The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1915-09-03

heard voice, and raising my hand
we both halted suddenly.
Someone is there" I Whisnered
quickly. Behind that rock" She
nodded in the affirmative, for she, too,
had heard the voice.
We listened, but the sound was not
repeated. That someone was on the
other side of the rock | knew, for in
tree in the vicinity thrush was hop
ping from twig to twig, sounding its
alarm-cry and Directing to being dis
turbed.
Therefore we crept silently forward
together to ascertain who were the in
truders. The only manner, however,
IN which to get a view beyond the
huge rock that, having fallen across the
stream centuries ago, had diverted its
channel, was to Chamber up its messy
sides to the summit. This we did ca
gerly and breathlessly, without betray
ing our presence by the utterance of
single word and laying ourselves fat
as we came to it's summit.
Then together we peered over, just,
however, in time to see two dark fig
ures of men disappearing into the
thicket on the opposite side of the
glen.
who are they, I wonder?" l asked
DO you recognize them?"
mo. They are entire strangers to
me-" was her answer. But they seem
fairly well dressed. Perhaps two
sportsmen from some shooting party
in the neighborhood They've lost
their way most probably"
But don't think they carried guns"
l said. "One Of them had something
over his shoulder"
Wasn't it a gun? thought it
was"
mo, he wasn't carrying it like he'd
carry a gun. 1t was Shorthand
seemed more like a spade"
"A spade!" she gasped quickly in
a low voice.
At the moment my eye caught sight
of a portion Of the ground below US
at the base Of the rock which had evil
IDENTIFY been recently disturbed.
1T is a spade the man is carrying!"
l cried excitedly. Look down there!
They've just been burying something!"
Her quick eyes followed the direc-
ton l indicated, and she answered:
II really believe they have concealed
something!"
Then when we had allowed the men
to get beyond hearing, we both slipped
down to the other side of the bowlder
and there discovered many signs that
the earth had been hurriedly exca.
waited and only just replaced.
Quicker than it takes to describe the
exciting incident which followed, we
broke down the branch of tree and
with it commenced moving the freshly
disturbed earth, which was still soft
and easily removed.
J Muriel found a dead branch in the
vicinity, and both Of us set to work
with will, eager to ascertain what
was hidden there. That something
had certainly been concealed was, to
us, quite evident, but what it really
was we could not surmise.
Digging with piece of wood was
hard and laborious work and it was
long time before we removed suffi-
cient earth to make hole of any size.
But Muriel exerted all her energy, and
both of us worked on in logged silence
full Of wonder and anticipation. With
a spade we should have soon been able
to investigate, but the earth having
apparently been stamped down hard
prior to the last covering being put
upon it, our progress was very slow
and difficult.
At last, quarter of an hour or so
after We had commenced, Muriel,
standing in the hole and having dug
her stake deeply into the ground, sud.
denly cried:
Look! Look, Mr.. Gregg! Why
whatever is that?"
| bent forward as she indicated, and
my eyes met an object so unexpected
that | was held dumb and motionless.
The amazing enigma was surely
complete!