The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-11-29

that discovery would lead to was an
other matter. He had little expecta-
ton that it would work out his first
conceptions which had come from the
letter he had read, but he hoped it
might solve the mystery of the statue
and the date inscribed upon it. He
was not long in inferring that on the
day, hour and minute recorded on the
statue the sun spot would rest on a
part Of the wall which would give
some information or Injunction intend
ed by the man who had erected the
statue
The inscription gave the year, which
could be of no Importance since the
sun traverses the same apparent path
annually; the day. June II; the hour,
10 O'Clock, and the minute, the TWEEN
ty-ifth. In other words. if this were
the true explanation, on June II, at
twenty-five minutes after 10 o'clock,
the position of the sun spot would
mean something. 1t could not refer to
10 o'clock at night for an obvious rea-
son.
1t was early in April when Colonel
Granville hit upon this possible ex-
PLANTATION. Nearly two months of wait
ing would be necessary before the spot
would reach a position corresponding
with the date. The colonel, too impa-
tent to defer investigation for what
seemed to him so long a period, was
eager to get computer to come and
calculate where the spot would be on
the given day. But he knew of no one
at hand who would be able to make
the calculation. Besides, he had no
desire to suffer the obloquy such an act
would cast upon him, for when he
stopped to think he was forced to ad-
NIT that no more chimerical idea could
enter the brain of man.
So he was obliged to wait and while
waiting planned an excuse for what
he proposed to do He determined to
make hole in the wall where the sun
spot rested on the 18th of June at
twenty-five minutes past 10 in the
morning, and he proposed to tell the
household that he was looking for
convenient location for a chimney he
was thinking of building. Every day
after that the colonel watched the
movement of the spot with keen inter
est, and at the end of a month he
could calculate pretty nearly where it
would fall on the 18th of June. How
ever, he waited till the date came
round.
Now, on the 18th of June the sun
stands very high. practically at the
highest point during the year. Con
sequently the spot was at the lowest
point. In fact, it rested on the floor
The colonel bored hole in the floor
ing. inclining it from the sextant to
the point of the spots contact and. In
sorting a tube, noted a place in the
cellar where the line of vision pro
longed would strike. Then one night
when the household was asleep he
went into the cellar with a lantern.
pick and spade and began to dig.
He had cut through the cement bot
tom of the cellar and dug down exact
ly ten feet when he struck masonry
1t was not very well put together. and
he soon loosened the upper stones.
coming to an open space In this was
an iron box or safe, such as was used
many years ago A blow of the pick
knocked off the cover. and there lay
mass of gold coins. On the coins lay
paper. which Colonel Granville read
His idea derived from the letter
written by his ancestor was correct
Here was a chest containing a mix
ture of English Spanish and other
gold pieces and will bequeathing the
treasure to found an institution for
the amelioration Of the negro race.
Colonel Granville replaced the earth
over the treasure and left it to think
out the problem before him. Such
bequest coming from the original tes-
tator would be absorbed in legal tech
nicalities. Besides. Granville would
not like the notoriety attached to bring /
ing out so many old coins-coins that
he knew came from the price of slaves
and probably the loot of piracy He
resolved to say nothing about this
strange request. but to dispose of it
peacemeal and erect in his own name
the Institution for which it was intend
ed. This intention he carried out. and
many negro is now being educated
with the money derived from the sale
of his ancestors.