ince and the Inspector got into
the cart and the driver whipped up the
horse and started for Doncaster, follow
ed for some distance by a wondering
and whispering crowd.
For already rumOrs had begun to cir
culate Ito the effect that the contents of
the boxes might not prove 10 be untold
treasure, after all.
The Journey was made quickly and
without much conversation between the
inspector and James Ince, who had given