Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-10-23

good Tom, to whom, for once, Of
course, could not eonfide. Yet had
a vague purpose; or, at least, had a
feeling that, if / waited ON something
would develop in the direction of my
hopes. The doubloon still suggested
that 1t was the key to a door of fas-
cinating mystery to which chance
might at any moment direct me.
And-why not admit it?-apart from
my buried treasure, to the possible
discovery of which the doubloon
seemed to point, was possessed with
a growing desire for another glimpse
Of those haunting eyes. They needed
not their association with the mys-
ferrous gold they were magnetic
enough to draw any man, with even
the rudlments of imagination, along
the path of the unknown. All the
paths out of the little settlement
were paths into the unknown, and, day
after day, I followed one or another of
them out into the wilderness, taking a
gun with me, as an ostensible excuse
for any spying eye, and bringing back
with me occasional bags of the wild
pigeons which were plentiful on the
| island.
| One day I had thus wandered unus-
ually far afield, and at nightfall found
myself still several miles from home
on a rocky path overhanging the sea.
There was no sign of habitation any
| where. 1t was wild and lonely place,
and presently over it's savage beauty
| stole the glamor of the moon rising far
over the sea. / sat down on ledge
of the cliffs and watched the moon
| light grow in intensity as the darkness
of the woods deepened behind me. 1t
was night full of witchcraft; night
on which the stars, the moon, and the
sea together seemed limiting at some
wonderful thing about to happen.
Then, as if the fairy night were
matching my thoughts with a chal-
lenge, what was this bright wonder
! suddenly present ON one of the boul-
ders far down beneath me?-a tall
shape of witchcraft whiteness, stand
| ing, full in the moon, like a statue in
| luminous marble of some goddess of
antiquity.
My eyes and my heart together told
me it was she; and, as she hung poised
over the edge of the water in the at
titude Of one about to dive, turn of
her head gave me that longed-for
glimpse of those living eyes filed with
moonlight. She stood another mo-
ment, still as the night, in her lowell
ness; and the next she had dived di-
rectly into the path of the moon. l
saw her eyes moonfilled again, as she
came to the surface, and began to
swim-not, as one might have expect
| ed, cut from the land, but directly in
| toward the unseen base of the cliffs.
| The moon-path did lead to golden
door in the rocks, / said to myself,
and she was about to enter it. 1t was
| secret door known only to herself
and then. for the first time that night,
l thought of that doubloon.
Perhaps if 1 had not thought of 1t I
| should not have done what then did.
There will, doubtless, be those who
will censure me. If so, / am afraid
! they must. AT all events, it was the
thought of that doubloon that swayed
the balance of my hesitation in taking
the moon-path in the track of that
bright apparition.
looked for way down to the edge
of the sea. 1t was not easy to find, but
after much perilous scrambling / at
length found myself on the boulder
which had so lately been the pedestal
of that Radiance; and, in another mo-
ment had dived into the moon-path
and was swimming toward the mys-
FERROUS golden door.
| Before me the rocks opened in
deep narrow crevasse, a long rift, EVIL
IDENTIFY slashing back into the cliff, be-
meath the road on which / had been
treading. could see the moonlit
water vanishing into a sort of gleam-
ing lane between the vast overhang-
! ing walls.
| Presently felt my feet rest lightly
on firm sand, and, still shoulder deep
in the water, / walked on another yard
or two-to be brought to a sudden
stop. There she was coming toward
me, breast high in that watery tunlei /
The moon, continuing it's serene ascen-
sion, lit her up with sudden BEAM
o! shape of bloom and glory!
For moment we both stood looking
at each other, as if transfxed. Then
she gave frightened cry and put her
hands up to her bosom; as she did so
a stream of something bright-lilse
gold pieces-fell from her mouth, and
two like streams from her opened
hands. Then, as quick as light, she
had darted past me and dived into the
moon-path beyond. She must have
swan under the water long way, for
i when saw her dnrlr hand ,.icn ue.o.i.a