The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1911-03-02
HENRKKIECI1Ha. TWfBSTfR

| except poor Miguel: Planck and
Schwartz were down toiling at the
boilers.
Stay here till come back he
commanded I'm going below to seq
that everything's slowed all right.
When come back want to talk to
you"
He disappeared down the after
hatchway. switched on light and in.
dulged in long, satisfied look at the
great masses OF precious metal which
were stacked, according to his diree-
lions. in the strongroom
His purpose in coming down here
was threefold. He meant to see that
the gold was stored correctly and he
meant to lock the room up, so that its
precious contents would not be tam
pered with, and bring the key away
with him. He was not afraid that any
of his crew would try to steal 1t. but
he thought the moral effect of having
1t locked away where 1t was inacces-
sible to them, and Of his keeping ths
keyin his own possession, would DO q
help in maintaining his prestige a.
commander. They knew the sea bet
ter than he did, just as he knew the
nature of gold-bearing rock. 1t. was
necessary to do something to bolster
up his position as chief of the party
and keep 1t above dispute. He did not
want to have to kill any of them yet
The Aurora would be short-handed
enough as 1t was
But there was one more reason for
that hurried trip to the strongroom.
He wanted to be sure that a certain
rosewood box had come aboard along
with the treasure and what few stores
they were taking away with them.
That little box had occupied much
of his leisure since the day when he
had murdered the owner of it. He had
sometimes wished that when ii came
into his hands that day he had yield
ed to his first impulse to shatter 1t,
for the thing had always Knocked him
---coquetted with him.
He had often seen It lying open on
Captain Felding's table in the tiny
walled-off cubby hole OF room they
called the captains cabin, while the
captain himself was writing up his
journal or working upon his charts
He had, during that first winter. fire.
auently thought Of trying to open it.
should the opportunity offer itself
After the murder, when he took that
little room for his own quarters. he
found the box and preserved it with
the idea that now, at least, he would
get the better of It, He knew what
its contents We're well enough-Cap-
tain Fielding's charts and journal. and
he had no curiosity concerning them
But the secret mechanism of the box
itself tantalized him, and he meant
some day to solve 1t. Once ho had
done so, he would kick the thing TO
pieces and destroy its contents
That was all there was to 1t at first.
but during the next winter, when the
long night kept them prisoners in
their narrow quarters, the mystery
of that little rosewood box took on
an added Importance to him and to
the others, out of all proportion to any
effect which the solution of 1t could
have. One by one, with the exception
of the Portuguese, they tried. Hour
after hour they labored with 1t, and in
variably they failed.
The rest of them gave 1t up, and
their admitted defeat gave Roscoe an
other incentive for solving the thing
himself, for he meant 10 leave no
stone unturned to convince them that
they were fools and weaklings; that
he. Roscoe, was the only man among
them. Such conviction was neces-
sary to his leadership.
1t was toward the end of that win
ter that the Portuguese made a sng-
gestion destined TO bear fruit ITS
a curse that has sealed up that boz"
he said You can't open It, and II
you break it, the curse will kill you.
He evidently believed implicitly
in this theory, for no persuasion could
induce him to touch the box himself
Gradually the others had shown, by
little involuntary acts. shrinkings and
glances, that Miguel's belief was in