Show The Snakes Math J Being an Account of the Finding of the Lost Treasure the t-he Hllowell Family BY P T BLACK SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAP Tlmb Justin Hallowell quarrels with hIs unclE and leaves Boston together with his chum Ozlel Haskett The two escape on the shIp of Dlxey Lynch Who lIkes Jus tIn but tries tu1ceto kill Oziel Because of the peculiar snakes mark on his fore head the sailors feat Justin The shin anchors off Lon Island and provisIons for a long voyage Ozlel discovers the plots of the sarors who try again to kUl him but succeed only In leaving him behind OzIe makes his way to 1ew York City where he chances uponMurrIn Justlns uncle The two tit out a stout ship and overtake Lynch and his crew A seat sea-t sht 101Iow and the pIrates arc over Ccm + Lynch and Donnereau arc taken ruiners Oziel and Justin attempt to sle the mystery about the snakes marl lunin make a compact with 1ncl1 and Donnercau A landing Is made on the treasure land llurrin and his men quarrel with Lynch and the blacks Justin el otI g tin and Oziel 1 escape Into the surrounding thicket and come upon a party of natives executing th snake dance Justin recognizes recog-nizes the lId high priest 15 his father The oM priest seeing hh son In danger from hc wrath of Donnereau rushes unconscious and ignorant of the past He Is noW Ih danger 85 the snakes mark was disappearing The natives accepting the sign receive Justin as his successor 07011 loses Justin and meets the priest who tells of his being cast on the Islllnd The storm separates father and son On the following day Ozlel mets the priest uHl learns or his danger because the fad lug makes mark no longer awes thC natives na-tives Donncrcau and the blacks plan to make Justin the new hIgh priest The old man now thoroughly enraged shows himself to the people and the makes mark static out clearly on his forehead A battle follows between the pirates and natives lurrln goes or to the side or the HaIlowlh < and the former conspirators conspira-tors fight nsalnst out another Ozlel rescues res-cues Justin from DOllnercau and another trolllcll storm and earthquake saVes the young men from the pirates 4 DIXEY LYXCHS COMPROMISE When Oziel disappeared after the conspirators in the ooar he left the vIctorious party exhausted and the white members of It gazed one on the other in much dubiety Sir Rogers attention at-tention was first given to the savages who were now scattered about the grass promontory lire as many black dogs panthlS and nursing their wounds and eying the remainder of the whites whose arrival with the priestmarked TustIn had caused all this broil with much suspicion and disfavor The old man moved among them and It was plain they had learned In his long ears residence to respect even to love hIm They prostrated themselves before him caught his feet and seemed to seek pardon j par-don for having ever listened to the arch conspIrator Donnereau The astute Gabriel saw with n grateful smile that at the crItct1 moment he had leaned to the stronger sIde But now that he had time to think and recast his plots he considered that as Sir Roger was now very plainly In full possession of his lost memory and wits hasteshould be made to convince him of his own I the traders uprightness in these matters mat-ters more especially as the treasures hiding place must be now known to Sir Roger alone He approached the dId cavalier with a rubhlng of his lean hands fJ sidewise jackdaws look and words of humble congratulation Sir he said now has mine old hear been rejolc as never before and mine eyes gladdened by sight of my kinsman In such hale guise Your separation from your brethren In this vast and waste wilderness has been long n sore trouble and the cause of many tears in the nIght watches to me by whom your memory though It had notploasedprocidence that we should meet was cherished in the grateful presence of your gracious Bon and fair nieCc whose upbringing it has been mY pride to conduct The honest young man ivho fought by mp today broke in Sir Roger I frowningly has acquainted me Mast Mas-t tel lurrin of the reason of your coming com-ing to my lamentable Place of misery a mIseaJ1 Wlllch has by the wondrous won-drous grace of providence passed In a measure as by a mIracle r am aware you are husband to my dear wifes sister sis-ter and of your charge In Boston 1Te will argue these matters at more length at a litter time Nowand you will pardon me if your deviating policy in the past as related to me by this Oziel makes me bluntwhat is your purpose pur-pose What do you seek 1Iy safety and Justins or tour own aggrandizement aggrandize-ment I Old Gabriel paused one second to anathematize I an-athematIze Ozlcl for meddling again I but did it under his breath and started j again on pourIng out a volume of deprecatory 1 dep-recatory explanations I Few would g innocent he began with an uplifting of the eyes If it be enough to accuse Far from my brethren breth-ren In our most l1eaenblessed British Israel and extraordinarily circumstanced circum-stanced as I now am I am aware that the illconsidered words of a hasty and inexperienced youth might bear He stopped suddenly with a cry his cheeks blanched and he caught at Sir Roger for support The old mInt too was disturbed and the savages rose In a panic for the point of land trembled beneath them and the lake wm troubled trou-bled into swelling waves and thunder broke above them Yhalat Is It cried GabrIel The shaking of the ground passed and all was still hut Gabriel found a I difficulty in proceeding Before however how-ever he had time to collect his wits a white rag waved from the gloomy I thIckets and a loud voice from the jungle cried to them I Sir Roger 1 beg u truce Thy memory mem-ory so magically revived will remind you that I who htieuydu hi the eastern east-ern seas when fighting was frequent among brave men can trust to your honorIng a white flag What would you Dlxey Lynch cried Sir Roger Brae or not thou art a pr meal mutineer as I mind thee and destrve no favor Yet If you brIng tidings of mr son Justin your flag shaH be respect > d DIey Lynch at that stepped put of the wood 1n spite of the great and oppressive heat In spite of the humlllatlon of defeat I de-feat in spite of the fact that he must I have known that Sir Roger With revived re-vived memory looked upon hIm with I contempt and was aware doubtless of his purpose in being in these latitudes Master Dlxey Lynch was as selfpos sessed now as on board his own sloop as gracefully confident as when inducIng induc-Ing Marian Hallowe to let her cousin go asalling as callous to shame as when he denied to Oziels face that he had Upped him overboard The negroes at the back of SIr Roger shook their spears at him but Dixey advanced on them with an amused smile Old Gabriel drew hIs little form up and looted on the rover tlith a I glance of haughtiest righteousness and I disdaIn but Dlxey nodded to him as If on Boston wharves Ah fried Gabriel tis cry warm I said he and within twenty paces of Sir Roger and twentW of the forest he 1 halted and made the digrilfied bow of an honorable ambassador Sir Roger saki nothing but glowered on hIm Sir Roger saId Dlxey as between gentlemen of honor Sir the old man crIed glaring There need be no time lost in useless use-less discussion of the past The subject Is my son Sir Roger interrupted impatiently Is he alive What have you done with him when you fled from the temple He Is alive said Dlxey promptly mid the old man sighted with relief In faith Sir Roger Uw rogue continued con-tinued If I had had word you were like ever to recover tram your crack on the head In the wreck I would not have listened to Donnereaus scheme to circumvent your black friends and get possession of your treasure but gone another way about and brought more bold boys to the attack You will observe sir that unlike my old friend and partner Gabriel Under I make no bone of telling you what was our purpose pur-pose here f I already kuow your purpose said Sir Roger calmly but the malIgned trader raised his eyes to heaven By the Mogul saId Dle shrugging shrug-ging his shoulders Ozlel Hasket lost no time in telling you Nightly do I regret that all my attempts to relieve that young turnipgrower of this worlds cares failed I do not see him Is It possible fortune has seen fit to let hIm be slaIn in the fight I No one answered him and he Shifted I the other foot forward and went onTo on-To business then Sir Roger This IDonnereau i your acquaintance with Whom has doubtless taught you ia a man of singular acuteness for a negro when he told me of our presence here told also of many boxes and bags brought ashore by your request from the wreck after you had been ordained to the priesthood of this very interesting Interest-ing if somewhat unorthodox parish These in deference to your sanctity were hidden about here unopened Now SIr Roger its these boxestl1ls treasure which I know your ship was loaded withthat I want you to handover hand-over to me Now cried old Gabriel trembling at this unlleardof Impudence was ever such 3 barefaced villain Nay nay good Gabriel cried DIx ey with an engaging smile De not afraid you shall have none I pro r r r 1 s Zl a 1 I f kr j I r o I i x s T t yylir 1 1 yew 1 1 t 1 i i i I J They Enocited the Old Chests Asunder and Parted Them With a Cry and Perplexed Faces pose to charter your schooner In the bay to carry me back to civilization But treat me fair old Gabriel in the priceVas Vas ever Gabriel began but Sir Roger answered grimly The renegade Donnereau was right In my unhappy madness for It was little lit-tle else I had chests brought from the vessel vainly striving to remember whence I had brought them and for what purpose I have not looked at them for years but they are here and may not be decayed 0 ho Sir Roger Dlxey laugher cheerfully Gold and rubles etc decay de-cay not so speedily I care not for the chests And for this treasure said the old man gravely for which you risked so much what would you do I GIve you your son unhmt Have I not men enough nere to take I him You are only two I In faith Sir Roger Ulllt II net thc I question said Dixey with a llI1mng laugh Yell do I remember your rank as a gentleman of honor In far and I thus I know that my Ufc Is safe while I carry this white kerchief But twere poor luck to go back to the sea with only life after so dashing a venture In short Sir Roger heres the caseIn case-In yonder wood sits bonnereau and a madder man you never saw with wounds and vexations at his plots going go-Ing awry Justin Is bound beside him and at sound of cry from me or pistol shot his dagger strikes See you the case Sir Roger quivered Gabriel listened curious Little care had he that Justin Jus-tin should live to claim this treasure So there it stands and Dlxey smIled pleasantly Yield up this treasure and give your word to let us pass in peace whither we will or shoot me down or rush to Donnereau or raise a cry and Justin goes to king dom come on the Instant Man cried Sir Roger do you know your life there as you stand Is In my hands Dlxey bowed most eloquently But I know the value of Sir Rogers word and I am used to playing for high stakes I am not afraid Kill me acid you kill your son Sir Roger paused and eyed the rover thoughtfully and a faint smIle played on his Ups You are a bold scoundrel he said at last But you judge rIght What is aU that trash to me who hunger now but to be buried In my native land I fun old and could make little use of It Give me my boy and take what YOU askSir Sir Roger gasped Gabriel but Sir Roger Waved him off sardonically How Master turrin saId he Were you not explainIng your love for Justin and me Surely you will be pleased to see us safe at the price of a few chests Hither then Dlxey Lynch Take your hearts desire and let me to my boy Lynch leaped at once Into joyoUS activity ac-tivity His last card took the trick He pressed on the old mans heels and behind be-hind him hung Gabriel and his three men left from the fight The savages gathered curiously and so intent Were they aU on SIr Rogers steps that none noticed the growing blackness the increased in-creased mptterlngs of thunder the agitation agI-tation of the waves of the lake With 110 more words the old man led them to the altar on the edge of the cape and motioned to the negroes At a nod and a word from the priest the savages bent to the great stones and laboring hard pushed and raised them one from another As tile last was mOVed away a hole In the ground Was discovered and to that Sir Roger poInted Wait he said as Lynch was about to run forward The chests you seek are buried in a cave beneath the altar You can have them but tell me first where Ishall find my boy Two hundred yards back In the jungle cred Lynch In frantic haste Go with Gabriel and his men quietly and bid Donnercau come He will understand un-derstand and fly fast enough But hold When you are gone who will hold off these black devils Sir Roger waved Ills wand which still he bore and said a few words and at once the negroes though somewhat sullenly drew back toward the woods You are satisfied Sir Roger asked and at Dlxeys nod hastened aw7 But he had not gone ten yards calling call-ing Gabriel to follow before a curse from DlxeY turned his head and looking look-ing bock he saw that old Gabriel held a pistol pressed to Lynchs head A share cried the desperate old man or in spite of SIr Roger and aU his blacks and a thousand Justlns lives I blow your brains outCome out-Come then cried Dlxey with another an-other curse FIrst let us have the chests and once aboard the schooner we will talk of shares The two greedy men jostled each other In the passage to the cave and so contagious con-tagious was the fever of their eyes glittering With avarice that the three men of the schooner without more debate de-bate than an exchange of looks drew cutlasses and plunged after them ready In turn to fight for a portion of the gold They had hardly disappeared when the thunuer rolled agaIn and again the whole earth shoQk and the lake rose up against its shores In boiling waves Sir Roger In dismay burgled to the WOQds but again he had to turn at the sound ot voices behind him The treasure seekers lverq opt again sweating under un-der the weight oiea great box dragging It pushing It 10 the air There they hacked and hewed it with cutlasses until the lid burst open and they dived head first at itS contents in a delirium of greed A cry of anger came from them They hauled out nothIng from the box but old clothes and uniforms Down they rushed to the cave once more and brought up more chests In their blindness their madness they saw not that thE negroes has scattered and lied that Sir Roger gazed on ironically iron-ically from a distance nor did they mark the thunder crash nor feel thE earth shake They knocked the old chests asunder and parted them with a cry and white perplexed faces Gold I and jewels there were nonenothing I but hooks and papers and clothes and I I trash There came a fearful crash In the sky and a yeU of agony from Don ncreau IrI the moods Sir Roger dashed Into the jungle crying In that tumult Justin Justin My son By the scattered altar Lynch and Gabriel Munin faced each other and suddenly as doSS over a bone in their fury of disappointment they began to blame each other for the fault and flew together with cutlasses drown The other men stood apart stupefied As they were thus postured for one instant I In-stant the thunder rolled again the skY seemed to close In on them and the earth cracked in aU directions Up rose the lake hissing and bubbling and with a mighty roar the whole point of and the place of sacrIfice and of battle crumbled and sank while the hideous shrieks of the doomed treasureseek ers rose to the skies and echoed in tha mountain tops and at last ceased as Dixey Lynch and old Gabriel fell together to-gether fighting sun mid rocks and ruins to the bottom of the lake AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE Before the crash of the earthquake had passed Sir Roger was wen Into the wood nor saW the final catastrouhe and the disappearance of the white men 10 his continued crying of his sons name at last he heard an answer and recognIzed with joy Ozlels voice Running on he came to the great chasm In the earth on whose brink lay the two friends Justin still white and insensible Oriel utterly exhausted and In a dreadful state of mind at these convulsions ot tropical nature which he could only account for In his unlearned simplicity as dIrect judgments judg-ments of an angry God upon so wicked u land Poor lad he was on his knees In earnest prayer when Sir Roger found him and so Sir Roger reverently left him while he attended to the care of hiS son whom at last he was able to embrace When the sorelytrIed lad was restored re-stored after a time to consciousness the old man calmed their fears and told them of the search for the chests The earthquake had passed the thunders thun-ders rumbled more distantly and a heavy cooling rain descended Through this downpour the three made their way tQ the open cautiously for Sir Roger did not know of Lynchs death and feared his rage But the scene that met their eyes dispelled an alarm The ruined cape the mud and rocks thrown uP the altered aspect of the angry take told theIr own tale and the three gazed awestruck at the mighty grave of the gold robbers The judgment was too recent too appalling for comment but to the lips of Justin came curiously the words of Dlxeys song and he muttered mut-tered them as now he Dressed Ozlo1s hand in safety When the moon stills In southern sky Where the south wind blows softly by Theres the red gold where the dead men lie Where nIl Bold lads are sailing He paused and his father looked on him thoughtfully Not n sign of the chests Justin he said they rest In the same grave with the wretches who valued them at the rice of human life Justin shuddered Let them be my father he saId I have hat enough of treasure hunting hunt-ing Sir Roger said no more hen but Oziel lppgltedfor the first time for many weeks Then there Is some prospct lad he cried it that be so of our seeing l good Boston town and peace and quietness quIet-ness again Indeed no other thought had honest Ozlel now that the villains were safely killed than to bear Justin back to Marian in safety and say to that lone idave I have obeyed you I have been faithful J The treasure might He for him tm doomsday at the bottom of the lake But Sir Roger grew strangely thought < Iul and at last when there were no signs of the frightened savages he proposed pro-posed that they should make their cvay at once to the schooner That they agreed to and Sir Roger knowIng the way they fortified themselves with food from this hut and started out The road was long but IQnger the confidentIal confiden-tIal talks between the restored father and son when Ozlel kept mOdestly out of the way It was Ozlel though that I the old man went to for Information I about the men left on the schooner and when Ozlel told hIm that the master mas-ter was a plain dull man of no imagination ImagI-nation content to obey orders for hIs proper pay It afforded him some relief re-lief I < To Be 4 Continued |