Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1922-01-07

Nf 49, H''f AtS vi II tAA
sun, lay the stone carved with the let
tiers and the cross-bones. Forgetting
in the haste of my departure to re-
place the vines upon the grave, | had
left the stone to shout its secret TO
the first conner. And that happened to
be Mr.. Tubbs. Happened, say, for
! knew that he had not had the slight
est notion where to look for the grave
of Bill IialliweIl, This running to
earth of clues was purely an affair of
his " picturesque imagination.
! wondered uneasily what he had
made Of the uprooted vines-but he
would lay them to the pigs, no doubt.
In the countenance Of Mr.. Tubbs,
flushed and exultant, there was no
suspicion that the secret was not all
his own.
Miss Higglesby-Browne had a closed
umbrella beneath her arm, and she
drew and brandished 1t like a saber
as she took a long stride forward.
Mr.. Tubbs," she commanded, lead
on |"
But Mr.. Tubbs did not lead on. "Oh,
no indeed" he said. "OId Ell. Fl.
wasn't born yesterday. 1t may have
struck you that to possess the sole and
exclusive knowledge of the where
about a million or two-ratin' 1t
iow--is some considerable of an asset.
And It's one | amt got the least idee
OF partin' with unless for inducements
held OUT
Aunt Jane gave a faint shrek. |
had been silently debating what my
W course should be In the face of
this unexpected development. Sud-
denly | saw my way quite clear. T.
would say nothing. Mr.. Tubbs should
reveal his own peridy. And the cur
tain should ring down upon the play,
leaving Mr.. Tubbs foiled all around.
bereft both of the treasure and of
Aunt Jane.
Little | dreamed what surprises en-.
suing acts of the play were to hold
for me, Or their astounding contrast
with the farce of my joyous magma
tion.
| took no part In the storm that
ragged round Mr.. Tubbs. His face
adorned by Il seraphic, buttery smile,
he stood unmoyed, while Miss Higgles-
hy-Browne uttered cyclonic exhorta-
tons and r~eproaches, while Aunt Jane
sobbed and said, 'Oh, Mr.. Tubbs u
while Mr.. Shaw strove to make him
self heard above the din. He did at
least succeed in extracting from the
traitor a definite statement of terms.
These were nothing less than fifty per
cent of the treasure, secured to him
ny d document, sealed and delivered
into his own hands. TO a suggestion
that as he had discovered the all-im-
p0rtant tombstone, so might some one
else, he replied with tranquility that
he thought not, as he had taken pre-
cautions against such an ~eventuality.
In other words, as | was later to dis
cover, the willy Mr.. Tubbs had con-
trived to raise the boulder from its
bed and push 1t over the cliff into the
sea, afterward replacing the mass of
vines upon the grave.
AS to the entrance to the tunnel, 1t
was apparent to me that Mr.. Tubbs
had not yet discovered it. Even If he
had, / am certain that he would have
been no more heroic than myself about
exploring 1t, though there was no
missing Peter to haunt his magma
ton. But with the grave as a start
ing point, there could be no question
as TO the ultimate discovery Of the
was so eager myself to see
the inside of the cave, and to know
whatever 1t had to reveal of the fate
of Peter, that | was inclined to wish
Mr.. Tubbs success In driving his hard
bargain, especially as 1t would profit
him nothing In the end. But this sem
timent was exclusively my own. On
all hands indignation greeted the rig
demands Of Mr.. Tubbs. With a
righteous JOY / saw the fabric Of
Aunt James Illusions shaken by the
rude blast of reality. For where was
the Tubbs Of yesterday-the honey
tongued, the suave, the anxiously OBJ
Sequlous Tubhs? Gone. quite gone.
Instead, here was a Tubbs who cooked
his helmet rakishly, and leered round
upon the company, deaf to the claims
Of loyalty, the pleas of friendship, the
Of tenderness-Aunt James.
Manfully Miss Higglesby-Browne
up and down the beach. She
demanded Of Mr.. Shaw, Of Cuthbert
Vane, of Captain Magnus. each and
severally, that Mr.. Tubbs be compelled
to disgorge his secret. You saw that
she would not have shrunk from q reg
linen Of racks and thumbscrews. But
there were no racks and thumbscrews
on the island. or course we could have
invented various instruments of torture
Il felt l could have developed some
ingenuity that way myself-but too IA
well Mr.. Tubbs knew the civil
Ized prejudices of those with whom he
had to deal. With perfect impunity
he could strut about the camp, sure
hat no weapons worse than words
would be brought to bear upon him.
hat he would not even be turned
lway from the general board to
,row se on coconuts In solitude.
49, x~~rrr-