Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-26
THE GHDED NAN
BY ~CLIFFORDSMYTH
I the long handle Of

mand. they again seized the long hsndis Of
the windlass.
This time 1t was fortunate they had HaouI
to help them ~ipce the resistance offered By
the magnet, which now had to be hauled up
an inclined pane by means of a rope nearly
one hundred feet in length, was considerably
greater than before. The windIass creaked
and trembled as revolution after revolution
or the drumhead slowly brought the great
oi1ck bar of metal nearer to the surfaces.
They could hear the far-on swirl of the wa
yer as the ascending Llama vibrated through
A. Minutes that seemed to lengthen into
hours passed without appreciable result.
Ihen. at last, they heard the water rising as
the magnet reached the mouth of the shaft.
Tnere was an additional strain on the LLAMA,
followed by the noise of a commotion in the
subterranean pool as the liquid streams
poured back from the emerging body.
But still the end to their work was not in
sisht. with every turn of the handle the
weight of the body at which they were pull
ing seemed to increase. Mrs. Quayle. sole
spectator of what was happening, watched
the opening of the well with dismal appre-
hension, convinced that some dreadful trans-
formation had taken place in its hidden
oepths. When the top of the magnet finally
rose into view she shrieked historically. To
her notion the great black body had an UNI
canny look 1t had turned into a devil, for
aught she knew, filled with evil designs
against them. Anything that was SUPER
naturally horrible, she believed. could happen
IN this cave-and there was enough in her
recent experiences, indeed, to give some color
to, her belief.
But, devil or djinn. the water dripped
and splashed in sparkling runlets from the
I shining body of the Black Magnet that had
gained In luster since its submersion in the
wen. 1t seemed more alive than before, more
capable of exerting the mysterious force that
mad played such pranks with Mrs. Quayle's
Jeweiry. AS 1t cleared the top Of the we'll the
arm OF the windlass to which 1t was hung,
as II ooeying some invisible signal, detached
user from tho nnLat sn h ,rA --l -
swung back into its original position between
the two uprights of the machine. Here. as
pefore, a reverse motion took place. The
Black Magnet was poised for a moment in
the air. 1t then descended to the ground,
resting, finally, in the same spot where the
explorers first discovered II.
a sigh of relief escaped them. Hosting
heavy weights was not much to their taste
and they were glad the task was over. Then
they rubbed their eyes. half expecting to see
something miraculous. some sudden transfor-
matlon as a result of their labors. But the
Black Magnet. except for the brilliance due
TO its bath in the depths of the earth, looked
exactly as 1t was before. This. 1T must be
confessed, was disappointing to those who
had been promised great rewards for toiling
so patiently at the windlass. Raoul had
declared the experiment would solve the So
cret OF Guetavita. But they failed to see how
a wet rock-or bar of metal. whichever it
might be-with mud sticking to it, had any
connection with a secret. Raoul. however.
was not discontented. Getting to work on
the magnet. he examined infinitely every inch
or Its surface. At first he found nothing.
Ihen. to the amazement of the others. he
extracted from one of the large assures in
the magnet a thin disk encrusted with the
microscopic growths that form on metals
that are long subjected to the action of water.
This disk proved it's metallic nature by the
force needed to release it from the magnet.
Much OF the brown matter sticking to IL
was wiped away with a cloth. the more
tenacious growth beneath was rubbed and
scraped with a sharp stone. When the scour-
ing was finished Raoul triumphantly held
up the disk. 1t was a dazzling plate Of gold,
thin and flexible, rudely carved to resemble
a human being. In size 1t was not more
than the palm of ones hand, somewhat Of
that shape. a trife longer and narrower.
with a projection, intended to depict a mans
head. face and neck, like a pyramid standing
on its apex, upon which were traced in em.
bossed lines three loops to represent the
mouth and eyes, with another line running
down the middle. long and straight. to repre-
sent the nose. The body of the figure was
similarly carved-raised lines folded ever
the stomach for arms. with various loops
and coils around the neck and chest, intended,
doubtless, to indicate the ornaments and
insignia of rank worn by the image or,
rather, the human being or god for which
1t stood. All this was done in the finest gold
tracery, which, IL it lacked some of the
subleties Of the g~oldsmith's art as we know
1t, was expressed, nevertheless, with admir-
able delicacy and firmness. In the head of
the figure was a round hole showing, doubt
less, that the disk was worn as a pendant
by its owner, or was hung as a votive offer
ing before his or her household deity.
CONTINUED TOMORROW