The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1912-03-01
CHAPTER VII.
Apparitlona.

way was dead, SO much the better. II
lie we're only half-dead, the job could
be finished at any time He was out
Of the way for the present at least
Roscoe hurried on, searching state
rooms and passageways and finally
the crews quarters, forward.
When he had satified himself that
he and his men were in undisputed
possession of the yacht, he emerged
on deck again by the forward hatch
way, and found Captain Planck al
ready there He directed him to go
below with Schwartz, who had been
engineer aboard the whaler, and get
steam up as promptly as possible. He
himself remained on deck, directing
the unloading and stowage of those
precious golden slabs that the rest
of the party were bring out in boats
from the shore.
We've got it all, Roscoe, unless you
want them barrels of whale OIL" a
1sman in the last boat sang out as they
:; came alongside. 80
=. We'll leave them to pay for this
inickelplated ship" Roscoe answered.
s"Come, Look alive and get aboard.
We'll be ready to start as soon as we
lean get little daylight"
He looked them over, numbered
them as If they had been so many
sheep, noted that they were all here,
Except poor Miguel; Planck and
iSchwartz were down toiling at the
lboilers.
Stay here till l come back" he
commanded. I'm going below to see
THAT everything's slowed all right.
When l come back l want to talk to
you"
He disappeared down the after
;hatchway, switched on light and in
tdulged in long, satisfied look at the
great masses of precious metal which
were stacked, according to his direc-
tons, 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 it, but
he thought the moral effect of having
1t locked away where 1t was inacces-
Rible to them, and of his keeping the
keyin his own possession, would be-
help in maintaining his prestige az
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 it above dispute. He did not
want to have to kill any of them yet.
The Aurora would be short-handed
enough as it was.
But there was one more reason for
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 we're taking away with them.
That little box had occupied much
of his leisure since the day when ne
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 first impulse to snatter II.
for the thing had always Knocked him
-coquetted with him.
He had often seen 1t lying open on
Captain Fielding'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.
ouently 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 were 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 it. 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 it could
have One by one, with the Exception
of the Portuguese, they tried. Hour
after hour they labored with it, 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 to 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 . sug-
gestion destined to bear fruit. It's
a curse that has sealed up that box"
he said. You can't open It and II