The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-15
news FOR EARL FITzVILLIAN
uAR0LD WATKINS DAN TELL HIM
WHERE THE COCOS CACHE rs.

Canal, the Hey 70 the buried 1rehsuIe'
m. the ecid VIC hid and ourselves We nd
OF oil the pirate loot
Th.n we ohoked the mate and slew the eight
With poisoned passion fHit.
And their bones theY Guard she treasure hard
Down By the peanut treel
white their secrsi EeSts within the breasts
OF Percy. Harold and me.
Ballad OF ne 0snns Ptrats.
+, was a calm day in May. Not a ripple
dlsturbed the quiet waters Of the Morris
Canal. while the peaceful docks OF the
Pennsylvania Railroad hard by cast a At
mi shade on Harold Watkins as he slinked
realthlly and bare legged upon the hole
~ the Wild muskrat near at hand. with
lis stick poised TO strike.
But hold There was q hail from the Ln-
den avenue bridge, that noble structure
which spans the Morris Canal right where
The heavy traffic OF Jersey Gty's indus
,ries rumbles over into distant G~reenville.
Harold stopped at the very mouth OF the
muskrat hole and cast his frank boyish
eyes up to the bridge. There stood an old
man. He beckoned 70 Harold.
1t was a wild looking figure hat met
Barold's gaze. A very old man. 1t was, who
stood there with his palsied hands grippinS
the head OF q strangely carved cane. A
long gray beard hung down TO the second
button OF his neat shirt; long white hair
innged his haggard face. Beneath the
shaggy thatch his deep sunken eyes Glowed
with a strange Light, He chewed something
~nervously. 1t might have been that he
was chewing tobacco. Harold did not
dare ask him.
Young man. piped the stranger in a
high; quavefing voice. can you tell me
where the old Bell and Dogohain Inn stands?
All, many's the sweet glass Of good Canary
[ used to sup there with the roaringj roll
licking boys OF the Spanish Main and
Gloucester, Mass, in the old. old days.
All, me; but 1t is ali gone-ali gone
The mysterious old man. whom Harold
Judged rightly to be a sailor. paused 10
vine a trickling tear from his y
But hist, boyi" The old msn's demeanor
changed at once. His whole body trembled.
His minds shook on the top OF his strangely
carved cane and his eyes glinted like the
lights Of far distant New York on a foggy
night.
THE old Bell and Dogchain must be
wiped away, boy. But il there is any bit Of
1t left standing there may be time yet for
you to make a fortune. my son. Mark well
nv words. / am an old man, rapidly
totter,ng to the p~otter's field. bowed with
my sins and burdened with my dreadful
secrets. l must tell you my secret ere l
die.
From Barbaree to Chillicothe and from
Hakodate to Canandaigua have l wandered,
hunting always for the one man In all the
world who shares with me the secret Of
Cocos Island. | have not found HIM. He
Ia dead. Listen well, boy. At the back
wall Of the old Bell and Dogchain. fifteen
feet and three inches from the ground and
FIVE rows Of bricks east OF the chimney,
there is a brick. Yes, boy, there is a brick.
Dig there, and what you find will make you
richer than Monte Cristo.
But ware. boy; ware the frightful curse
that haunts what you will find there. Blood
aud the dying curses OF many good men
and true lie locked up in that wall. Have a
care that you approach the treasure with
clean handsi'
So saying the old man OF mystery hobbled
away down the bridge. leaving Harold
pale and trembling. He cast his eyes to
the ground. When he raised them he saw
the old sailor disappearing through the
sallyport OF Billy Hennessey's grotto. That
was the last Harold ever saw OF the man
Of mystery.
Harold stood wrapped in thought for
some minutes. When he had unwrapped
himself an inspiration seized him. He
went straight down through the Penn
~sylyania Railroad yards, past the old round
house 10 the edge OF the canal. All thoughts
of muskrats had beer bani shed from his
hoyish mind; his chest bounded with eXulta-
ton as he walked, and the terrible song OF
the fifteen men on the dead mans chest
ruTntled in his head.
But wait what was that sight which
met his eyes there by the side Of the old
canal? 4 ruinS Yes, a dilapidated and
shabby ruin, only one wall left standing
and the charred ends (. joists sticking out
In the calm morning air.
Harold ran excitedly about over the
piles of old tomato cans TO the rear. One
look he took. Yes, there was the chimney
aud a part OF the wall Of the old tavern still
standing by 1t. Quickly Harold drew from
his pocket his ever ready tape measure.
Carefully he measured fifteen feet and
three inches from the ground. then he
chimney. Yes, there was a brick there.
just as the mysterious mariner had said.
Harold pushed the brick. 1t moved
under his touch.
With a gasp OF excitement the lad drew
out the brick, then another and another,
until he had a hole large enough TO admit
his arm. Breathing a prayer, he thrust
his arm into the opening and his hand
touched something round and hard. He
drew 1t out. 1t proved to be a round wooden
Cdrk ABOUT elRnt lnCneS lonR, nedNly
hound with copper bands and studded
with bits of steel about the ends. The
wood was old and weatherworn. Harold
swallowed hard and thrust his hand again
into the hole. He drew out another cask.
a bit smaller than the first, but bound just
a. heavily.
The innocent lad thought of the kind
old sailor man and Of how truthfully he had
told him of the mystery OF the bell and dog
chain and his heart was moved with pity
for the salty wreck. But then he remem-
bered the warning OF the bloody curses that
hung over these two casks OF wood and
copper. and a cold sweat broke out under
his undershirt. He felt his knees give
way just above the garters, and he would
have swooned had II not been that he
didn't.
II was but the work OF an hour for Harold
10 race home. There, In the dampness OF
the coal cellar. he broke open the two casks
with a cold chisel. From each he drew two
tightly rolled parchments. They were old
and yellow with age. By the light OF a
candle Harold read the faded words
scrawled there In brown ink:
three PAGES from the old mesquite bush
then turn nor by nor east and take q sight
through your closed hands over the top OF
the gray
Harold strained his eyes breathlessly and
moved the candle over closer 10 the paroh-
Inont. His heart beat every once in a while.
fifteen thousand Spanish doubloons. all
gold, which we took from the cHravel Infante
Alfonso Pho Christine Eduardo Etcetera-of