Rocky Ford enterprise., 1911-05-12

sheep. noted that they were all here
except poor Miguel: Planck and
Schwartz wera down toiling at the
boilers.
Stay here till I come back" he
commanded. I'm going below to see
that everything's slowed all right.
When I come back want to talk to
you"
He disappeared down the after
hatchway. switched on a light and in
dulged In a long. satisfied look at the
great masses of precious metal which
were stacked. according to his direc-
tions. 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 II, but
he thought the moral effect Of having
It locked away where It was inacces-
sible to them. and Of his keeping the
keyin his own possession. would bs a
help in maintaining his prestige as
commander. They knew the sea bet
ter than he did. Just as he knew the
nature of goldbearing rock. It 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 shorthanded
enough as 1t was.
Dat nv
that hurried trip to the strongroom.
He wanted to be sure that 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 It came
into his hands that day he had yield
ed to his frst impulse to shatter 1t,
for the thing had always Knocked him
-coquetted with him.
He had often seen It lying open on
Captain F1elding's table In the tiny
walled-on 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.
quently thought Of trying to open 1t.
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 II. He knew what
its contents were we'll enough-Cap
tain Fielding's charts and Journal. and
he had no curiosity concerning them
But the secret mechanism Of the boz
itself tantalized him. and he meant
some day to solve 1t. Once he had
done SO. he would kick the thing to
pieces and destroy its contents.
That was all there was to It 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 It, and In.
SafiaDly tney Ialleu-
The rest of them gave 1t up. and
their admitted defeat gave Roscoe an
other incentive for solving the thing
himself. for he meant TO leave no
stone unturned to convince them that
they were fools and weaklings: that
he, Roscoe. was the only man among
them. Such a conviction was neces.
sary to his leadership.
II was toward the end Of that WIN
ter that the Portuguese made a sug-
gestion destined to bear fruit. TITS
a curse that has sealed up that box"
he said. You can't open II. and II
you break II, 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 Miguers belief was in
fecting them. Sometimes. after long
succession OF sleepless. lighuess days,
Roscoe found himself believing 1t. too.
and regarding that little box as the
sealed-up casket of the murder he had
done upon the owner Of II. The crime
was there inside.
To overcome that feeling. he had
worked all the harder trying to solve
its secret.
His interest, now. however. in ma
king sure that the box had really been
brought aboard the Aurora was not
superstitious, but wholly practical.
They were leaving most of their stores
iT1p
either to transport them to the Au'
rora or to destroy them. With these
stores and with the shelter afforded
by the hut and the little clnmp Of sur
rounding out-buildings, 1t was prob
able that some members OF the Au.
rora's party, at least, would survive