Year: 1877

and found nothing but handful
of loose fragments of mortar, which
had filed the broken inner corner.
In my disappointment / flung the
brick into the fire with an emphs-
sis that half smothered me with
smoke and ashes.


The old clock was saying, "Don't
get mad. Don't get mad" and I
half made up my mind to smash 1t
for its sggravating and insinuatiDg
tone; but Ethel happened to make
the same remark. and as / could
not use them both alike ! did not
proceed to extremities, but simply
kissed her and stopped the clock.


But my passion had made the
long sought solution possible, for
seven by nine, from front and top
again, was also loose and easily re-
moved. suppose I had tried and
pried that identical one fifty times
before, instigated by the fact that
the mortar between 1t and its
neighbors was more deeply grooved
than almost any other in sight, but
heretofore it had been apparently
one Of the solidest In the side;
now it yielded to the slightest pull.
When it came ont, / discovered
that it was only half brick, with
an ingeniously fitted iron back pro-
vided with staple in which bolt
had evidently played. The bolt
dropped when the frst brick was
loosened, and sprung into the sta
pie when the connecting rods base
was pressed back by the lower
brick and fragments of mortar. !
knew by the condolences Of the
clew and results that I was on the
eve of fortune, but dared not pro-
ceed further alone. There were
good and sufficient reasons enough
occurred to me why further inves-
tigation should be continued ln the
presence Of spectators. 1t was too
late to proceed that night. so I
kept watch and virgil until the VII
lage was astir again. BY nine
o'clock the next morning the local
lawyer, q mason, carpenter, and
constable had answered my sum-
mons, and we carefully examined
the chimney, within and without.


The house had been so cunning
" constructed that the chimney.
apparently flush with the main wall,
had room for cavity on the right
hand side, more than q foot wider
than the wall was at its juncture
with the wall into which it ran, and
instead of being Of single four
bricks thick, 1t was double that,
with a space Of eight inches be-
tween. We did not stand on cere-
mony, in breaking through the
inner wall and dragging out an
iron case eight inches wide, two
feet long, and three feet deep, sup
piled on the end next to the side Of
the fireplace with slit like those
in the ends of letter boxes, only
considerably larger, which was ex-
actly opposite to brick number
seven by nine.


1t was the miser's repository,
constructed on the principle of
child's bank, to receive all but to
give up nothing until broken into
by force. A more careful device
could not be conceived to guard
its contents, for we had to call in
the village blacksmith to penetrate
to its boarded wealth. Besides
gold bonds and notes. 1t contained
Triptolemus Forbes will, devising
all he died possessed of to Ethel,
a. the one reparation in his power
to make for the evil he had exer-
cised towards her father.


In Difference to the opinions OF
my neighbors, caused costly
tombstone to be erected to the men,
ory Of Ethel's uncle, but in my
heart there is a prouder monument
raised to the honor of the old
Dutch clock, for from it really de-
cended the inheritance we enjoy.