The sun., 1909-02-28
THE CRYPTOGRAM
| DEClPHERED
Gentleman George, Moved TO Chiv.
airy by Beauty In Distress,
Repents Afterward.

'This cove chops on his words as IL he
had a sassags merohine In his saroopha-
gus rumminsted as scanned the top
letter of the package Gentleman George
Ringgold had prigged from the railway
wreck IL read rs follsrs:
ADORABLE ApELE-Thursday week--o p.
NJ, at the old Hansen house. as you suggest.
II be there with the other trian gular half.
once Joined, we must speedily ind It: and
thcn-oh bliss, oh. rapture. uncoBhhedi
liver to be thine PHILIP.
Alriddy hope internal was springing
in Jsrge's brist.
1t, smithers, it?" he queried. THAT
may refer to buried treasure"
1t may refer TO playing tag" grum-
hled; but he wint on unheeding
1t must be So" unused large, talking
on, Of the side Of his mout as IL unly for
his own ear, The house has borne
had reputashun since I'D Ephraim Hansen.
The rnissr, was found murdered in his bed.
Il is unoccypied, said TO be haunted.
There has niver been amy trace Of the
store OF gold which his assassin Ia sup
posed 10 have secured. P'r'aps the old
man had it tucked away secret and safe.
p'r'aps he had jotted down it's precise
locashun on a piece OF paper which he
separatsd into two unintelllgible halves
and sent to his heirs.
-P'r'aps this Adele Devons, who is COM
ing from out of town, is wan OF thin, and
10 be hers Philip is anudder. There's a
chanct, Smithers, Twin. CROWN vigor-
ous ohanot, for the coop of your life; and
to-nights the night
Well" agreed, 1T won't be the fust
coop I've taken ohanot on be night
IT seemed plain that if Philip wore to
meet his adored Adele at a deserted house
he must hev TO get there fust and make
soms prepsrsshun for the convenance and
comfort of their quist, We therefore
planned 10 get there ahead Of him and SO
repaired TO that vicinity late in the after
noon, sasin' the prsdstined tile OF the way
With sweet oonvuss.
large TUX from his pocket a three car
Eered and jagged piece OF discolored
paper and held II up to my incrimatory
observashun.
"Av osrss" he explained, we must
manage be hook or crook to get Philips
triangular paper from him, which will
make thin as weak as us and US as strong
as thin. IL so be it happened TO be about
the ginerai appearance and shape Of
this stall which hev perpared in advance
and you oud substitute IL for the genooine
without his bein' aware, why, thin they
wudn't know how weak they was or
how strong We was and in the ind might
add to their weakness and our strength
by t'rowing their two halves away as
wuthless.'
TUX the stall from him in silence. find
ing the argymint too weakening for my
strsngt'.
By this time we had moseyed t'roo a
secluded opening in the rear tince and
was cropping our way t'roo the rank brush
and underground of what wanst had been
a garding. The house itself stud ON an
iminence. as il challenging Who goes
,here?" From its stark sides and boarded
windows there KEN a sinse of evil like the
irill Of dimmon's hand.
Have you got il, Jarge?' asst.
The glim, you fool:" he growled Why.
cert'nly."
NO. the full proof answered. and l
tux a swig for the warmth of that reging
of the stummick where most hearts lie.
The glim presently did its little part
whin we stole down the coal shoot and t roo
ths dank basemint. We KEN to the kitch-
ing stairs and ketched it's very reflection
above, Jest letting US see how black it was.
He is here whispered; and We slid
up even as we drew the slide down.
A creaky house. which was a mussy,
since large stumbled aginst the stubby
newell post at the head of the stairs. As it
was, while we poised on tiptoe We heard
Philip in the front room rap on the table
and mutter somethin' about "the con-
founded rats This gev us an idee
which y directly put into operashun.
glided into the back room and watched
troo the partly opened sliding doors.
Philip was sitting at table on which was
'outsprid basket Of deliotable provisuns,
vet and dry. a few books. wan Of which
he was reading under the benficent lamp.
Il Kit Of tools and satchel from which
long, yellow envelope pertruded.
Just thin large sint bit OF coal sout-
Ting along the bare floor for all the world
like q rabid rowdint Nary GUS from his
ieptinto the hall. He called -Shoe. shoe,
and thin STAN ped vi'lently, thus suiting
the acshup to the wud. In that instinct
| drew from the long yellow envelope a
triangular piece Of paper and thrust into
it's place Jsrge's inspired guest-its very
counterpart.
ii.
Upstairs In the back room behind closed
doors We studied our prize. IL was an
irregular half OF stiff, antic sheet Of paper
tarn acrass. 1t was kivered with faded
writing not unlike in appearance the stun
large had seen fit to scribble all over his
stall That is, there was no m ore meaning
10 it than there wud be to dicshunary
after a goat got t'roo withit.
1t all depends upon the odder half,
said large. There is no doubt from
what l learned this marn that the mud
derer OF old Hansen committed useless
crime, II is said that the house bore the
MARKS OF frantic search and baff!ed rage.
He was a cunning old fox who probably
r,x as much pains that the right pussons
shud get his wealth as that the wrong
vans shudn't The ting for us 20 do thin
BY the Lard Harry. Smithers. shat
was thatl'
II was not NECESSARY for me to answer.
for 7 saw what that slight sound had
meant TO me REFLECTED in the terror OF his
ewes. Some wan had slipped the bolt
ZE. =