Oxford eagle., 1915-12-30


with those who cared to Join him.
male or female. creatures dissolute as
himself. who had chung to him fatuous-
ly in hope Of possible reward at some
later time.
Before this ruler Count sachio OF
Grahonen presently bowed humbly,
processing his friendship, giving no
token OF his treacherous errand.
What. again. friend sachio Of Ora
honenr' jested Michael when he saw
him You have become one OF our
most faithful subjects. is II not so,
! stiil miss Count Frederick. who has
left many duties unperformed-I still
miss the young American. who should
be here to tighten the cares OF the
heavy hours. Yet you come-late our
enemy. now our friend. What can we
DO Tor you. Sachio. to show our graft
tude for your faithfulnessf"
Nothing. your majesty. save to al
low me division OF a flask. now and
then. with the greatest monarch OF
the modern days. Nothing save to al
low me to Join your majesty for q
lighter moment betimes, after the du-
ties OF the day are done. Meantime
since would not weary your majesty
IL pray no more than safekeeping
within your maiesty's walls. as
wander here and there. The art treas
ures OF this palace surpass any with
which l am acquainted. As q youth.
tried TO paint. and | still love the
work Of those who have done as mas
ters what my student hand could new
er do May look at the pictures in
the salleries-the statues. your mai
esty,-
With all the heart in the world. my
dear Sachio,- exclaimed Michael
Your discerning Judgment is valued
most highly. Make free with what
you like. and come to Us when you
please
This carte blanche was all that
Sachio could ask He accepted IL liter
ally. What he purposed actually was to
make free with anything he saw: and
he did indeed intend to return to
King Michael when he pleased Thus
set tree to wander as he liked in the
palace OF Gretzhofen. be made no
doubt whatever OF his own quick ar
rival at the hidden door OF the lost
treasure OF Gretzhonen. As he bowed
himself out he scarce could conceal
the satisfaction on his face.
Sachio was an alert and active soul
His was no haphazard intellect. apt to
accept the dictum OF a mind less exact
than his own. He was a soldier first.
and next diplomat. but all the time a
model secret agent. n typical spy and
detective. He now set about the busi-
ness in hand. deliberately. with preci-
sion. methodically. so that he need not
do any task a second time
He himself had sketched a rough
map OF the lower galleries as he fan
cied them to lie. He calculated now
that with the aid Of this chart and his
own earlier acquaintance with these
subterranean chambers. 1t would be
easy to find the last door that lay be-
tween him and the buried treasure OF
Gretzhonen-
What scenes Of horror these places
must have held Sachio did not pause
to ask. That souls had passed out there
through these cold walls of stone. that
human flesh had quivered here in tor
ment and human voices broken In
their anguish. meant naught to him.
A king had seen ft to surround his
treasures with such terrors in order
to fence away all intruders. He had
buried these treasures under the very
floor of his torture chamber so that
all might fear to intrude there In their
search. Some might be deferred by
such fears-but not Sachio OF Grahof-
fen. He walked on calmly, unmoved.
sure that his own persistence. his own
cunning. had defeated the purpose Of
the dead king. whose methods so long
had defied the avarice and greed OF
these two kingdoms.
Sachio lost little time In the earlier
portions OF the subterranean galleries.
and satisfied himself only that he was
not being pursued. Soon he arrived
upon the lower levels. where he did
not expect to meet disturbance. Now
came the crux Of bis search.
He made his way slowly along the
darkened channels carved at some un-
known day from the granite rock on
which stood the Gretzhonen castle.
tried door after door, and entered
chamber after chamber. slowly. me
thodically. with no enthusiasm. but
only the air of q man covering all pos
sible mischances In his search
He looked most carefully In that
norton of the vaults where he had
found the half OF the torn parchment
hut got no further trace OF the miss
ing portion. This gave him certain
uause. for he had figured that the
broken coin and the broken parchment
would correlate, would focus. some
where nearly at the same point But
the stained and mildewed walls. Sun
damp from their recent noodinss'
Eeaye him but cold encouragement
whichever way he turned. ANY soul
hut his would have felt the chill OF
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