Julian Kilman

“ I calculate near every soul in the district turned out and made it a sort of general holiday and lay-off, for certain it is that no one cared anything about Black Jean himself.
Every inch of the land hereabouts was searched; they poked along the entire length of that earthquake crack, and in the clearings, and in the bush, looking for fresh-turned earth. But they could not find a thing—not a thing!
Now you gentlemen know that you can't convict a person for murder unless you have got positive proof that murder's been done—the dead body itself. ”

“ Surely it was sacrilege to use that triumph of the goldsmith’s art as a crowbar!
But the statue nevertheless was effective as an instrument, as Hardy attached a rope around the bust which projected to within ten feet of the tunnel; and from this point of comparative safety the men put their full weight on the rope. There followed a moment of intense strain, the golden figure, of none too stiff an alloy, appeared to bend—and then it came, a perfect welter of flying sand and debris that left us gasping. ”

“ Capeluche's features for the first time relaxed into a smile.
"And Mlle. Bonacieux, therefore, of the two evils—death or a headsman—is willing to choose the latter?"
"You put it so bluntly, M. le Headsman," she sighed. "There can be compensations on either hand. If, for instance, the headsman surrenders his celibacy to a pretty woman, it is not inconceivable that she may reciprocate by surrendering her jewels to him." ”

“ Like drunken men, the half breed Castro and the Indians wandered around, hopelessly mulling over the golden treasure there in such quantities for them to take, and which, oddly enough, seemed to attract the Indians so much more than the gems.
Anderson and I stowed our pockets with diamonds and rubies and opals, but the youth also clung to the miniature he had acquired on the first day. The artist in Van Dusee, so long latent in this man of science, now blazed forth with the fierce light of a falling star. ”

“ The soles of my boots were scuffed through, and I seemed to have been running for hours; running to blot out of my vision the sight of that body spinning downward into the abyss—running to brush from the tentacles of my memory the horrid thought that I had driven a human being to his death. ”

“ Everyone, it seems, including both the King and the Dauphin, have forgotten the ancient Merovingian statute, which provides that a woman sentenced to death may, if the headsman is 'able and willing' to marry her, be saved. Now, M. le headsman, if a boor, has at least the temporarily strategic advantage of being a celibate. It remains merely for you to captivate the gentleman's fancy, and—who knows?"
The Comte now glanced with interest at his beautiful prisoner. ”

“ They can't figure out how the mischief a little ninety-pound woman could have lugged those two bodies after she shot them with my father's rifle, the distance from the cabin to the kiln—a good half mile and more.
They point out that the body of Black Jean must have weighted over two hundred pounds, not to mention that the other woman was big and fat. But they make me weary.
It is a simple as the nose on your face: The big one-eyed bear did the job for her! ”

“ Our lack of interest in his project left Van Dusee in a pet, and he vowed finally that he would not remove a single article from the caverns. Hardy, always in character, asserted that he intended to have both eyes of the dragon guarding the apex of the stile, and in fact, actually did ascend to the top step from which, by a daring feat of climbing, he swung himself to the lower jaw and coolly proceeded to chisel the magnificent emerald-eyes from their ancient sockets. All this within five feet of the ghastly trophy as yet in the paws of the stone animal! ”

“ They were gay days when your old Jacques was a gardener at the royal palace. And be it known to you, lout of Peptonneau," Jacques' voice rose, "that my best friend then was old Capeluche, the very father of our neighbor headsman, who to be sure is a man of ugly temper, and hence giving easy understanding as to why he lost favor at Fontainebleau.
"Ah me!" sighed Jacques. "You, André, should have heard the rare stories told by old Capeluche, the son of the son of the son of the son of a headsman, unto four generations. A proper man with the sword, forsooth! ”

“ When the preacher had left, Hubbard called to his daughter.
"Harper was gone when I got over to the fence."
"What kept you so long?"
"I walked over to the woods. There's a nest of coons. They're a-goin' to play havoc with the corn." He smiled unnaturally. "Look-a here! If we can catch 'em, I'll give you the money their pelts bring."
Hubbard divined that his acting was poor. Both the girl and his wife were frankly regarding him.
"Well!" he shouted. "What's the matter with ye?"
"Oh, nuthin', Pa, nuthin'," whimpered the girl. ”

“ The French-Canadian built his cabin across the crack, and as the woman quarreled with him about the bears sleeping in the cabin he made a trapdoor in the floor of the building and stuck a small log down it, so the bears could climb up and down from their den below.
The kiln, you can see for yourself, is a pit-kiln, so called because it is in the side of a hill and the limestone is fed from the top and the fuel from the bottom. Like a big chimney it works, and when Black Jean got the fire started and going good it would roar up through the stone and cook it. ”

“ Once a year each of us receives a communication from Rio de Janiero that purports to come from government officials. The letters are entirely preposterous in their content—they read like the notorious Spanish legacy letters so long the vogue of confidence men, and speak urgently, earnestly—yea, almost beseechingly—of untold wealth that awaits us if we will but come to Rio de Janiero and assist in the quest for the lost Caverns of the Ataruipe.
But we feel, young Anderson and I, that constant and continuous governmental search must be going forward for the immense treasure ”

“ NEXT MORNING Simpson, the man with the "tin Lizzie," stopped at Hubbard's place. He was a blunt-spoken, red-faced man whom Hubbard hated.
"That was a bad storm last night," he said. "The lightning struck the big oak tree by the well."
"What of it?" snapped Hubbard.
"There was a skeleton in the center of that tree," explained Simpson. "I was talking this morning with the sheriff over the telephone. He said seventy-five years ago a man was murdered in Ovid, and they never found his body. ”

“ The village seemed asleep, but another than himself was abroad. The figure of a man in a cloak was issuing from the neighboring house.
"You walk late. M. Capeluche," said the Comte. "But it is well, for Mlle. Bonacieux wishes to speak with you."
The headsman stopped abruptly to peer into the eyes of the young nobleman. The act was insolent.
"Is M. le Comte," he inquired, coldly, "sufficiently in the confidence of his fair prisoner to advise me what it is she desires?"
"The man is steel," thought the Comte, hotly. "I'll kill him yet." Aloud, he said: "I have some idea, M. Capeluche. ”

“ In turn, we passed under the stupendous overhanging paws, all save Gomez, making way with a display of confidence that we were far from feeling.
In a moment our blinking eyes beheld that for which we came: a gigantic cavern, nearly light as day. I think the wonder of that moment, as I became accustomed to the peculiar radiance of the light and my eyes took in the many evidences of an extinct, yet highly cultivated, life, will never leave me. ”

“ Although aware that we had never seen our Canadian cousin, Douglass wore the black patch fearing that we might know that David Warren had lost an eye.
After the inquest I hurried, shaken and trembling, to the hotel and packed the stolen Gladstone which had been found and returned to me. Then, feeling that I had a sufficiently vivid impression of America, I purchased a draft with the gold and started on the long journey home. ”

“ The peasants willingly put shoulder to wheel. The coach gained way and topped the rise. As it did so, the two peasants set out at a run, their baskets bobbing, but a shout came from behind.
"'Ware the road, ye clodhoppers!"
The clatter of horse hoofs was upon them, they were just able to fling themselves to the side as three horsemen, presumably outriders of the equipage ahead, swept by.
The peasants gazed in admiration after the flashing figures.
"That'll be good King Philippe's riders," announced André, the younger. "Mark ye the emblems on their jackets?" ”

“ Black Jean said he knew how to make lime and if they would give him time he would put up a kiln. So the French-Canadian went to work and built that limekiln you see standing there.
I was a youngster then, and I know how Black Jean, a little later, built his cabin. I used to hide and watch him and his bears. They worked like men together, with an ugly-looking woman that had joined them. They put up the cabin, the bears doing most of the heavy lifting work. ”

“ Soon we found the explanation, for not far distant lay the bodies of a white man and an Indian. They were locked together in death, while a rod farther on was the body of another Indian. He had been shot in the back. Scattered about in the sand, evidently where the running man had dropped them when hit, were numbers of brilliant gems. They were gems of the Ataruipe!
In frank wonder, we gazed upon that indisputable proof that at least some of the members of the de Silva party, unbeknown to us, had got past the fatal stile and explored a portion of the caverns. But where was de Silva? ”

“ Hurrying his horses to the roadside, he looped the lines over one of the posts in the old "snake" fence. As he approached, he saw her toss a piece of stone down the hole.
Hubbard waited until he was sure of his voice.
"Come with me," he said.
Gripping the girl he started with her toward her home but a short distance away. When they arrived the front door was ajar. A woman, with eyes red from weeping, looked at Hubbard in silence.
"Here!" he said gruffly. "This child ought to be kept to home. She'll fall into the well."
Mrs. Harper merely reached out her arms for her daughter. ”

“ All that morning Hubbard worked his horses hard. He realized that he was eager to go back by the Eldridge dwelling. Promptly at twelve o'clock, therefore, he tied his team and started up the road. A flash of relief came to him when he did not observe the little girl. It left him cold, however.
"Eatin' dinner," he mumbled.
He moved off, without looking into the well. Until four o'clock that afternoon he labored. On his way home he discovered the girl again seated by the well. She was bending over and acting queerly. ”

“ We waited two days while Zangaree and the half-breeds made the trip back for additional water. Then we started. If our suffering in the past had been great, it now increased a hundredfold. The heat, instead of having that suffocating quality peculiar to humidity, was burning in its intensity; and, to add to our discomfort, Hardy kept us going at top speed.
In this the rest of us felt he was justified, as there could be no doubt that de Silva, with a larger party than ours, was in the general neighborhood, and looking for us. ”

“ A falcon in full— Now, regardez vous, the great man is himself in full flight!"
IF THE headsman had in truth rather precipitately taken himself into his dwelling, his absence was of short duration, for he returned in a moment, clad in a scarlet cloak that reached to his knees.
At the instant there sounded the call of a bugle, and into sight swung three horsemen, followed by the coach driven at breakneck speed.
M. Capeluche took a position midway of the road and presently caught the heads of the horses drawing the coach. ”

“ You could see the blaze for a mile.
One day Black Jean came to the King William looking for that Yankee. Seems that individual hadn't paid for his lime. When Black Jean didn't find him at the tavern he started for the Cove.
I have never known who struck first; but they say the Yankee called Black Jean a damn frog-eater and there was a fight; and that afternoon the French-Canadian came to the tavern with his bears and all three of them got drunk. ”

“ Once enabled to shield ourselves beneath the trees from the sun’s powerful rays, Hardy appeared willing to permit us to loaf a bit, and so it was that we whites had an opportunity to take stock of ourselves. Poor Van Dusee was thin to the point of emaciation, and I verily believe the man was wasting away as much from disappointment as from hardship. ”

“ The driver, a sober youth in drab livery with undecipherable shoulder insignia, used his whip mercilessly. The lash cracked, the horses plunged frantically, while a stream of invective sped from the driver's lips. ”

“ These branches shaded a disused well—a well that had been the first one in Nicholas County, having been dug in the early fifties by the pioneering Eldridge family. It went forty feet straight down into the residual soil characteristic of the locale, but, owing to improved drainage, it had become dry. Nothing remained of the old pump-house, save the crumbling circle of stonework around the mouth, to give evidence of its one-time majesty.
A child of eight ran from the rear of the premises. Hubbard frowned and stopped his team. ”

“ Ho!" broke in a familiar voice. "There'll be no hair on the neck of Mlle. Bonacieux to dull the edge of M. Capeluche's good sword."
IT WAS near dark before the youthful Comte, after his discourteous reception by the headsman, was able to arrange suitable quarters in one of the deserted houses for his charge. As he was leaving her for the night, he seemed to reach a decision and was about to speak when she anticipated him.
"You are kind, indeed, M. le Comte," she exclaimed, "to one in such misfortune."
"Kindness, Mlle. Bonacieux, comes easily when one views beauty in distress." ”

“ Of animal life there was little movement amid the majestic vaulted aisles which stretched from us as we pursued our way; but the slight though constant agitation far above us told of that multitudinous world of snake and monkey, bird and sloth, which lived in the sunshine and regarded with wonder our puny stumbling figures in the depths below. ”

“ FOR the moment Hubbard shielded his face with an arm as if to ward off an invisible thing.
Then, bending over the prostrate form, he ran his hand inside the clothing to test the action of the heart. He performed the act mechanically, because he knew he had killed his man.
He discovered the handbag. Evidently Harper was on his way to Ovid to catch the train to the county seat for the trial on the morrow. This meant that he would not be missed by his wife for at least twenty-four hours.
The murderer studied his next move. Where to secrete the body? ”

“ It is a work of art."
"Then I can not be mistaken in assuming that one as clever as the Comte de Mousqueton and so recently come from Fontainebleau will be able to tell me the real nature of the case."
The young nobleman was able to smile in the dark at the discernment of this strange man of blood.
"'Tis a proper question, M. Capeluche," he returned. "Be it known to you, therefore. that no less a person that the Dauphin himself entertains the liveliest of sentiments toward Mlle. Bonacieux. ”

“ I have never yet waited for a Spaniard to come and get me. I like to go to him first.
"If you don't hear from me before Tuesday you may reasonably assume that I have been done in. The game is big and they'll go the limit. DO NOT TRUST ANYBODY, not even the local American consul. He probably is all right, but in this land of 'honest graft' the trail leads to high places, believe me. Get that boat for New York that leaves Wednesday at four in the afternoon. Good-bye and good luck! "HARDY."
I heard a sob from Anderson as we finished reading the missive. ”

“ Thus it came about that I learned that David Warren, my cousin many times removed, was a "queer duck"; that he was rarely seen down town these days because in the past he had had trouble with the authorities—whether it was intended to intimate that the man drank or what, I did not find out—and finally, that the farther away I stayed from his "dump," the better it would be for me. ”

“ It is said that in earlier days expedition after expedition was fitted out and despatched to find the 'Gilded King,' a chap whose people had such quantities of gold that they built their houses of the solid metal. But the best story of all is that of the Caverns of the Ataruipe, a race that lived more than a thousand years ago, and came from Asia; they were wonderful goldsmiths, possessing untold quantities of gems and all the precious metals. ”

“ That day the authorities obtained a confession from the man who had worn the black patch. He was unknown to them and stated that his name was Douglass. For about three months he had been employed by David Warren as an assistant in laboratory work. Having opened by mistake the first letter from our solicitor, Douglass learned of the legacy and kept my cousin in ignorance of it.
For two months he had confined David Warren under circumstances of the greatest cruelty in the little closet at the end of the hall. He insured the silence of the old negress by threats of death. ”

“ But most astounding of all were the replicas of human figures in gleaming yellow metal, some of them quite of life-size, others in miniature, that tilted here and there among the shining mass—all of the most exquisite workmanship, though many pieces were dented and broken; apparently the mass had been allowed to accumulate by the addition, from time to time, of defective pieces.
However, one piece, the reproduction of a slender female figure just budding into womanhood, about eighteen inches in height, lay quite near us, as if unwittingly it had been dropped. ”