The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-07-23

IDENTIFY fallen In. here sailor stopped
and whIned. paving the earth. and at
the same time heard moaning un-
derneath.
"Is that you. Tom?" called. Thank
God, the old chap was not dead at all
events.
''Thank the Lord. it's you, sar," he
cried. I'm all right, but I've had a
bad fall-and i can't seem able to
move"
Hold on and keep up your heart
I'll be with you in minute" called
down to him.
Mind yourself, sar," he called cheer
lily, and indeed 1t was a problem to get
down to him without precipitating the
loose earth and rock that were ready
to make landslide down the hole, and
perhaps bury him forever.
But. looking about. I found another
natural tunnel In the side of the hill.
Into this was able to worm myself,
and In the dim light found the old man
and put my flask to his lips.
Anything broken, do you thinkT
Tom didn't think so. He had evil
IDENTIFY been stunned by his fall, and
another pull at my flask set him on
his feet. But as / helped him up, and,
striking light, we began to look
around the hole he had tumbled into,
he gave a piercing shrek and fell on
his knees, jabbering with fear.
"The ghostsI the ghosts" he
screamed.
And the sight that met our eyes was
certainly one to try the nerves. Two
figures sat at table-one with his
hat tilted slightly and one leaning side
ways In his chair in careless sort of
attitude. They seemed to be playing
cards, and they were strangely white
for they were skeletons.
1 stood hushed, while Toms teeth
ratified at my side. The fantastic awe
of the thing was beyond telling. And
then, not without a qualm or two,
which would be liar to deny, I went
and stood nearer TO them. Nearly all
their clothes had fallen away, hanging
but In shreds here and there. That
the hat had so jauntily kept its place
was one Of those grim touches Death.
that terrible humorist, loves to add to
his Jests. The cards which had ap.
parently just been dealt, had suffered
scarcely from decay-only a little dirt
had sifted down upon them, as IL had
into the rum glasses that stood, too,
at each mans side. And as I looked
at the skeleton jauntily facing me.
noticed that a bullet hole had been
made as clean as II by drill In his
forehead of bonneville, turning to
examine more closely his silent part
ner, / noticed q rusty sailors knife
hanging from the ribs where the lungs
had been. Then looked on the floor
and found the key to the whole story
For there, within q few yards, stood
a heavy sailors chest, strongly bound
around with iron. Its lid was thrown
back and few coins lay scattered at
the bottom. while a few lay about on
the floor. I picked them up.
They were pieces OF eight
Meanwhile Tom had stopped jabber-
ing and had come nearer, looking on
in awed silence. / showed him the
pieces of eight.
II guess these are all Wen see of
one John p. Tobias treasure, Tom"
said. And IL looks as If these poor
fellows saw as little of it as ourselves.
Can't you imagine them with Ii there
at their feet-perhaps playing TO d.
vide 1t on gamble, and meanwhile
the other fellows stealing in through
some of these rabbit runs-one with
knife, the other with a gun-and then:
off with the loot and up with the sails.
Poor devils! 1t strikes me as a very
pretty tragedy-doesn't 1t your"
Suddenly-perhaps with the vibra-
ton of our NOTES.-THE hat toppled of
the head of the fellow facing us in the
most weird and comical fashion-and
that was too much for Tom, and he
screamed and made for the exit hole.