New Britain herald., 1922-12-11
THE GREAT CIPHER

II was night Of illusions. TIL
whole world was unreal. The cit
could not be seen. There was a sort Of
fairy vista extending over the garden,
across the bit of park into the haze
pierced by the narrow white shaft OF
the National Monument extending into
the sky.
There was a heavy odor of jessa-
mine and honeysuckle lying about the
southern portico OF the Executive
Mansion. But there were no lights.
The whole of the portico was In heavy
shadow. A big strong masculine
voice, cultivated and firm, was speak,
Ing.
am glad that business of your
embassy brought you to America,
Monsieur Jonquelle." it said, because
wanted to ask you about that last
expedition of Chauvannes'. / knew
Chauvannes in South Africa. He
was first class man. What was the
mystery about his death? The cur
rent report at the time could not have
been the truth. 1t was too fantas-
tic"
One might have made out the figure
OF the Frenchman by looking closely
In the dim light. He sat in a long
chair. his legs extended. cigarette,
unlighted, moving in his fingers. His
voice was low and clear when he
spoke like one engaged with a re-
Election.
1T was all the truth Excellency,"
he said. ''as we now know"
The big voice interrupted. THAT
fantastic story!"
The Frenchmans voice did not
change.
The truth about it." he said, lis
even more fantastic than the current
story of the time. Nobody believed
it. When his journal finally came in,
everybody thought Chauvannes had
gone mad before the end. The things
he wrote down simply could not have
happened"
He paused. Then: but it was
every word the truth. Il. There are
the emeralds in, the Louvre"
The big man beyond Monsieur JON
quelle, obscured by the thick shadow,
made an exclamation of establishment
1.-THE emeralds," he said, ARE of
course proof Of the fact that Chau-
vannes found some evidences of the
thing he was after. But his journal
could not have been the truth. The /
man who wrote the closing pages Of
that journal must have been mad"
The Frenchman replied with no
change in his voice.
."Excellency," he said, "the man
who wrote the closing pages of that
journal was not only not mad, but he
was so clever that have never ceased
to admire him. He was in desper-
ate position, from which, he knew
PERFECTLY well there was no escape,
and he undertook to do thing that
not only required the soundest intel
liGence, but it also required degree
Off cleverness that has not been
equalled by anybody. l feel that
ought to stands and uncover whenever
/ think about Chauvannes."
There was sound in the darkness
as; Of, one. drawing ones body swiftly
together in a chair. There was a
bort Of booming in the big voice.
'sYou amaze me!'' it said. "Of /
codrse knew what Chauvannes was
after He used to talk about it when
we, were shooting on the Vaal. He
had the clew,i he thought, to a lost
of an. immense age in the
great wilderness Of Central Africa,
little north of the Congo!"
He continued to speak in his strong, L
Arm voice:
II was not surprised that Chau-
vannes found some evidence of the
thing he was looking for. He was
first-class Archaeological He knew
all about everything of the sort that
had been uncovered. And he was a
good. all-around explorer, none better.
If there was any man in the world
who could have gone from the Con-
go across the old trail of the ivory
raiders, northeast to the Albert Nyan-
za it was Chauvannes. / can believe
that Chauvannes went in there, and
that he found the evidences of the
.hings he was looking for; but the
Journal that the survivor of the ex-
petition brought in could not be true.
-hauvannes was insane when he
wrote tiff the excerpts l saw of it
we're not colored
Monsieur Jonquelle replied in the
same even voice.
"Our government, Excellency," he
said, was precisely of your opinion,
when the journal finally came in.
they thought Chauvannes was mad at
he end. But he was not mad! He
was sane and clever-how sane and
low clever you will realize when you
ret the whole thing clearly in your
mind. 1t was a long time before
We understood it although how we
ould have been so stupid seems to
ne now greater wonder than the
antastic incidents with which Chau-
,annes filled the closing pages of his
ournal.