The Ordway new era., 1922-01-20

once for all out of the story. AS for
! CAPTAIN Sampson. there is long gap
in his history, hazily filed by the
story of his having been lieutenant to
Benito Bonito. and one of the two
survivors when Bonito's black nag
was brought down by the British frig-
ate Espiegle. But sober history
knows nothing of him until he reap
pears years later, an aged and broken
man. in a back street of Bristol.
Here was living a certain Hopper
down. Who had been boatswain on the
Bonny Lass at the time that she so
regrettably lost her passengers over
board. He saw and recognized his old
skipper hobbling along the Bristol
quays, and perhaps from pity took the
shabby creature home with him.
Hopperdown dealt in sailors slops,
and had a snug room or two behind
the shop. Here for while the for
mer Captain Sampson dwelt, and af-
ter a swift illness here he died. With
the hand of death upon him. his grim
lips at last gave up their secret. With
stiffenlng fingers he traced a rough
map, to refresh Hopperdown's mem
ory after the lapse of time since
either had seen the wave-beaten cliffs
of Leeward island. For Captain
Sampson had never been able to re-
turn to claim the treasure which he
had left TO BIZ Halliwell's silent
guardianship. II he had, indeed,
sailed with Bonito, he had kept his
secret from his formidable command
ar. Even as he had dealt with Bill
HaluweIl, so might Bonito deal by him
or at least the lions share must be
yielded to the pirate captain. And
the passion Of Captain SIMPSONS life
had come to be his gold-his hidden
hoard on far-off Leeward island. 1t
was his, now, all his. The only other
who knew its hiding place, his for
mer mate had been killed in Havana
in a tavern brawl. The secret of the
bright unattainable treasure was all
the captains own. He dreamed of
the doubloons, gloated over them,
longed for them with a Ceaseless
gnawing passion of desire. And in
the end lie died, in Hopperdown's lit
tie shop in the narrow Bristol by
street.
Hopperdown, an aging man himself,
and in his humble way contented, fell
straightway victim to the gold-virus.
lie sold all he had, and bought pas
sage in sailing ship for Valparaiso,
trusting that once so far on the way
he would find means to accomplish the
rest. But the raging of the fever in
J. {z. oil i'm, RI lie
bed. and the ship sailed without him.
Before she was midway in the Allan
tic Hopperdown was dead.
The old man died In the house of a
niece, to whom by way of legacy he
left his map. For years the map lay
among other papers in a drawer and
here it was at length discovered by
her son, himself sailor. He learned
from her its history, and having been
in the Pacific, and heard the tales and
rumors that cling about Leeward
island like the everlasting surf of its
encOmpassing seas, this granddaughter
of old Hopperdown's, by name David
Jenkins, became for the rest of his
days a follower of the ignis -fatuus.
All his restless, hungry life he spent
in wandering up and down the seas,
ever on the watch for some dimly i'm
agined chance by which he might come
at the treasure. And so at last he
wandered into the London hospital
where he died.
And to me the widest feature of the
whole wild tale was that at the last
he should have parted with the cher
ished secret of a lifetime to Miss
Higglesby-Browne.
In a general way, every one of us
knew his history Even l had had an
outline of 1t from Cuthbert vane.
But so far nobody had seen the map.
And now we were to see it; the time
that intervened before that great
event had already dwindled to min
utes to seconds
But no; for Miss Browne arose and
began to make a speech. The begin
ming of 1t dealt in a large and gener-
alizing manner with comradeship and
loyalty, and the necessity of the prop
er mental attitude in approaching the
business we had in hand. I did not
listen closely. The truth is, wanted
to see that map. Under the spell of
the island, l had almost begun to
believe in the chest of doubloons.
Suddenly I awoke with start to
the fact that Miss Brown was talking
about me. Yes. /, lndubitably, was
the Young Person whose motives in
attaching herself to the party were
so at variance with the amity and
mutual confidence which filled all 9TH
er breasts. 1t was 1 who had uttered
words that were painful and astound-
ing to one conscious of unimpugnabIe
motives. In the days of toll to come,
we were reminded, the Young Person
to wit, myself, would have no share.
She would be but skeptic, critic, drone
i In the busy hive Thus IL WAS ohui-