, 1922-12-10

~ &AAA4 AA2k ~ 6H
was a sort OF fairy vista extend
ing over the gardens across the
4blt OF park into the haze. pierced b.
he narrow white shaft OF n Va
lioaai Monument extending into the
Ky.
There va q heavy odor OF tessa-
mine and honeysuekie lying o the
southern pcr5co OF the Executive
Mansion. But there were no iights-
rhe whole OF the porteo was IN heavy
shador. 4 big, strong. m~ascuiine
dice, cultivated and firm, was speak
ns.
II an glad thai business OF your
Embassy brought you to America,
Monsieur JonqueIie." It said, be
,auss ! wanted to AJAX you about that
ast expedition OF Chauvannes'. 7
Knew C-hauvannes IN South Area
fs was a fIrst-ciass man. VIVA vas
he mystery about his death7 TIE
current report at the time could not
2 rave been the ruth. 7 WIS too fan
astir."
One might have made out the figure
81 the FrenchmEu by looking closely
n tho dim light He sat IN n Ions
chair. his legs extended. n cigarette.
lnAlEANeAs ll0NAAAk al AAAH 49, 49,
,oIce was low and clear when he
npoke. IKE one Engaged With a rsnee-
3on.
1T was all the truth. Exeolisney."
he aid. as we now know"
The big voice interrupted. That
~sntastlc story
The Frenehman's voice dd not
change
..Tae truth about IT," he said. "iS
rven more fantastic than h current
storv OF the time. Nobody believed Il.
aNobody could have believed &. When
ais journal finally came in, everybody
Il houSlit C~hauvannes had gone mad
Jefcrs the sid. The things he wrote
Sdown simply could not have hap
tpened.'
He paused. Then: "But Il was
Every word the truth. There are
4the emeralds In the Louvre"
The big man beyond Monsieur Jon
.uueiio. obscured by the thick shadow,
made an exclamation of establishment.
The emeraIds.' he said. ARE Of
,%course proof Of the fact that Chau-
Nannes found some evidences OF the
Sthing he was after. But his Journal
ncouId not have been the truth. The
Imam who wrote the closing ages of
that journal must have been mad"
The Frenchmau replied with no
change IN his voice.
"Exoeliency.'' he said. the man
Iwho wrote the closing age Of that
'5ournal was not only not mad. but
lie was 80 clever tina ! have nEve
: ceased 10 admire him. He was in a
desperate position. from which. he
knew perfectly wei. there was no
escape, and he undertook to do n
thing thai o only required the
Eoundest intelligence. but II also re
. quired a degree OF c%leycrness that has
not been equaled by anybody. ] feel
that I ought to stand and Uncover
wherever ] hin about Chauvannes.
There was a sound in ~thedarkness
as Of one drawing ones Body swift
liz together In n chair. There was a
sort OF booming inthe big voice.
You amaze mer' II said. "Of course
! knew what C~hauvanncs vas after.
. He used to talk about It when we
We're shooting on the Vail. He had
j the clew. he thought. to i lost civil
~izatlon Of an immense age, I'm the
great wilderness OF Central Africa, u
little north of the Congo"
He continued to speak In MS strong.
I2rm voice;
Il was not surprised that Chau-
Tannes our some evidence of the
thing he was looking for. He WAS
a first-olass ar~chaeologist. He knew
all about everything Of :he sort thai
had been uncovered. And he was a
good, all-around explorer. none bet
ter. II there was any mar in the
world who could hnye o from the
Congo across the old trail OF the ivory
roiders, northeast to the Albert Ny
ANA. Il was ChAuvannes. I a be-
lisve that Chauvannes went In there.
and that he found tina evidences OF
the things he was looking for; but
the journal that the survivor OF the
expedition brought in could not be
:rue. C~hauvannes wa insane when he
wrote Tiff the excerpts I saw OF 1t
were not colored."
Monsieur Jonqveus replied in thu
Same even voice.
our government. E~1ceilency," he
said. was precisely Of your opinion,
when the journal finally came in.
They thought Chauvannes was mad
at the end. hut he was not mad!
He was sans and clever-how sane
and clever you will realize when YOU
se' the whole thing clearly in your
mind. 1t was a long time before
we understood 81. although how we
could have beer so stupid seems TO
me q greater wncer than the fantas-
tic incidents with which C-hauvannes
filled .he closing pages OF his journal.
81 think the first ciew We got was
the method Chauvsanes had taken
70 be sure that the Journal would get
into Paris after his death. His direc-
ton, written on the back of il, was
that the bearer who brought IL in
should be paid 5000 francs by the ex-
cutors Of his estate. You sec he was
offering q reward for the thing 70 get
in.
"oniy one OF the three men that
C~hzuvannes constantly speaks OF IN
his journal ever appeared. Ons car
imagine what happened 10 the other
two-the same thing. doubtless, that
happened to all the persons who
started with Chauvannea northeast
to the Nyanza after he had abandoned
his excavations