The Mystery of the Iron Box

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 24, 28 January 1911, Page 19

The Mystery of the Iron Box

By E. EVERETT-GREEN (Author of "The Man from the West," "The Marriage of Marcia," ' "Married in Haste," etc.)

CHAPTER IX. THE CAVES OF TRAVERSAL. "By Jove!" cried Dermot, himself on Jus feet now, "the plot thickens with a ; That fellow Pike seems 1 utoqStous-! Hilton knew him as a firstclaffl bully and blackguard at school. Duckworth and I are haunted by his attentions in far-off lands. Some friend of toots seems to have received his atten- : tione likewise in some inhospitable or jemote clime. The fellow must be a re<mlar wandering Jew! Do tell mc wha; you kno-w of him, Miss Quintin!" ; "Only just what I said. I've a bo; friend—l mean we 'Were boy and girl to o-ether, for our mothers were great friends. He went off last year on an exoedition into Africa—about sleeping foknoe or some sort of fly or mosquito or other malarious bug. He's a full- •'■• blown doctor now with <i scientific turn, ' nnd he made some sort of discovery on Ms own hook, I believe. I never did understand, so I won't try and explain. / [But it was worth come money to him; {or he's .been a'blelo buy himself a practice in London since. And I remember in his letter he told mc (as he always wrote to let mc know how he was gettin« on)- that he had had rather a narrow squeak of his life from a man called Pike—l foTget whether It was Randall Kke or not—l must ccc if I've got the letter somewhere— who wanted to get bold of a bottle of his with something in it, and -would have made nothing of knocking him on the head in the pro "Sounds like the same gentleman who is after Duckworth's diamonds. By the fcye, ladies, yo'n'll keep this little story to yourselves, won't you? I don't think 1 ought to have said a word about it to you *" . "Ah, but that would have been so dull of you!" eried 1 Barbara, her eager daTk lie' all aglow. "Of course, we'll keep it a deadly secret —I do love to have a deadly and romantic secret to cherish, particularly -when it contains elements 6f ( Tobbery and potshots and midnight explorations into weird cellars! But neighbours must trust one another. And think how useful we may be to you if J»ike comes hanging Tound! We can act as detectives. We can watch the eea from our eyrie on the cliff. We can do all sorts of perfectly enchanting things! I always meant to have a charming time, when I cut adrift and took my life into By own keeping; but £ never thought "of walking straight into a sort of detec- | tive diamond robbery business! I call it ■:. Bimplyt^ripping!" She brought out the word with euch a charming little inflection of her very delightful voice, that Dermot, though

■disliking the.expression on the lips of a • girl, ecrald not but smile Indulgently. ; Certainly this adventure had led' to an

entirely unexpected issue. Not only had ? ' .he foimd the two fair mennaidens of ; 'tie rofis,' but ' he had driven into a 8 ' lapi'd" friendship with them —a friendship I ~ep...rapid„ that when he rose to go he I ;was ajnazed to think of what had , .passed ibetween therm, and as.he shook inands he

said "with, a boyish laugh,

"Isay, whatever will old. Hilton 'think •': mc "for giving the l show away like this to what he will be pleased to call— ■ Two perfect strangers!' " "Hβ can't say that of Mona, Ibecause ■■': .''be -knows her!"

"Does he? I'm glad of thai. But he Senied that.l could have seen two lovely sea maidens on the rocks as our boat - lonrped in." "Well, perhaps the two puzzled him," Bailed Mona, "or lie adjective seemed inappropriate. Or peirhaips ihe has forgotten my. existence. I ihave seen very Ittle of Mm for the past year; but I used to go "with my father sometimes to Treiveraal I loved to watch iiim. at his dy- , rabnophone, tihoug'h he used to say it was not TTOrtihy to be called by that name, and was only a humble adaptation of ins'own—males behind the great invention; of Dr. Oathill." •

"But he's our neighbour," cried. Bar,.kara,"and I'm awfully sociable, and I'm djjmig -to, be in the thick of the 'diamond jnystery! Do make him ask us to tea • come. day. And if tfhere are anycaves at Treversal, as you said — smugglers' caves for hiding places " "There are," said'Mona, "I went down 'fato them once. Such weird places—and tie sea, booming and washing up and 'iown in-.thmi. I was almost frightened, *nd rather glad to. get out " "Oh, 1 must ccc them!" cried BarJbara. 'Mr. Ktzgerald, you must get up a party and make him take us through i them—just the dauntliess four, who are going to circu'invent Pike! And we mil hi upon a hiding place for the iron box! Itfs quite too dull and prosaic for it to be m a safei in your room! I'm nuts on a ■■ • ■ buried treasure, down in deep eaves, and guarded by sea monsters and pirates!" .■Bennont broke into healthy boyish ': ; laughter. The fashion in which Barbara rattled along appealed to his merry 'Mgitot- ; loartefl Irish temperament. 'Then, fellow sea-monster and pirate, ■I■will work for the ora-cle, and you will ■ J-jJgnge to explore with us the caves of . Ireversal " ' And- you will be an angel—and sttow ■:,■»« the diamonds!" '"'I can't do that; for they're not mine, and Em only the custodian of the iron «>S. But I'll show you that at any lute , — 3i • Barbara clasped her hands in mock deDeriQot whistled up Ids two young fluids, who were partially exhausted by : W gambols with Paddy, and dfeap- . Ijeared do-mi the path, the girls looking ■pter.him. Barbara took her compaaion's jjaiide and waltzed her round their tiny \- /'I realty thought I was tired to death ■.W men, my dear; but it's curious "how *™yerang thinija are when one appeara TO the scene! I love an Irishman— Weyre so feUihmg! I hope thxt imvita-rWn-won't be Ions; in coming. 1 shall wetol about the iron box, and the prico- . .™s jewels whiioh it holds. I shall only ; w reajiy «)riteivt when it is hidden in the : n6 Ptts_of those magic caverns!" -in r inTitat i°n to Trevei-sal came with- -.« three da.ys. Hilton had chaffed his r, '«?n| not a little upon the result o* ; ;™ s first cliiT walk. But Mono. Dmvcts ; :™a a young lady for whom he professed esteem. He was glad to hear she • .■Wα eo/npandon at the cottage on the ; ia li- erm ' ot was not altogether clear •—Ww-,! eoM erning the second kdy; decided that there was safety ; . ; and that an old bachelor of 'j.j y , Summere °t near could issue the mvitotion without seriously dis- ; m^! 1 -? bl,e equanimity of Mrs. Cirundy, •;; ;.y sing, that the dear old soul hsid ~lj looting in the remote region about

(All Rights Reserved.)

Treversal The girls came earfy in the afternoon ■ —to see the cavts first, in tihe beat of blie light, and then to return to have tea. They ail met at the landing pfa-ce up the creek; for the caves were better gained, by boat than by the long winding stairway from the house. Barbara begged to return that way—subterranean passages had been the delight of her ahildihood's reading, and the glamour of the name hung about it still. She laughed and jhatted almost without pa-use as the .oat glided from the creek, and the ihot !>ring sunshine smote full upon them. I i'hey had am old boatman to direct their ..oiirse with Hilton's assistance at the rudder. The caves were well known to them; but as they passed oat from the gold of the dayligiht into the immense echoing vault, which formed the entrance to the caves, Barbara's merry voice died into sileniee, and as she looked about her a certain awe invaded her spirit'; for site had seen nothing quite so wild and strange before.

The light from the entrance faded slowly; the boatman lighted candles, and they each had one to nold, set in a flat-ibottomed candlestick. The green waves rolling softly in lapped and hissed and whispered as they washed up and down in that strange place of silence and of echoes. There were little waterways leading into different smaller caves. The whole of the overhanging cliffs seemed here to be hoqeyvonibed by creeks and caves. Hilton told them that he had a plan of the whole place, which ■he had made when a lad with infinite toil and pains. There were tunnels leading far back above high watermark, and holes and hiding places where smugglers had stored their goods, and where they could be defended by one or two men from the attacks of an army had need been. But the great cave ran deep into the heart of the hill, and it was up this wider waterway they went, till the boat grounded, and they all scrambled' out, and found themselves in a wonderful place of stalactites and trickling water, from where a labyrinth of blackmouthed passages seemed to open out; and where a man might wander long in darkness and mortal feaT 'before he ever found his way out again, if once he ventured in without a guide.

(Hilton himself had «ome upon a skeleton of a man, probably lost in the cave* , or left to die after some fight; and there •were legends of ghostly voicee and sighs and groans being heard down h&re by persons venturing in alone. So that the place was held in considerable awe iby the fishing folk of the district, and there "were few who ever dared to penetrate into the dark shadows of the caves of Treversal.

Barbara, however, could' not long be quenched. Her interest and excitement increased as they moved along. When the old boatman had seen sent take away the boat, her tongue was unloosed, and she begged that they should be shown the kind of hiding places where the treasure might be safely lodged. '

They saw a score or more of enchant-ing-looking hiding places j but Hilton waa prosaic enough to declare that for the! present he thought the iron box was as well in the safe as do-wn here. Barbara declared he had no imagtination, and teased him mercil'issly about , being wasted upon such a delightful old house as Treversal with a private oubliette underneath, where all inconvenient persons could (be disposed of—and no questions asked. The long .passage and flights of dank steps which eventually led, through a great clamped 1 iTon door into the lower regions of Treversal pleased her hugely. She was in the highest of spirits as they all drank together in Hilton's big panelled hall, with a pair of doors wide open to a sunny terrace letting in the glow of daylight, and the two young hounds making maudlin love' to all who would notice and feed them.

And then Dermot was prevailed upon to bring' down the ibox—"just that I may feel I have seen hidden treasure!" coaxed Barbara. She gazed upon it when produced, with eager laughing eyee. Dermot felt a little glad that he had no key. He had refused to take it, saying that if at any time he had to act, he would coon force the lid. "I don't know how yon could liave Tβsisted the temptation," spoke Barbara, laughing. "What is it, I wonder, atoout precious etones that gives them such, a fascination and glamour! Take your box away, leet I play the greedy Pike and lay violent hands upon it! I wonder—O how I wonder—who will have the opening of it some day—or the contents when it is opened. CHAPTER X PHYLLIS. "A letter for you, miss/ said the lodg-ing-house girl. "Put it down, please," said Phyllis Duckworth, seated at her embroidery frame so as to catch the light from tho window at a convenient angle. She made

an attractive picture sitting there amongst her delicate silks of every hue of the rainbow. Her plain blue linen dress was covered by a white apron; the dark brown hair, which rippled into little delicate tendrils about her small, close-set ears and round the wide broad brow, was coiled in a simple and effective fashion round her head. When she raised her eye to speak to the girl they showed themselves to be of a sparkling hazel, delicately arched over by dark and welldefined brows. Her nose was straight, her chin square and decided, and the moutli, if a little large, was possessed of generous curves and smiled readily in speech. In figure the girl was tall and slender, and she moved with a graceful deliberation which was wont to hold the eye of the observer. Her voice was low toned and musical; and when she ceased speaking her long white fingers movsd with swift, steady precision of movement amongst her maze of shining silks. Phyllis did art needle-work; and worked mostly at home upon commissions which her taste, dexterity, and excellent workmanship had won for her. She had known difficult times in days gone by; but now she had won for herself a position of comparative ease and affluence. She never looked for work for she had plenty, and it was paid for at rates which once on a time she had never hoped to secure. The last stitch set in the flower she was working, she covered her frame carefully, bestowed her silks in an ordered way in her great basket, lighted the gas ring beneath her little kettle, and set her tea equipage upon the table beneath the other window. (To be continued dairy.)

• v 100,013 8- 7v