The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1919-08-21


ing. I edged my way Into It, and after
Following 1t for a hundred yards or SO.
; iound myself close to the roofiess ruin
OF spacious stone house with some-
! thing of the appearance of an old Eng
lish manor house. Mullioned windows.
nnely masoned, opened in the shat
eereu wall, and an elaborate stone
staircase, In the interstices of which
STOUT shrubs were growing, gave, or
once had given, an entrance through
an arched doorway-an entrance now
stoutly disputed by the gIistening
| trunk of gum-elemi tree md endless
lna.ted ropelike roots of giant vines
ana creepers that writhed like SCRIP
ehts over the whole edifce, Forcing
my way up this staircase, found my.
seif In stone hall some sixty feet
long, at one end of which yawned a
huse fireplace, Its fiue mounting up
through finely carved chimney. still
standing firmly at the top of the
southern gable.
HOW mad this almost baronial mag.
hihcence come to be In this far-away
corner or desert island? At first 7
concluded that here was a relic OF the
Drief colonial prosperity of the Ba-
hamas, when its cotton lords lived
lihe princes, with a slave population
ior retainers-days when even the
Dootbiacks in Nassau played pitch.
and-toss with gold pieces; but as l
considered further, 1t seemed to me
th"t the style of the architecture and
the age Of the building suggested an
earlier date. Could 1t be that this had
Deen the home Of one Of those early
eighteenth century pirates who took
prlde In haunting the luxury and pomp
oI princes, and who had perhaps made
this MS headquarters and stronghold
1or the storage Of his loot on the re-
turn from his forays on the Spanish
Mainf This, as the more spirited con.
lecture, 1 naturally preferred, and. in
ueIauit or exact information, decided
to accept.
The more pondered upon this
1ancy and remarked the extent of the
ruins - including several subsidiary
outhouses-and noted, too, one or two
choked stone staircases that seemed
10 descend into the bowels Of the
earth, the more plausible 1t seemed.
In one or two places where / sus-
pectcd underground cellars-dungeons
Tor unhappy captives belize, or strong
vaults for the storage Of the treasure
i tested the floors by dropping heavy
stones, and they seemed unmistakably
to reverberate with hollow rumblinp
sound !; hut 1 could find no present way
or getting down into them. AS said.
the Staircases that promised an en-
trance into them were choked with
debris. But promised myself to
come some other day, with pick and
shovel. and make an attempt Mt explor-
ing them.
Meanwhile. after 1oking about in as
much Of the ruins Us could penetrate.
L stepped out through a gap in one
of the walls and found myself npuin
on the path by which had entered.
L noticed that ii SILL ran on farther
north. as having n destination beyond.
SO leaving the haunted ruins behind
l pushed on and had gone hut a short
distance when the path began to de-
scend slightly from the ridge on which
the ruins ,tood; and there, in n broad
squa, -.olow before me- was the well
come living green Cf nouriShing plan.
tation.rf cocunut pulms! 1t WIS evi-
ienfly Of considerable extent.--a quar-
ter of mile or so, iudged-ard d the
palms were very thick and planted
close together. To my surprise, too,
observed, as nt length the path br ought
me to them after sharp descent, that
they were fenced in by high bam-
boo Stockade, for the most part in
good condition, but here and there
broken down with decay.
Through one of these gaps I pres
emily made my way and found myself
among the SOnring columns of the
palms. hung aloft with clusters OF the
great green nuts. Fallen palm fronds
made II carpet for my feet-very pleas
ant after the rough and tangled way
had travelled, and now and again one
OF the coco nuts would fall down with
a thud amid the green silence. One
Of these, which narrowly missed my
head, suggested that here-I had the
opportunity of Quenchng very agree
ably the thirst of which had become
suddenly aware. My claspknife soon
made an opening through the tough
shell. and, seated On the ground, I set
my mouth to 1t, and, raising the nut
above my head, allowed the milk
cool as spring water-to gurgle deli
ciously down my parched throat. When
at length l had drained 1t, and my
head once more returned to it's natural
angle, was suddenly made aware that
my poaching had not gone unObserved.
'Ha! har' called pleasant voice,
evidently belonging to man Of an
MZaW