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Show . " " T . I fi SSS1 ofhose curious coincidences which not rarely occur in literature, M t fv . - jSte. Sffi .1 " 1 TreGsure ' li?c thrilling novel by David Whitelaw, now appear I : r!!,fW he was given the same title as the very interesting book by John V - 2 IT aTS p. B ' " delnhV I?,?"' ptJO!isflCc! by J' B' PPcott & Company, cf Phila- fr. : ; : I V L I - Althou8h tf-e Wo storut have in their subject matter no . rmiWin- pornts in common, f,c remember of Wr. .feaai's s(ory u;ii fee p6- I I ! I I He i I l . Synopsis of Previous Chapter T VIVIAN RENTON .vid Ed- die Hicrton, modern soldiers of fortune. hac been gambling yfth Hubert Baxenter, a prosperous' attor- V f ney, (n his London apartments. . W 1 After their departure late at night Renton returns to the 1 bouse, murders Baxeuter and bides the body on the roof. While waiting for night co IaaH come again in order to make bis escape, lie finds in a desk a curious old yellowed document docu-ment telling of a mysterious chest left in the care of one of Baxenter s ancestors by a Trench nobleman, the Marquis fie Dartfpny of the Chateau Chau-Tllle Chau-Tllle The chest has been handed down from one generation of Bax-entrrs Bax-entrrs to another and carefully guarded in the hope that some day its rightful owner will be found. Renton decide to pose as the missing miss-ing heir and claim the chest. He goes to France to make some needful need-ful Inquiries about he Dartign family The Btorj of the msterious chest goes back to the troubled dav ot the French Revolution, when the Marquis was staying In the fancied security of his chateau His son Gaspard, who was act:e against the Paris Terrorists, learned his fathers Ufa was threatened, and sent a friend, Rerny Perancourt to convey hi a jnd Qaspard'a little daughter Sylvia to u place of safety in England in theii flight they were pursued by an evil-looking revolutionist After vainly trying to dod. this pursuer Rem;, finally attacked him and trussed bim up. Iater .lemy shot him. The next morning the Marquis and little Sylvia sailed (or England, where the chst and the document concerning it were turned over to the Baxenter? for safe keeping. Now. more than one hundred years later, Hubert Baxenter's murdered mur-dered body is found, but the police have no clue to the man who killed him. In order to learn what he needs to know about the Dartigny family history Vivian Rf,:iion changes his name to Baptlste Dartin. grows a beard and passe - uimsell off as a Frenchman. He visits Canada, where he learns that one member of the Dartigny family has gone Dartin presents his fictitious claims to Robert Haxenter, the new head of the firm of Baxenter &. Co They are accepted as satisfactory satisfac-tory and ne is given the treasure .hest Robert Baxenter ft in love With Stelia Benbam, a charming girl whose heart is set on nuking a great success on the stage. She has Just secured what she thinks her big chance and telis Rob"t he must wail a year for her answer to his proposal Taking h-r at her woid. be goes" on a long yachting trip, much to Stella s dismay CHAPTER X. The Secret of fie Darligny Iw I f HE sam motives which had I J been responsible for Vivian Rentou's residence in the cafe in the Latin Quartler now j seemed to cause Baptlste Dartin to tlx upon a secluded boarding house in Camden Town as his London Lon-don abode The accommodation was not at ail to his extravagant tastes, but It was only temporary and In Mornlngton street he felt at least cafe from any unwelcome recognition from bis lute friends It was to a room on the first floor that he carried the ancestral chest of the Dartlsnys It looked curiously out of place there upon tbo faded (lowered cloth of the erasy table. The boldly branded escutcheon the time-blackened wood, with Its heavy, rusted hinges and clampings, suggested with a silent eloquence a dignity strangely out of place among the tawdry furnishings fur-nishings of the room. Dynasties had risen and fallen wars and famines had ravaged France, and through it all the chest of the Dartlgnys had lain, hidden from the very light of day, in the musty cellars beneath the Strand. Above Its head the life of a century had played its part, the tramp of crowds claiming Waterloo had shaken its very dust Monarchs bad been crowned, had reigned and been gathered to their rest And through It all the secret of the Chateau Chauville had slept Vivian was not dead to the sense of romance, and these thoughts passed through his mind as. after trying in vain to fit any of the ks on his ring to 'he lock, he stood hesitatingly, a heavy poker he had picked up from the fireplace in hi hand The pause was but momen tary, and the man laushed' at himself him-self for his fancie-. With his penknife he whittled away at the wood beside one of the hinges, and Inserting the point of tne poker he used it as a level The oak was stout and the work-ins work-ins i inp good, but perseverance won the battle, and with a creak of protest the wood splintered and yielded up Its secret A lit tics c'aud of dut ro6c as Vhian wrenched off the lid. and when this had settled a curious sight met his eyeB A few pieces of gold and silver plate, richly chased and of exquisite workmanship, workman-ship, gleamed through wrappings of decayed and threadbare cloth. There were cases of worm-eaten leather, too, containing quaint old brooches and necklaces, rings and bracelets valuable enough, but dulled with age, as though the stones had despaired of ever seeing daylight again. The man who now regarded them felt a distinct disappointment dis-appointment creeping over him, a? one by om he lifted out the treasures After all. a certain gentleman whom he knew in Aldgate would give him. perhaps, a thousand pounds for the collection as It stood "fences" are not generous where ancient Jewel settings are concerned, and the meltlngpot Is no respecter of escutcheons and monograms and curious workman ship. Why. it had cost him the five hundred he had taken from Mortimer Morti-mer Terrace to prepare for this coup, apart from the yes. it was distinctly disappointing' He at down in an old horsehair armchair and 11; a pipe It was a peculiar sight the dull gleam of al It Wai Some momenta before Vivian's strong ringers could rn.-ike any impression on the carved apple, but presently its top unscrewed gratingly and came off in his hand." the vessels on the old tablecloth with tb-? background of tawdry wallpaper and cheap oleographs. One of these, a poi trait of the late Queen Victoria, seemed to be regarding re-garding the scene witfi marked dis approval. Dartin wondered what Mrs Bates, his landladv, would think if she were to come up Ho broke off in his thoughts as his eye feU upon a small square of parchment partly hidden beneath be-neath one of the leather cases He had not noticed It before and ho took it up with Interest It was tied by a faded thiu red ribbon to a large, heavy key 0f intricate workmanship Vhian translated the words on it In wonderment: "Key to the hidden closet in Chateau Chauville, fitting the key hole behind the apple in the right hand panel on the south side wall of the dlning-hal " Vivian sat for some minutes deep 'n thought The words on the 6crap of parchment were amnzing ly vague, and he asked himself whether he bad not alreadv spent too much time and money on the affairs of the de Dartignys Better to see old Moseburg at once, clear the matter up and turn to other and more profitable game. But there was Eddie the one man who knew Vivian's past associates as-sociates were barred to him by the happenincs at No 0 Mortimer Terrace. Ter-race. It would never do to tread upon the trail of that sleeping crime By taking on this affair he had burnt his boats and Ho Jumped up with and oath and brought his fist down on the table, jingling the costly litter spread upon It "No; HI see It through to the very end. I'll realize on some of :hpse Jewels and put the others in a safe deposit. Luckily. I know the old chateau: I can at least test the truth of this matter or mo keyhole." key-hole." He had teen shown over the place once, and no doubt the old C 1Q0 InUrpnt.""-.! caretaker would be willing to show him over again He packed the. valuable objects away In one of his portmanteaus keeping bak only a chain and locket and a small string of pearls. This latter he pledged with Atten-borongh Atten-borongh the same afternoon, the price lent upon it being such as to cause the spirit of Vivian Renton to rise considerably That evening as Monsieur Bap tiste Dartin, in company with Robert Rob-ert Baxenter. sauntered among the promenadeis in the "Empire," he laughingly told the story of his fortunes for-tunes He made very light of the whole affair "About a thousand pounds' worth I should say Mr Baxenter. nice old monogram stuff rather too swanky for, us Colonials. I m afraid Bv the-bv I hrnnciit ht for you a sort of memento.' and Ivlan took from his pocket the locket and chain "Rather quaint, eh? I expect there is some lady somewhere who" He had 6pol.cn facetiously, but there was a look in the young solicitor's so-licitor's eyes which caused the speaker to break off rather ab-duptly ab-duptly Well. It'll be a memento of a romantic occasion, anyway Come the ballet's beginning. I don't want to miss any of St It's all new to me, you know." Robert Baxenter. murmuring his thanks dropped the locKet into his vest pocket and followed M Dartin back to the stalls Neither seemed anxious to return to the subject of the trea sure of the Dartignys CHAPTER XI. The Carved Apple. THERE Is a little arbor ad-Joining ad-Joining the mn of the "Three Lilies. ' a sheltered, vine-clad vine-clad retreat from which the Lilr land of France spreads itself out, a radiant picture in the Summer sun- F rblne--and fully apj recia'.ive of ill this beaut v was the man who sat before an easel within Its pleasant shade one August afternoon. Baptlste Dartin had no great knowledge of the art of painting, but he was gifted with a superficial slcl'i in color which a student of less virile brain might have studied years to acquire and never succeeded. suc-ceeded. He had been in Massey three weeks and the small population popula-tion were beginning to like this stranger from Paris who depicted --and made them presents of such delightful little paintings of their countryside Monsieur Paul de Barron, the present owner of the property ol I bauville, was in residence at the chateau, and Henri, the caretaker, who well remembered Vivian's last visit, had less time on his hands than formerly He was able, however, how-ever, to slip up to the "Lilies" of an afternoon, where cigarette In mouth, he would watch the deft hm -.h n.-r,rlr nf lil r, na 1.1- - - u j i Mure acquaintance ac-quaintance Vivian had given him a slight sketch of the chateau towers showing above the trees. ?nd the old fellow, to whom Chavi-ville Chavi-ville and all pertaining to It were ae sacred things, had become the painter's very s e for it Henri seated beside him this Summer afternoon, watched the artist in a lazv content. Beside him were a box of cigarettes and a bottle bot-tle of claret. The run beat down through the vines clustering over-head over-head and scattered little golden discs of radiance upon the boarded floor A bee droned musically ov?r the flowers In the garden Framed between the supports of the trellis-work, trellis-work, cornfields and vineyards shimmered in the heat; afar off the hills, patched with forest lands, spoke of breeze and shadow. Vivian, skilfully touching in the purple shade beneath a clump of poplars was spanking carelessly He did not take his eye8 from his sketching-block. "I r.i glad you like the little araw- Ing. Henri I'm no artist, brt " 'Ah! monsieur it Is the chateau I love, not the art that Is I mean. Henri stammered over his faux pas 'it a very beautifully done. Monsieur Dartin " For a moment Vivian painted on without speaking then: "I'm better at interiors, Henri-dim Henri-dim old rooms, and all that. Look at that old panelling in the chateau, for instance what a charming Picture, Henri. I'l, do it for you. if you like, when Monsieur de Barron goes away next month, didn't j ou say?" And Henri who had no wish that the treasures under his care should blush unseen, rose to the bait with avidity monsieur was too kind--he would have jt framed like the other and they would go one on either side of his bed. And so It was that on an after noon when the September sun made glorious the old carvings of the Chauville dining-room Mon olour Baptlste Dartin stood for the second time in the ancestral home of the DartigXkT. .He had entered warily, cvan to the extent of looking look-ing anywhere save at the panelling by the fireplace. He remarked, Instead, In-stead, to old Henri, on the carved celling, the windows in which the 1o Barron escutcheon had replaced "that of the Dartignys. It was the caretaker himself who drew attention atten-tion to the fireplace and to the defaced de-faced coat of arms in the stone. worn nere me new resident, who was no Philistine, had respected hlston and this broken and defaced de-faced shield of the Dsrtlgnys now-remained now-remained to remind one of the days of the Revolution It was old Henri, too, who suggested sug-gested the subject of the Bketca. the angle to the right of the great stono hearth, with its rich coloring of oak and the little grouping -jf dim family portraits. There was a beam of sunlight that came athwart the room and Vivian could hardly repress a start as he saw that, this rested upon an exquisite carving r a cornucopia and In the fruit tha; was tumbling from It an app showed prominently He chose a position by the table, facing the fruit he was so eager to examine. Surely never since th historic apple of Eden, had fruR such a fascination for a man. Th-? painter could hardly hide his irri 'atlnn when he saw that old Henn, aking a seat near him, produr d his cigarettes and settled down to nJoy the painting For an hour or lwo work went on steadily and sllenth. then the caretaker rose and stretched his llmb6. He had work that' he mu3t BOC$t; atond to perhaps monsieur would rail: come back and finish the sketch. SmC In the mind of the old servant no H r ; q : shadow of suspicion had place, hut Ifaffll there was an unformed idea .it the 0 back of his head that it was hardly W'Wj r.ght to leae him there alone, but i he was such a gentleman, and If Wc ,f '' he offended him he would stand lit- HiFr He chance of possessing the picture ijfrwl that was progressing so well In the artist's sketch-book .4 89 "Only another half-hour, Henri; the lignt of this setting sun is lll'-' splendid look at that golden rav 'ili i on that old soldier's coat in the portrait I ran let myself out if I don't see you " And It was said in such simplicity sim-plicity that the caretaker, entirely disarmed, hesitated no longer. The door of the dining room closed behind him, and the artist, waiting a moment, rose warily and tlp-.ocd to the windows He could make out the bent figure of the old Hfllj -!' man crossing the gardens and Blii ; ' watched him until he disappeared into one of the farm buildings which showed across a meadow of parched gras- that was separated from the gardens by a graceful line of poplars tl "as some moments before Vivian's strong fingers could make any impress, on on the carved app!j jj j moments when he told himself that, after all. he had been chasing p a shadow. Then, suddenly, a little creak, and he imagined Lhat the j V wood beneath his hand moved;" IS beads of molsturo pricked out oa yW I his forehead as he verified this, . jf . A then the top of the apple unscrewed W M gratingly and came away in his hand. He gav- a little cry of relief. W Hastily whipping open his shirt ho drew out the kov wtilh k- u.a ' J nu.vii lldU found In the chest and which he had suspended round his neck by a ribbon He was not surprised that it fitted the keyhole that cam to light behind the carving nothing noth-ing would surprise him now and he told himself that he had sue ceeded and that he wag on the threshold of wondrous things. A hasty glance at the window showed (J- him the old man still at vork In and out of the barns serosa the p meadow. Wist Vivian carefully oiled the wards of the key from a tiny oil can he fej took from his paint-box. and. uft-r a few attempts, the heavy key turned grated there was a rumble rum-ble of locks. The man stared In wonderment nothing had hap. pened Then his eyes travelled to the fireplace The large slab that comprised com-prised the back of the deen arati had rolled aside, dispiav'na Vv My through which he crMld Wjth He though! rapidly and deeid that nhat wa.i to be done hart bet tHF Y tar b done n sue it would taS K fOontimted on . j , PH ( ntnurd from PrrrrdinfJ PaOr U old Henri at leant ten minutes to return, even If he started back at H tli-it moment, am! Vivian couM co H that the old man had settled down H to hi wood-chopplns and wa hard- H ly likely to leave the Job he had put HH off to watch the sketching. MafV Vivian tin-toed across the hearth BH and. bending nearly double, paaaed M 1, tbrougb the aperture VfH A circular chamber, choked with B"mA V the ac iimul i' "f ages, per- Hl haps ten feet In dlamoter and wlih I H stone walls whlcb nnrmned up. Bleating n I iDall Om about a djtffl imb feel above ills head. VlvtM H told himself that he was In one of H the round towers which formed the n r 'r!ir' nlr Efl -was hardly breathable, and it waa lH so cold after the sunshine of tho room that Vivian shivered slightly , , Hi came oul again almoa! imm . dtatelj Into the dlnlngroom and passed out through the French win MB to Hanrl and waved a farewell, then JI W it.-, en of the Mgl There he waited out of sight. mf mg until old man-f m entered one of the bams, when Jf7.-JJ Vivian returned to the dining-room Mi jjf crowed thi apple y ncain Into it plat and p 1 . 1 would ba nothing no to man) J Henri return t6 the chateau, imag 'A Inlng, as h- would thai the painter M had gone, and Vivian could work in tH I I- peaot. WtK L In hlfl variel career many Jewel" JfBf had passed Ihmngh tho hands of "kWW Vivian Benton. jtJCH priceless gems as these which ho was unearthing from their biding hH places overv minute. Diamonds of ;jH a size whi ii pointed to their being JHH historical, pearls matched Into gtringa, emeraldi and rublei whlcb JffV th- SfcjEifl meet the rays of Vivian's tinv eler- jJnLH trie torch, as though overjoyed at BeH their release. There were vessels, HiH too. of gold and silver, richly SiN carved and curiously designed. AJ counterparts of those he had found iggfiB in the chest; Jewelled rosBri-s and mm devotional of the RcL workmanship. Pictures, too, the Y faH value of which Vivian could only SjtM guess at, were stacked against the SHjB walls, and books and Jewel-en-LH crusted daggers were heaped toll to-ll '""M gether with other object.' in heaps whlcb glittered dully under the BfT t h 1 1 layer of du.-t w!i c li covered tfH Vivian sat on an old oaken che?t. .BH spellbound. Here were riches that feL&V , would make Monte Crlsto blush !rt TjH envy With this wealth at his dls. B poFal the freedom of the world was 1 his. friendships pleasures, titles. nBQH were at hil bidding. The man 3K could hardly believe that within a Jm fow feel of him the sun was sett Inn (fftCI over a fair garden In which :-n un- SfTtSS suspecting old man was chopping ijjfSS wood, nnd that even In this little H chamber he was still In the twen BKH tleth century. BtH How long he sat there he could riot tell and 11 waa the ilghl ol . ,' mm grating the stone Boor which I tjH called Vivian down from the airy JM turreta of his In iglnal Ion ICafll grating was. perhaps, some twenty KSjLV inches square, and as the man bent En&H' down and threw the rays of his pocket electric torch upon it ho m -lE 1 ".ild tnak. out. l...oi),l t'.e rusty PfdjH bar- the shadowy form of the t. p- JLflB most step of a flight that led down ttD into obscurity. Ho took a franc- 'jhftl place Iron bli pocket and dropped ' it through the iron network and PHR lii-tened. From the reverberations IM before the coin came to rest tho man indeed the wi ll-like opening B and to be of some considerable depth 1 Vivian seized one of the bar. HM aud leaning back exerted all his Itrength For a moment the ce-mcnt ce-mcnt bold then, with B sudden Bry rending, came away, and the man was thrown violently backward. Ho A red In n vain attempt t o gain his balance; then, as be fell, his elbow came in sharp contact with the sliding door of the entrance. BH Vivian all but cried out at the pain. and. too late, he saw the solid mass Mm of masonry and Iron set in motion. $jmm doubtless, by his fall, swing back jflH into place. There waaa dull clang L ns It stopped. Kven then it did not occur to I Vivian that lie was a prisoner and IBM It was only after a fruitless search that ho came to the conclusion that his treasure-bouae bid fnir to be-JS be-JS come a tomb As the significance- Dlf of this came home to him little beads of cold perspiration broke F 1 out over bis bod and he tottered K&W weakly to one of the iron-clamped UBK chests. mUr It seemed to him that he had jM' Ficceeded only to fall; that there I was nothing for it but to attract VgS jiipp attention of old Henri. Even then it might be Impossible for tho M Ii old man to release him without the par key, which Vivian fell pressing cold ih' against bis breast. H Jf He thought that even if he es- H caped the hldeou death which I faced him he would lose the riches H which he had risked so much to I gain. He imagined himself dying I by Inches, ravaped by hunger and thirst and mocked by the gleaming jewels around him. For a few mo-I mo-I ments despair seized the soul of L Vivian Kenton, and he sat dazed, bis head buried in his hands, it was not long betoro the reaction reac-tion came. There was time before him and the grating promised more than a ray of hope. Fortunately, the sketch in the dining-room was unfinished, and old Henri would pee nothing suspicious in the paintbox paint-box and book left open awaiting its completion, taking it for granted seized in ' he crept L'iAi ".v,1 titi.? 7BKL'jiv ' 'xgBBuRHHcenHB ' up, hand t MmwBSowSvfiijM' A $ ; : j; ' : i H overhand." v: ' . . ' ' . . :. ' . ' fSii- ' ' that the painter would return the next day. The prisoner did not wait tu ask himself what he would find at the foot of the dark stairs behind thi iron bars. It had ever been his motto that troubles anticipated were twice borne, and that bridges were made to be crossed at; ono came to them not before. Ho found his work easier now that he had the leverage of the loose bar to assist him In half an hour Vivian was ready to descend. It was part of tho man's character that he should take the pick of the stones before he left the chanv. Ho handled them carelessly, thrusting thrust-ing them into tho big pockets of his painting-coat. Then ho tstood on the top step. Then, and not till then, did ho pause, his laco showing drawn and anxious in tho thin blue light. What was he fated to find below? His Indecision was but momentary, and shrugging bis shoulders with an action that spoko of tho fatalist contlnuod his way There were eighteen 6teps in all. but they were high and narrow and tho descent was sharp. At tho foot an opening led apparently beneath the body of the chateau With torch extended before hliu Vivian proceeded. After a few moments the air grew colder and the walls, where ho touched them, were clammy and moss-grown. The man told himself that he was not beneath be-neath the old moat. At Intervals he passed other dark entries Which ran in all directions narrow little tortuous alleys, many of which he explored for a few feet, only to return re-turn to the main way. More than once, too. a pit yawned suddenly at his feet, and had It not been for his inborn caution the Chateau Chauville would have added yet another secret to its dark history. 1. was evident to Vivian that the builders of tho hldinc-place, deeming deem-ing It necessary that an emergency exit should be at hand, had made it so that while egress was difficult diffi-cult Ingres was well-nigh impossible impos-sible to those not knowing the pitfalls pit-falls and the way c. U. f m w 9 ' y?y$L 1 ' . -t.. . - ' " - ' ' si' 'V.' ' ii must nave oeen attcr an hour's walking that the walls on either hand seemed to recede from Vivian until at last they were lost In th' gloom beyond the reach of the rayt of the little torch. Apparently the tunnel had widened out into a chamber. The man hesitated, somewhat mystified by the loss of tho friendly walls, and at the same moment bis feet came sharply Into contact with some obstruction. He stumbled, the torch fell from his hands, a thousand stars danced before him. Ho came to himself in bewilderment. bewilder-ment. The darkness closing in upon him seemed in tho silence to be pressing on him. HLs head ached abominably aud there was a wound in the centre of his forehead fore-head that was warm and sticky to his loucb. Slowly It all came back to him and he knew he must have struck his head as he fell. He (C) 19C0. Interautloni reached out. groping In the darkness dark-ness In tho hop of finding the torch uninjured. In this he was disappointed, but he made the discovery dis-covery that he was lying besido a perpendicular structure of masono'i which, on raising his hand, he found to be the support of what felt to bo a table of stone, low and heavily built. Painfully he drew himself up on to hi3 knees and so to his feet. Again his hands did duty for his eyes and a little cry of horror broke from the man's dry lips. Beneath the touch of his sensitive sensi-tive hands a form was taking shape tho unmlstakablo shape of a coffin. It seemed to him that In il Fcatur S?rrJc. Inc. Great B the darkness ne could make out tho dim outlines, the sinister bulge of the sldcL-. Feverishly, now, he dropped to his knees nnd felt for the friendly torch. Light to him had suddenly become as necessary as food to a starving man. The walls of darkness hemmed him in so that he felt that ho. too. was in a coffin; then he remembered that In his pocket were a fow wax vestas. He struck one upon tho stone slab and gazed round him as ho held the flickering wax above his head. Row upon row they lay, that noble army of dead Uartignys, tho square ends of their earthly resting rest-ing places standing out each from rltahi Rltrhts Iwml its little niche On the slab before him lay the casket he had folt a great coffin upon which a rusty cavalry sword and the moth-eaten remains of a flag showed in Bombre pageantry. Vivian Renton was not a nervous man. and although the hand whlcb b( Id tho flame trembled a little and filled the place with dancing shadows shad-ows he felt no fear. After all, one living man was more than a match for a whole array of dead warriors. By the light of tho match he recovered re-covered his torch, which, to his relief, re-lief, he found not to have suffered in Its fall, and he began a sys-tematic sys-tematic Investigation of his sur roundlnga. He knew quite well. now. where l he was; old Henri had shown him t prldefully. only yesterday, the chapel In the grounds of Chauville. if through the floor of which the dead of the house of Dartigny had from time immemorial been lowered to I their last resting plare? Tho old I man had, by means of a lever con- t cealed In the ironwork of ?he rail- r tng, swung bock the marble slab It which covered In the vault so that hs visitor might gaie into the gloom below and, with a start, I Vivian remembered that the mech- f f anlsm had In some manner stuck and refused to move when the caretaker care-taker camo to replace the 6lab. Henri had told him that he would 1 have to send Into Blols for the lock-smith, lock-smith, and tho man In tho vault, as j he held his torch high, wondered if whether this had yet been done. Above him, the oblong cut in the roof showed darkly, nnd at one end I' a corner of the partially closed slab I was visible. Here, then, he told himself, was his one means of escape. The distance, he Judged, was mot more than ten feet, the stone table reduced to eight, and Vivian him-solf him-solf was but two Inches short of six l feet. He unwrapped from his walat the sash of red silk, which to sus. 1 tain his role as a Bohemian artist, he wore swathed around him in place of a belt. This sash he now twisted rope-wlso and, mounting upon the stone table, peered up through the cavity. He remembered remem-bered the little Iron railings surrounding sur-rounding the tomb above, but bis mt efforts to lasso a spoke of these l with tho scarf proved beyond his ji powers. ' Then his eye fell upon the lid of ji the coffin and, reaching down, be j picked up the sword that lay upon I It. At his touch the sabretache and I hilt fell away, but tho blade Itself, I notched and red with rust as It was. still was strong enough to serve his purpose. Ho made a slip- knot in tho twisted silk and, upou j? the point of the weapon, raised It F carefully and hooked It over ono i of the corners of the tomb rails. j Vivian tested this fully with his 1 weight and found that it held Ho asked himself whether he should return to the treasure, but the f thought of the tortuous trap he had been fortunate enough to traverse In safety deterred him. Besides, In the pockets of his palntlng-coat was a considerable fortune, and h3 i had his key. The nxt time, how- I ever, that he entered he would make sure that his lino of retreat w i open to him. I Seizing the scarf firmly In both hands he raised himself until his j toes rested upon tho coffin lid. J Then, with a little spring he started I his climb Tho sinister crack of splintering wood es he "took off" from tho old casket caused a little thrill of horror to run through him, but he crept up. hand over hand, until at last his fingers gripped the edge of the flooring With this hand-hold and holped by the fccarf It was not difficult to clamber up P - a and Vivian, exhausted but happy, sank down in one of the littlo pows of the chapel. Through the window above the altar the rays of a young mooa I struggled thinly A glance at his I watch told Vivian that It was half-past half-past ten, and he looked round for a j means of completing his escape To a man who understood loekcraft as he did this was a simple matter, and by tho time the clock In the tiny belfry was chiming eleven M. Baptlste Dartin was In the little j plantation of firs which surrounded the sacred building j Cautiously he made his way to tho lodge and, scaling the gateway, I crossed the bridge and reached tho high road. Midway between tho chateau and the "Three Lilies" ho came upon old Henri, who was re. turning from the inn Vivian stopped him. He had been Into Blois, ho told the man, to ordei the frames for the pictures. By I the way, would It be convenient for him to finish tho dining-room ketch the next afternoon? In the meantime, would Henri honor him by returning to the "Three Lilies," as his guest, there to open a bottle of the really excellent claret that house provided? I It took Vivian three days to flntsh the sketch, and when finally he departed de-parted fiom Massey he left old Hanii In the seventh heaven of delight, de-light, for had not the gentleman taken his pictures Into Blois and returned with them framed In gold? Perhaps the gentleman would come again and paint more pictures. Ill fact, he had almost said as much Three days later the gentleman in question was seated with u Jewel-dealer of great wealth and in- different morals In an office in a j street behind the Hoogstraat In Rotterdam. For the first time In the merchant's life he was unable to deal single-handed with the col lection which was set out before him. But there are other Jewel merchants In Holland, and by the united offorts of three of theeprltr1 clpal ones in the trade the collec tlon of diamonds, emeralds and rubles from the Chateau Chauville changed hands to the satisfaction of tho gentleman who had called to dispose of them and who boro on his card the name BAPTISTE DARTIN To Be Continued Next Sunday. 1 Copyrl?bl. 1:'"fl ,,T tcrnatlonal XeatUfB 6rrlce. lac . 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