Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1922-12-15

recovered He is persistent on thi
point. as he is insistent on the fac
that his death is near and inevitable
; and as he is insistent on the fidelit!
of the three men with him.
And when on the following day
as Lecture reported, he seized th'
Firms rifle and shot himself, the
men we're, of course, convinced thai
he was mad"
There came a sudden vigor into
Monsieur Jonquelle's voice.
but he was not mad! Don't you
see. Excellency. that the whole mar
rative of the journal was an i'm
mense cipher? Don't you see what
the man was doing?"
The voice beyond Monsieur jon
quelle, in the darkness of the por-
tico. doomed in a sudden big exple-
tive. There was the sound of a
doubled fist crashed into the palm of
a hand.
'Wonderful' he cried. TITS clever
beyond words. Good God! Think of
the man in that deadly position
working out a clever thing like that.
He knew what was going to happen
to him. He knew 1t as soon as he
picked up those jewels under the
overturned stones on the Congo. He
knew he would never come out alive,
and he worked out the cipher in this
journal to show where the emeralds
We're concealed, so the French au-
thorities could recover them. And
he worked out all the details to be
sure that the journal would finally
get into Paris. It's wonderful! It's
amazing!
He beat his leg with his big hand,
humping It as one might thump
grist in a bag.
II never dreamed that that was
what the man was after. thought
he was madi"
surely" replied Monsieur JON
,quelle. at was the first impression
Of everybody. But he was not mad.
He was merely making great
cipher with all the details of this
journal
He knew there was no chance
that he would ever come out alivel
But he wished to rob these assassins
OF the treasure which they coveted.
and he wished the record of his eN-
petition and these Incompatible
emeralds to reach France. He there
fore prepared a journal in which was
concealed. as in a code. all the ac-
tual facts connected with his expedi-
ton and his assassination. and at
the same time would disclose the
place in which the emeralds were
concealed. It would also bring the
assassins TO that Justice which they
deserved. He foresaw that Dix and
the Finn would assume that Lecture
had s-olen the emeralds. He knew
that the Apache Frenehman was
shrewder than these two. that he
would realize their suspicion and
that he would forestall Il by their
MURDER thing we know immedi-
ately happened after the assassina-
ton OF Chauvannes on the morning
OF their return. This was establish
ed by the fragmentary confession OF
NhN @AfeANAAN A~NNNANf 0AARAAAg 80
was executed"
Monsieur Jonquelle stopped
Il maintain, Excellency, that this
whole journal is the finest example
OF code writing that was ever under
taken in the world"
He paused. And his voice took on
a note Of profound courtesy
You know. Excellency, what the
creature was that Chauvannes de-
scribed, and where the emeralds
were hidden"
Again the big voice doomed.
Surely" It cried. "Our concep-
ton OF a thing depends on the man
ner in which it is described and the
mental state which has been pre-
pared TO receive that description II
was the ant! The red anti And the
emeralds were concealed in the ant
heap nearest to the point where the
camp was located"
THE END.
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