A POT OF GOLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 253, 22 October 1892, Page 6

A POT OF GOLD.

BEING AM ACCOUNT

OF THE

STARTLING ADVENTS

fttUT BEFEL

Benjamin Manley in the W

of Our Lord, 1880.

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED],

BY FREDERICK 1!. BVRTOt

FART I.

CHAPTER I

A TOT 01' COLD,

£om HAKTTand I wontup to Scotland* tho early summer of 1880 soarching for fffeft' tion. That wo failed to find it at ondmny as well bo understood now ; for this cord has littlo to do with pleasuring, or wij any ether thing which a God-fearing man jould rojoico to think of. Whoroforo UP "». enmbent upon mo to explain as brifty an possible how it was that wo foil (faith such extraordinary adventures as cbngod the whole current of our lives; and J>w i h that 1 sic down deliberately to tolllbouc thorn.

To take the latter point) first:—Tos, the thoughtless young scamp, wroto ♦ mo recently to ask that I make a coßpieto narration of tho ovonts of that summf just j;s if I wero an author coinpotonb tflvnto you a book of fiction ; after matmro dajberation I havo consented to do so, nojfrom any vain desiro to pose as a historic, but to correct once and for all tho manl misapprehensions that have gob abroad concerning us, and to tell tho facts aid no niore that bear upon the matter. Fq both Tom and I havo had to rolato thathmg laany timos by word of mouth until re are both heartily tired of ib; and inasmich as most of tho advoutnres and disßgnoablo perils foil to mo, ib is perhaps more li'oper that I should do the tolling now ; jo soy nothing of tho fact thnfc I am oldei than Tom, and therefore moro fit to speak hlmly »nd without exaggeration, i For the second point: Tom and I wero among tho employees of Loring and jo., of London. From tho beginning of mr acquaintance ho called mo 'Unololßon, although there is no blood rolationsbjp between us: and in spito of tho dillerjico in cur years we grow to bo very comjpnionab'o and to cherish a warm affectr.n for each other. In 1880 we planned t» take our holiday together, and at his sjlif.itnfion I consented to go to Scotland.) How we gob there doesn't matter, though jt cost a mint of money. The story begin! upon tho third day of our proposed ftjourn among the hills. Wo wore atayinj at a quaint little tavern, kept by a Mr Gordon. Many year 3 ago the placo was alivi with industry, for iron had been discbvoretl thereabouts. Tho mining business failed, and now nothing remains in tho «cinifcy to suggest tho oki-time activity bub tuts ol iron rusting in the grass, ruins oflforgcH and factories, and great holes in thp sides of tho mountains.

Upon tho day in quostion, Tom anrl I scb out to walk to one of those abandoned Mines, near to which a lofty chimnby and a heap of crooked iron rod 3 marked the site of what wis meant to be a pnjiitabio factory. This monument of a wrecked industry stood in a deep ravine whero the »un shono ouly a& midday. Timo passed pleasantly with us as we explored tho place, until we felt hungry. Thrift Tom left me within the cool siialVof th^ mint', while ho set off to find running water. Jla had been out of sight perhap? five minutes ■when I heard his voice far down the hill :—

' Uncle Ben ! Undo Bon !'

U had never heard him cry that way, and could nob maka out whether he was terrified or rojoicod. As hastily as possiblo 1 pushed down through the underbrush, stumbling over atones and tripping on Toots, always following his voice, until 1 camo upon him under a clump of great trees. He stood erect, looking at me with blanched cheeks, but ho did not seem to ba lurfc. Therefore I gasped, 80 great was jny di9tros3 ab the labour of running through the woods :—

' Have you found water, Tom V 'Water enough,' ho answered, excitedly * and something more.'

I drew near and looked to where he pointed on tho ground before him. ' Why !' I exclaimed, ' those are tho ibonos of a man's foot.'

' Moro yet,' ho said, and turned over the matted mosses und leaves, disclosing other bone?. ' Lord blos3 us !' I cried ; ' it's a whole skeleton !' This discovery led fcono little speculation betvvoen Tom and myself as to tho manner of life of the man whose remains wo had found, and as to tho caueo of his death. A rough wall of atones extending from trea to treo, remnatilaof utitvimmed boughs laid aero?-, and sotao other things mado it apparent that ho had constructed for himself a rudo dwelling-place here, and we concluded that either he had starved to death, jar that some groat stone had rolled down the mountain side and crushed him. However, all this aside, ib soemod fitting that we should dispose of those hapless remains as properly as wo could ; and we therefore set to work to gather tho bones together, and place them decently in a little hollow under the rock which lmyhave beentbepoor roan's last sleeping plnce. While thus engaged, Tom turned over tho leaves searching for the lust rorr.nant possible of this ■unknown dweller in the wilderness, and in bo doing brought his fingers in contact with tho rock beneath. Suddenly he exclaimed : 'This rock feels as if it had been chiselled,' and after a momemb he added, ' It) has been chiselled, and I think there are letters horo.'

I moved towards him. •> 'Perhaps they may explain the poor ma. i's history,' I said.

'You may be certain that I shall decipher them,' ho returned, growing very earnest, and he began to traco the letters with tho point of his l:nife; for s>o brown and moiafc •was the rock that it was difficult to see them.

_*I can make out tho word "friendß," ' he eaid, looking up with a puzzled expression. ' W c are the only living friends the poor creature has, Tom,' I declared ; 'we must learn what message it in ho has left for us.' Tom cleared away a considerable portion of the rock, in order to find where the inscription began. When he had determined that he traced tho word • this' with his Inil'o, arid said :

•You write down the words, Uncle Ben, •wnilo I call them off.'

Accordingly 1 8ati down beside him, and usint* the fly leaf of my diary wrotij this line as ho slowly spelled it off to mo: ' '/'his gold is vn'nt,' 'What's that Tom, what's tiLbV lexclaimed, my heart beginning tofhump in my t:o« with sl.amoful eagerness, f Tom was looking at mo withWg an d moutli wide opor>, and without f e ply h e traced the v/ar.ls again, spellingilowly aa before: . ( "jL'his gold h mine.

'Go on, you stupid boy,1 I cried, with some impatience. •What follows V In spite of Tom's younger years ho somehow became posseased at thab moment mva^ Xt!' a°rdir qry coolnosa which sha™d ny olderly excitement. Without a word he traced steadily away and spelled another

'Though it I dole' 'Kcmls like poetry,'ho muttored under while continued tracing mean-

1 Lei no man find it ' Thab was too mush for mo. I threw clown my diary and scrambled to a place L>y lorn s side. Together we scraped at the mosses with feverish impatience until wo had cloarod away tho entire surface of what appeared to bo a slab of stone about tour-and a-lmlf foot long by two wide, lho exertion mndo mo calmor, and when all the dirt had boon pushed aside and many of tlio letters woro plainly legible I resumed tho diary and Tom read tho whole inscription from tho beginning. I copy ib horo literally :— 'This cold ismiiiß tl'OllKll It Utolo lot nil man tlnd itinTliia 11010 who takes) mj-RoUl Him will it curse Who itiues ii tiokl will B'aro the worso Ki-jumla it shall divide Urine enuiulcs around Tliorofore lul it hido l'orcvurin thoKi'ound no wornar r«to could e'er bo Told Than will o'urtako Who tukusi my uold.' What wo did after thab last word had boon deciphered it shamos me to sob down. In my caroor with Loring and Co., I had •scon thousands of pounds pass through my hitndfl, and novur folt an onvious desiro for :» tiLlio of a tithe of it; notamito nor a giain ; bub now with tho suggO9tion of a miser's trivial store noar by, I bocamo inflamed with a greod for wealth, and wo wero both fnirly besido oursolves. The one quosticn with us, of course, was, where did the gold Ho, ani 'io.v shall wo bost disobey the misor's command and rind it. Wo speedily discovered that tho inscription had been engraved upon a slab, and wo conjectured that tho rock mast bo rained in order to Rob ut tho gold which probably lay bonofith it As wo could not lift ib unaided, Tom wont flown to tho ruined factory and brought back two or threo twistod bars ct iron to u,so as levers. We worked with these under the most tremendous impul.'c 1 had over known, and it tho slab had weighed a ton, betweon us I boliovo wo should huvo pried ib up.

Finally, by dint of prying and propping and pushing, wo hnd tho slab standing up on ono end ; whoreupon wo topplod it ovor and a hole yawned ab us. Ib was nob moro than three foot deep, and in tho middle was an iron pot, covered with a small stono. Tom jumped in, and with a great heave lifted ofi the stone and hurled ib over tho tnlj;e of tho pit, and while it wont tumbling down the hill we both threw up our hands) and shrieked ; ay, shrioked. I can think of no other word, for thoro in tho pob, tilled to tho rim, woro gold coins, big and little pieces, heapod togothor, dull in colour fioin lung exposure; but genuino gold money, greater in value in tho very top layer than i !m(J ever seen at one timo in my lifo.

Lot mo pass ovor all the wild and unseemly manifestations of excitemont which accompanied this astounding discovery, hi all probability wo behaved much us other mon would have dono under the circumstanco*. Thero was no question with ua but that wo had acquirod a right to the gold by tho finding of it, and that ib behoved us to take ib with us and care for it jealously. I will recall in passing that llm curse laid upon the gold troubled mo

sorolv at times, and IoU to various misgivings on my part, feelings which Tom in his youthful enthusiasm failed to sharo.

1 Friends it shall divide,' road tho inscription, and whether or no that prophecy had any bearing upon our subsequent adventures tho reader may judge for himself as the narration proceeds. The iron pnb fell to piccos when wo endoavoured to raise it, and accordingly wo placed all the coins in my haversack. Ib was a considerable strain on tho bag, but it hold, and we started back up the hill, carrying it between us as best we mighb by suspending it from one of tho short bars of iron that Tom hud found near the ruined factory. Tho weight could not have been lefa than 8 stone, and tho reader may calculate for himsolf the value of tho treasure. At tho time wo ruughly estimated that ib was worth about £50,000. Unaccustomed as we wore to physical oxercise, wo found kho strain of carrying it exceedingly severe, nnd we wero compelled to rest many times on tho way back. While we were yet some tvo miles from Gordon's inn, wo were startled by tho sound of an approaching waggon. Fearful leab wo should bo discovered, we withdrew into tho bushes, but not soon enough to avoid being soon by tho pr.rfcies who were approaching. They proved to bo two men, who, liko oursolvo?, were passing a few <lay 3at the tavern. One of them v.fw Algernon Donithorno, an Amorinun, and tho other James W. Haskins, an Englishman, who was accompanying him on a lour about»the country. Jioth gentlomon saluted us civilly, and Mr Haskina, who was driving, otoppod tho horso and said : — • We thought we would tako a glance at tho old iucto'ry. Is it much farther on V • Somewhat more than a mile, sir,' 1 reBpoiiUoii, and with a courteous expression of thanks they drovo on, apparently without having noticed our romarkabio burden. It, was qaito dark when wo came to the rnai;i road that loads down a short hill to the inn. *fc ">as clearly wino to hide tho Hold until morning, when, by some device, kc ;ni"hf. bo ablo to put it into a waggon and start lor homo. At Tom's suggestion no plato'l t>lio haversack in tho baeo of a chimney of a dismantled smelting furnace and threw ovor it eoido loose rubbish to conceal Uio spot.

CHAPTER 11.

THE TREASURE CHAN'CiES HANDS. The evening and night passed slowly for us, tt a wo were both excessively nervous. Mows Donitliorbo and llaskins returned to the inn not long alter our arrival, and in iht; course of general conversation it apptarocl that the American was oddly interested in solitary dwellers among the hills, I thought nothing of it ab the time, and neither Tom nor I had caution enough to restrain ourselves from paying one or cwo visits to the ruined furnace before retiring. Our anxiety must have been very apparent, atul doubtless it gave rise to all our subsequent Doubles. lv the morning, before breakfast* wo went up again to see that our gold was .safe, and at a glance we saw thafc the rubbish thrown over it had been disturbed. Qnnking with tear, we hurried to the b;iso of the chimney, only to discover that iudcod every trace of our treasure had disappeared, it was impossible to describe the painful feeling which oppressed v?. Too disappointed to discuss the matter, we went silontly to the inn, bub I think that both of us were moved by, a tremendous determination to reoover what wo considered our rightful property. It soemed to be a hopeless task, but we speedily Kained a clue t0 tlie possible robbers of our money, when we learned that Donithorne and Haskins had unexpectedly taken a waggon in the early morning and departed for the nearest railway station some thirty milo3 away. We immediately changed all tho plans we had made and secured a conveyance and driver and sot out in pursuit. By inquiring of farmers along tho road we became assured that our enemies, as wo already regarded them, linil gone to Ferfar. There, mnkingail speed possible, wo wonb also. We had come within five miles of Forfar, when we met one of Cordon's teams returning. It was the same that Dunitborne yid 3laskin« had taken several hours earlier. We stopped

and questioned the drivor. He had .token the gentlemen to tho Tillage and left them ab an inn. They had given him copious draughts of liquor apparently, with instructions to say 'nothing of their doings; bub we secured from him, nevertheless, an item of information to tho effect that they woro mining speculators, and had carried with them a remarkably heavy spocimo.i of iron ore wrapped up in bagging.

11 think wo know whab Mint ore was, Undo Bon,' said Tom quiotly, as wo drove on.

Straightway upon arriving at Forfar wo went to tho inn whero Gordon's driver hud left our enemies. Although they had registered under fictitious names, we readily found that thoy bad boon thero and what thoy had dono. Ib soomed that they had taken breakfast and engaged n room for the purpose of making their toilet and packing up some goods that they hud bought in tho town, and after that thoy had taken the train for London.

Wo ongagod tho room which thoy hod rocontly quittod, :ind when wo entered it wo found it; looking as if carpontois hud boon plying tlioir trndo in it. In the middle of tho floor was a heap of tine nhavings, and shavings woro scattered about on all sides and tracked to tho door, tho only opon spot not touched by thorn being a little quadranglo now the honp, whoro thoro wero none at all. Tom jumped ab onco to a conclusion concerning this appoaraneo of things. Tho innkoopor told us that tho gontlomon had brought a trunk. Now our onomiow had no trunk at (lordon's. In all probability, thoroforo, they had bought ono in Forfar and put the gold in it, and it hud rested during tho pneking on tho spot whoro no shavings had boon scattered. Ib soomod certain beyond perndvontiiro that thoy had possoesed themselves of our [rold, bub to make no room fur doubt, and to secure, if possible, soino clue to thoir real dostination, Tom net out to inalco inquirioa through tho villaj^o, bavin;; me to pass tho time at my own devices. When ho roturned there was Boino triumph In Ills tono, but tnoro doubt as to our probability of recovering tho tronsuro, 'Thoro is no quostion, Undo Bon,' ho said, ' about Haskins or Donithorno, or whatovor their namoss may bo. Thoy bought v big trunk near by, und a big bag of shavings at a timber mill by tho river. Tho shavings .they used, of courao, to fill up tho trunk so as to prevent tho tiold from rattling about and attracting attention. I huvo talkod with railway porters, and they wero agreed that tho trunk weighed very heavy for such a small one. Thoy bought tickets for London. Thoy ought to arrive thero luto to-night; wo can got there at bost early in tho morning. Then wo may bo able to truck them by tho peculiarity of their luggage, but how to recover it I am suro I can'b bell.1

Thore was nothing to do but to go to London by the oarliosb train, for there was no lack of dotormination on our parts to got possession of tho gold again, if that woro possible My reneon said to me that it was a vain chuao, bub my desire stimulated my hopo, and whon, about four in tho afternoon, wo boarded a south bound train, I more than half believed that our chase would provo successful. Had I known, howovor, to what perilous endd that chaso would bring me, I should have made my interest in the gold ovor to Tom, and bade him make no effort to 6ocuro it.

You must know tbut not all tho trains go direct from Forfor to London. Most of thorn, in facb, take tho traveller but a short dietanco comparatively, and then thoro liaa to bo o change of carriages. If iv« had waited an hour longor in For Far, wo could havo taken passage on a through train, but wo clodded not to, in tho hopo thab at tho junction wo might learn something more of Hoslsine and Donithorno; it was by no means impossible that they would buy tickets for London acid thon take a different courno, and go toUlaßgow perhaps, or Livorpool, from the junction. It proved to bo tho one event in nil our adventures that foil out fortunately, if wo do not consider that tho ways of Providence woro manifosted ut every turn ; for it seems that the train taken by our adversaries had failed to make connections owing to some accident at the north. In fnct, no train had gono south from the junction during the day up to tho time of our arrival. This wo learned when our train camo to a standstill before crossing the metals of the other lino. We remained at that spot for some minutes, for tho signul was up to let a north-bound train cross first. Looking from our window to tho station platform, whom should wo soo but Donithorne, pacing up and down, pulling impatiently as it seemed at a cigar; and presently he WRB joined by Hnskins, who appeared to call his attention to our train, for both of them looked steadfastly in our direction until the view was cut off by tho intervention of the north-bound train at the station. 1 They suspect that wo are following them on this train,' whispered Tom, greatly oxcitcd. Just) thon the guard approached us. '• Gentlomon,' ho said, 'a delayed train for the couth is just coming in, and if you want to save waiting hore another hour you will have just timo to catch it.' Tom jumped up with a bound, seized mo by the arm and fairly pullod mo off. the train, and then to a big coal bin, which screened us from view from the station. At tho name moment our train started on to cross the lino "find stop again at the station platform, aiul as it passed tho guard stared ut us ia blank nmazoment, and no wondor.

'In tho namo of wisdom, Tom!' I exclaimed, panting, ' whab was this for ? Why not go on to tho station und take the London train ?' Ho laughed quietly. ' Becauao,' ho euid, ' they will watch it to see if we disembark. If they do not bob us thoy will take tho London train without a thought of loar, and, when it has pulled in, we can run across the field and board it from this eido.'

I must give Tom credit for a deal of forethought in this. When tho north-bonnd train had passed we could see Donith^rno and Haskiriß peering furtively from behind a pilo of luggage at tho passengers disembarking from our train ; and presently they moved away with every eign of satisfaction in their movements and looked up the northern line, down which tho London train was alroody coming into sifih' As soon as it came to a Btop Tom and I ran quickly across the fields, as he suggested, and climbed into tho lasD carriage. We looked out of the window and saw Donithorno at the door of one of the forward carriages, while Haskins was on the station platform watching the disposal of tho luggoco. When every box had been put on board, Haskins turned, and both he and his companion entered a compartment. Thon Tom and I drew back, and each of us breathed freely as the train startod. Our adversaries were with us at least, and we were now in lively hope_, if not expectation, of soon gotting them into our hands.

To be Continued on Monday,