Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-02-08

q ou' never letFu MIN cdlleQ Lnat. IL
n was always Handy Solomon" with
? men and masters.
i We stared at each other. fascinated
oy something, some spell of the ship
t which l have never been able to ex.
' plain to myself nor even describe. II
was mystery, a portent, Fremont.
I ton such as overtakes a man some
times in the dark passageways of life.
/ l cannot tell you of 1t nor make YOU
believe-let 1t pass. ~
, Then by slow process of successive
; perceptions l became aware that 1 was
! watched by other eyes. other wax fig
ures, other human beings with un-
wavering gaze. They seemed to the
sense Of mystic apprehension that for
the moment held possession of me to
| be everywhere-in the hunks, on the
floor, back in the shadows watching,
watching, watching from the advan-
tage of another world
l don't know why tell you this: why
lay so much stress ON the first weird
impression I got of the forecastle. 1t
means something to me now--in view
OF all that happened subsequently.
Almost can look back and see in that
moment Of occultism warning, an en-
lfghtenment- But the point is 1t
meant something TO me then. stood
there fascinated. unable to move, un-
able to speak.
Then the grotesque figure in the cor
ner stirred.
well, mates" sale the man, be
lieve or not believe, it's in the book.
and it stands to reason too. We have
gold mines here in Californy and Ne
| vada and all them states, and we hear
of gold mines in Mexico and Australia,
too, but did you ever hear tell of gold
mines in Europe? Tell me that. And
where did the gold come from. them
before they discovered America? Tell
me that. Why. they made it, just as
the man that wrote this here says, and /
you can kiss the book on that" t
How about that place, Ophir. / read /
about?" asked voice from the hunks.
The man shot a keen glance thither
from beneath his brows
Know last years output from the
mines Of Ophir. Thrackles?" he in
quired in silky tones.
why. no." stammered the man adj
dressed as Thraekles.
well, l do" pursued the man with
the steel hook. and it's just the whole
of nothing. and you can kiss the book
on that too. There amt any gold out
put because there amt any mines. and
there never have been. They made their
gold
a He tossed aside book he had been
holding in his left hand. recognized the
fat little paper duodecimo with amuse-
ment and some wonder. The only other
copy | had ever laid my eyes on is in
the Astor library. 1t is somewhat of a
rarity, called "The Secret of Alchemy:
or, The Grand Doctrine of Transmuta-
ton Fully Explained" and was written
by DIR. Edward Duvall, most ex-
traordinary volume to have fallen into !,
the hands of seamen.
stepped forward. greeting and be- q,
Ing greeted. Besides the man I have
mentioned there were four. The cook :
was bullet headed squat negro with !.
broken nose. l believe he had a name. !
Robinson or something Of that sort. He !. .
was to all of us simply the niger. Un-
like most of his race. he was gloomy
and taciturn.
OF the other two little white faced. =
thin chested youth named Pulz and a :,
villainous looking Mexican called Per. !.
iosa. shall have more to say later. ,
My arrival broke the talk on al
'hemy. 1t resumed its course in the =
direction of our voyage. Each dis .
covered that the others knew nothing. :
ind each Numbered against the as
ounding fact Of double wages.
All ! know is the pays good. and G.
hats enough" concluded ThrAckles
rom Il bunk. -
THE pays too good" growled Handy -
solomon This amt no Job to 20 -
ook at the 'ellpse Of the moon or the E.
evils preacher" IL
Wat Won raaik heezs. DEM" queried -
'erdOsa. Ill
ITS treasure, OF course" said Handy >,
olOmon shortly.
"He. he. he" laughed the negro
'ithout mirth. q
What's the matter with you. doc ~
II? demanded Thrackles.
Treasure" repeated the Niger. /.
fou see dat box he done carry so -.
Iirful? You see dat:-
A pause ensued Somebody scratch
a match and lit a pipe ~
NO. / don't see that" broke out
lrackIes finally. with some impa-
ance. Il sabe how a man goes after r..
easure with a box. but why should =
take treasure away in a boxY on
hat do Won think. Bueko!-' be sud do
My appealed 10 me. IN
looked up from my Investigation I.
the empty berths. lie
i don't think much about t." / re-
ed. 'eztept thst by the look Of the ed
'res we're due for more than Homo wa
u. and from the look Of the light nil
ID better turn to on deck a
In embarrassed pause fell. "
Who are yOu. anyway blHntIy de- re.
nded the man with the steel hook. his
Ny name Is Eagen.- I replied: I've las
) berth Of mate Which of these He
1ks are empty my
'hey indicated what desired with He
& q trace Of SulIennesz. 1 under shs
ID well enough their resentment at mr.
ring ships ofieer CHARTERED On con
m-the fDc'sIe they considered a. upr