The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-04-07

nj e1li1 nj ) ~ Iff8 u IN
M, and We tSnsl - ~ form lnto
the daylight ii 8 - G1Si1e 81 ter.
M n1u.e5t iudiuess, wearing and
plaYing e. each etAoS nhs madmen.
Y Il required anstAsI hour for the
deluge Of water t. drain away through
the deck, after which We Tentured be.
low again, TIE FsllEAted candle re-
yealing sluah.ico everywhere, with q
considerable triehlS still gurgling
through tho hole IN Tie door. How.
ever, we had an opening to work at,
and soon succeeded IN tearing most Of
the obstruction away piecemeal, only
TO be confronted BY = solid barrier Of
glittering Ice fully I've feet thick, leav.
ing space at the tsD Of the door bare
ly sufficient for naa's body to pass
throuGh. De NOyA, sIraing as II he
had gone craEy. hOiStOd me to the top
of it, where GIuSs Dsoearlously, hold.
ing the sputtSyi1s candle aloft, and
peerlng about ever the cleaning sur.
face and thrOnUh ~ the black sha
dows. Good Lord III II was cold, re
pellent, fri0htfoS! TIE beams sup
porting the dSoh, kAUo, black timberS,
were within oA11 IOAGA Of my hand,
and forward Ne SPECTRAL glow Of day.
light streamed IN through the rift in
the deck.plaHkg aAOPo. Bat from one
bullying side U - ether extended
this solid mass & iOO, the CONCEALED
draining of a SoAtlTy Of waves that
had dashed thoir SaIt SDray down the
opening ripped ~ - wrecked main.
mast. No vOa6G tAS cid hulk hung
Sodden with all ~ Ioad below!
crawled tOTVaFd - far as the Sill
very butt OF the Dainnast whence l
could look up through the gpllntered
deck to the marrow strip of sky over.
head. There was . bulkhead forward,
but the ice extended solidly to the
wood. l could hOAn the ceaseless swell
of the sea pouAena against the sides,
the groaning Of tnNSTs, the Tapping
OF the jib's canvas, nd realized more
than ever before ~ Siskening, sodden
roll of the laden hull. The level sur.
face OF the Ice Aold DlaiAly enough It's
story Of formation; when all that wa,
ter came through, Ne vessel had been
upon an even k00l, Undecided firmly,
no doubt, in the icSDack. crept back
as cautiously as I had advanced, the
rolling OF the wreck rendering the slip.
perry surface dangerous to travel over.
The men watched me anxiously as
slid down into the lSEarette.
What did you find, sir?"
Nothing except ice, solid ice clear
to the forward bulkhOad. 1t looks as
though we had reached the end Of
our treasure-hunt, my lads"
There was sullen growl Of profan-
ity, Mcknight vlciously slashing at
the ice-front with his cleaver. Twice
he struck, with no other object except
the venting Of his ungoyernable anger,
his forehead beaded, the great muscles
OF his arms standing out like whip
cords. A considerable chunk scaled
off, falling humping to the deck, and
causing him to spring backward to
escape injury. AS II maddened by
this, he drove in the blade OF the TX
again-it changed against metal! We
all heard it; we all witnessed the re-
bound.
by God, mates, there's one of EN-,
anyhow" roared n voice, hoarse from
exploding excitement. But was al
ready upon my knees, feeling blIndly
into the ice cavity.
They came bowling about me like
so many wolves, eager to see with
their own eyes, but crowded them
back, snatching the candle from De
Nova's fingers and throwing the flick.
ering light down level with the deck.
It's brassbound chest, men,"
cried, Strengthening up and facing
them. But 1t is going to require
some hard digging to get it out. About
all | can see is the handle of It,"
never comprehended before how
the passion and lust for gold can ex-
press itself upon mems faces. Tense,
mottonless, breathing heavily, their
features drawn, their eyes cleaning
feverishly in the yellow flame, they
stared at me and then at that ice.iront,
demeuted and speechless. No one
thought Of where we were-castaways
our lives the sport of winds and waves,
sodden wreck under us, our nearest
port thousand miles away across a
stormy sea; all we realized at that
moment was that there, just before us.
under that mantle of ice, lay buried
three million pesos. God! the collar
of my Jacket seemed choking me; i
breathed as II mans fingers clutched
my throat, and | saw Meningitis
burly form shaking as II he had an
ague fit. Three million pesos! The
hot blood rushed to my head, lava
stream, and De Nova's face, white as
chalk behind his little black mus.
taches, seemed dancing before me
ghostlike. Damn him! the fellow
made me think OF Salvatore, the man
who, just above, frozen and dead, had
guarded this treasure for 1875 years.
cast the suggestion aside with
curse and laugh. grasping Kelly by
the shoulder to steady myself-to re-
alize these were real men, this task
before US real work. 1t was like COM
ing forth from under an anaesthetic,
leaving me weak as child, yet with
brain and faculties aroused to action.
Johnson Thrust forward The claavpr