Notes techniques e t b ib liog raph ique s

L lnstitut a mic rofilmé Ie me ille ur e xe mplaire qu il I ui a

’ '

été poss ible de se procure r Le s details do eat e xam

.

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og raphique qul pe uvent modif ie r une image re produite .

,

ou qui pe uve nt exige r une modification dans la metho

de nonnale de f ilmage so nt indiqués cbdessous .

Coloured pages ! Page s de c ouleur

Page s damaged I Pages endommag ée s
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,

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S howthroug h / Trans pare nce

! uality of print varies

! ualité inégale de l impre ssion '

M
; e me ntarymate rial !
u
o materiel supplé me ntaire

Pages w? o r pa rtia lly ob scu red b y e rrata s lips .

tissues . e tc . have be e n ref ilme d to e ns ure the b est

poss ib le i ma g e I L e s pa g es to ta le me nt o u
partielle me nt ob sc u rc ies pa r un fe uillet d e rrata. une
'

pe lure . etc ont été f ilmée s a nouveau de facon a

obtenir la me ille ure imag e possib le .

O ppos i ng pa g es with va ry i ng co lo ura tio n o r

discolouratio ns are f ilmed twice to e ns ure the best
po ss ible image Le s pa ges s opposant ayant de s
’

co lo ratio ns va ria b le s o u d e s d é c o lo ra tio ns s o nt

L
'
ox e mpl a i ro f il m e f ut re p r od uit g r ac e a lo
g en er os i t a d o :
B iblio theq ue pub l iq ue d O ttawa
‘

Loo im a g e s su iv a nt es o nt m re p r o d u ites ov oc lo
p l us g ra n d oo i n c o m pt o t e nu d o la c o n d it i o n ot
.

d o la no tt ot o d o l e x o m p l ai ro f i l m e e t e n
'

c o nf o rm ito av o c l oo c o ndi t io ns d u c o nt r at d o
f i l ma g e .

L es ox e rn p l a i roo ori g i nau x

d o nt la c o uv e rt u r e on
pa p ior es t i mp ri rn oo so nt f il rn os e n c o m me n ce n t
pa r la p re m ie r p la t ot on te r m i na n t so i t pa r l a
d e r niere po g o q u i c o m po rt o uno e m p r e i nt e
d l rn prooo i o n o u d i l l ust roti o n so i t pa r lo se c o n d
' '

p la t sa l o n l o co o T o us l oo ou tros e x e m p la i r es
. .

o ri g i na u x s ont f il m ‘s e n c o mmo n can t pa r la

pre miere po g o q ui c o mpo rte une e rn p roi nt e

d l mp reos io n ou d ill uotrati o n at on te r m i na n t pa r
‘ '

la d om i Oro po g o q u i co m po rt a u n o to l lo
ornp rel nto .

U n d os sy m b o l oo s u iv a nts a ppa ro i t ra ou r la
d e rniere i m a g e do c h e q u e m i c rof ic h e sa l o n l o .

co s : lo sy m b o l e
“ "
si g n i f i e A S U I VRE l e .
" "
s y m b o l e V si g n i f i o FI N .

L oo ca rt o o p l onc h e s ta b l e a u x ot c pe uvo n t et u
. . . . .

f il mes a d es ta u x d o red u c t io n d if f er e n ts .

L ors q ue lo d o c u m e nt e s t tro p g r a n d po ur et re
re p r o d u i t e n u h sou l c l i c h e i l e s t f il m e a p a rt i r
.

do l on g lo s u peri e u r g a u c h e d o g a uc h e s d r o it e
'
. .

e t d o h o u t o n h as o n p r e n a nt lo n o m b re
d i m ag as nec e ssa rr o L eo d iag ra m m e s s u iv a n ts
‘
.

i ll ust re nt la met h o d e .
T H E L O S T J EW E L

03 THE

M O RT I M ER S .

AN N A T . S ADLI ER .

ST . L O UI S . n o . 1 90 4
.

Publ i shed b y 8 . m an .

1 7 South B road way .

 c om m e n t 1 904

Joox m c w u na su ca .

B EC K T O L D
P M N fl NO AN D B OO K
'
m oo .
 CO N T EN T S .

Ch a pte r .

I T he M ansio n at Pine Blu ff

. .

I I The Readi n g of the Docum e nt

. .

I II . J ulia n tells his M other .

IV . A nse l m B en edi ct .

V . The F i rst Test a nd its R esults .

VI . A C amp i n the Forest

V II . The Adve ntu res of a N ight
VI I I . The M ad Hermit
IX . A n Aftern oon s A dventures
’

us} The Ca vern i n the Forest

XI . A mon g Smugglers
XII . T o the R escue .

XIII . J ulia n mee ts with M isfortune

XI V . Be fore the Third Test
XV . T he F inal Test
XVI . Success at last
XV I I .
Joy al l rou n d
 m e Lo st J E W EL o n m a mo nu me nts
I S s e r u m r an anon m a “ AVE m um
-

i n wm c n IT A P P EAR ED a s A se a m ! “
T h e L os t J ewe l of th e M o r ti me rs.

C h a pter 1 .

T a n M w sros AT Pm : B r on .

Whe n Julia n M ortimer rec eived the i nv i ta

ti o n to visit his gra ndfather at Pi ne Blu ff ,
near the sea it was i ndeed , a n even t i n h is
, ,

life ; though he by n o mea ns understood its

i m port I I e supposed , i n his carel ess boy
.
-

fash i o n that the old ge ntlema n had sudde n ly

,

gr own w ry of solitude a n d had bethought

a

himself city relat i ves , who seldom got a

wh iff of rt air or a glimpse of the country
~ a -
.

H is mother , who was better inform ed , looked

so. e wh at pa le and anxious standi n g thought
a
,

full y at the wi ndow commanding th e street ,

o n the morn i n g fix ed for the departu re S he .

heard J ulia n annou nci n g the g ood tidings to

su ndry of his boy friends who h ad n ot already
heard them
6 T H E LOS T J EW EL or T H E mo n r m aa s '
.

“
I m going down to Pine Bluff to my
’

grandfath er s and I guess I m going to ha v e

’
,
’

a prett y good ti m e —I m sur e of it T h ere s ,

’
.
’

l o t s of boating t h ere and a pon y to ride and ,

”
a g u n to shoot wit h .

“ ”
Sh oot w h at ? inq u ired one of his hearers ,

with a touch of m oc kery .

Julia n replied rather v aguel y ,

“
Oh rabbits birds an y t h ing ! B other
, , ,

that carriage ! Wh y doesn t it co m e ? We ll ’ ’

b e late for t h e train .

T h ere s ti m e enough ’
observed h is ,
“
moth er from t h e wi n dow It wants n early .

”
a n hour of tra i n ti m e .

J u lian by way of passing the time bega n

, ,

to hop up and down t h e block on o ne leg ,

and presentl y engaged i n a friendl y tussle

with his next door neigh bor An y thing was
-
.

preferable to keeping still Meanwhile h is .

m oth er at h er post of observatio n was t e

flee ting .

“
He may find h is grandfather rath er stern ,

and I m afraid of t h at matter of t h e jewel

’
.

I m s u re those tests are dangerous and

’
,

J u lian i nterrupted her b y a great s h o u t .

T h e carriage was i n si g h t M rs M orti me r . .

quietly p u t o n her w i dow s bonnet a nd b u t ’

 T HE MA NSION A T PI NE B L U FF .
7

toned her coat S he knelt a mo m e n t as was

.
,

her habit to ask for protection on the journe y

, .

T h e n she gathered up the various small

articles of luggage — the tru n ks having already
gone ,—and preceded h er restless so n into the
waiting vehicle .

T h e jou r ney was an uneve n tful one and to ,

Julia n rat h er wearisome ; t h o u gh he flattened

his nose against the pane i n the effort to see
eve rything B u t he felt as if he should never
.

arri ve at t h at m y sterious wonderful end of ,

the journe y , w h ich see m ed like a leap into

t h e f u ture ; for he pictured to hi m self all sorts
of glories i n co n nectio n t h ere with He talked
i ncessantl y—that is i n the intervals of regal
.

,
“ ”
i n g hi m self with pepperm int chew or
s u cking an orange —and asked his mother
,

all m anner of qu estions .

It was a fternoo n whe n th e first , stron g ,

pu n gent whiff of salt air reached them and

-

delighted the city bo y s nostri ls But it was

’
.

dusk w h en the trai n drew up with a jerk ,

and mother and so n fo u nd t h e m selves at a

co untry station whe re ma n y others were
,

a l i g h ti n g too Vehicles of various ki nds stood

.

waiti ng and greetings were shouted to arri v

,

ing passenge rs from groups of lou n gers o n the

8 TH E LO ST J EW E L op T H E MOR T I M ERS .

platform A tall figure in dark green livery

.

presently stepped u p to w h ere M rs M orti m er .

stood loo k ing aro u nd h er uncertainly

, .

“
M rs Robert M orti m er
. inquired the
man .

O n being answered in the a ffi rm ative he ,

seized t h e lad y s satc h els and led t h e way to

’

a handso m e fa m ily carriage of so m ewhat ,

old f ash ioned make J u lian felt quite i n a we

-
.

of t h is equipage as well as of the solemn

,

coac hm an who shut the m i n as if he were

,

i m prisoning t h e m for life Bu t whe n the .

splendid pair of horse s were once i n motion ,

going at a rapid pace o ver a s m ooth r a d the o
,

bo y co u ld not contain his d e ligh t He t h ru st .

his h ead o u t of t h e window and fairl y hur

ra h ed to the ocean as he caugh t sight of it
, ,

foa m ing and wave crested boo m i n g o n th e

-
,

rock y s h ore at the foot of t h e bl u ff along

,

w h ich t h e y were driving His mother h ad to .

restrain him several ti m es having a whole ,

som e respect for t h e gr ave official on the box .

At last t h e carriage came to a stone wall ,

se v erely plain and spiked on top with iron

spikes , and dro v e t h rou gh a huge iro n gate ;
whic h with a to u ch of h is whip the coach m an
caused to clang behind th em T his gave the .
 T H E M AN S IO N AT P IN E B LUF F .
9

mother a n unca n ny feeling of the closi n g of

priso n gates upo n her , but Julian cried :
“
Isn t this jolly mot h er ? It s exactl y like
’
,
’

a storybook I hope there ll be so m e oth er

.
’

fellows round t h ough ; and t h e n we ll have ’

a tiptop ti m e .

“
T here is certainly no fellow at your
‘ ’

” “
gr andfather s replied M rs M orti m er , u n
’
, .

”
less he has invited some of t h e others .

“ ”
What others ? inquired J u lian , wo nder
i ng l y .

“ ”
His mother was silent The others .

vaguely referred to t h e various branches of

her husband s famil y , with who m however ,
’
,

she had no acq u ainta nce Fortunately J u lian s

.
,
’

attentio n was distracted by the scarlet berries

of the sumach and by the squi r rels darting
,

abo u t and curiousl y eying the equipage as it

swept ro u nd the curves of t h e aven u e O n .

either side were glorio u s trees , promising

many a game of hide and seek J ulian with - -
.
,

the eye of a connoisseur , had already selected

certa i n of the tallest trees , which he meant to
climb o n t h e morrow .

t His i n terest was finally absorbed however ,

.
,

by t h e house when it appeared i n sigh t ,

lon g low a n d of colonial fashion with so

, ,
I o T II E LOS T J E WE L o rr T II E mo a T m aa s .

many windows a veranda ru nning all about

,

it thick i v y concealing its o u ter walls , and

,

with a gene ral air of well being which please d -

a nd impressed the t ra vellers As they alighted , .

a ta ll somewhat florid gentle m an very care

, ,
!

fully dressed and wi tl: the evidences of pros

p e ri ty i n his whole appearance ad v anced to ,

the head of t he step s greeting the n e w ar ,

rivals courteousl y I mm ediatel y i n his wake

.

appeared a trim house m aid who seized satch ,

els and umbrellas and va n ish ed as if she had

been an autom aton .

“ ”
Welcom e my dear M rs Robert ! ex
, .

“
claimed the old gentlema n A n d welco m e , .

”
Jul i an l
s I I i s keen eyes surveyed the fin e , manl y
-

fi gure of his grandson standing before him ,

cap i n hand with bright , u pturned face and

, ,

fearless e yes of brown and c h estnut curls ,

clustering close cut about t h e head

-
.

“
He has an air of being—ad ve nturous ,
“
co mm ented the grandfather Well we sh all .
,

give scope to that sort of thing here ; and

”
really he is ver y like , very like hi m .

M rs M ortimer s m iled n ervously knowi ng

.
,

the other s meaning ’

.

“
He doesn t resemble his father at all
’
,
I a TII E L O ST J EWEL OE T H E MORTI ME RS .

hands deep i n his pocke ts and occa sio nally ,

gi v ing a n invol unta ry w h istle .

“ ”
M other he said at length , in a so m ew h at
,
“
d
sub ued tone it s j u st l ike one of those
,
’

castles I used to read about wh en I was

a kid .

“
It is a c astle of mystery said th e mother , ,

absently .

“ ”
O f m y stery ? cried Julian eagerly catc h ,

ing at the word .

I mean that I know so little about it ”

,
“
explained the m other e v asively It always .

puzzles me and so doe its master

,
s

“ ”
Grandfather ? cried Julian Oh he s .
,
’

fine m other ! And he has s u ch gr and clot h es

, ,

and I saw h i m take o u t s u c h a watch ! I wish

i t was dinner ti m e so as to see him again
-
, ,
”
and h ear what he s got to sa y ’
.

T h e maid entering with tea cut s h ort

n s disco u rse ; and presentl y she led t h e m
’
J u l i a

up to a delightful s u it of apart m ents cheer f u l ,

and sunny i n dayti m e b u t which j u st then,

‘

were brilliantly ligh ted with electric la m ps .

A great linde n thrust its branches i n at t h e

sitting room window ; and o n the h u ge h eart h
-

blaz ed a fire for t h e e v enings were chill

, .

J ulian stretc h ed himself full length on t h e -

 T
HE M AN S ION AT P I N E B LUFF . I 3

rug , and ga v e way to q u ite unusual i naction

as he gazed into he fire He was lost i n
. .

tho u g h t for his mind was already full of

,

drea m s and plans .

His mother having completed her toilet

, ,

sat lost i n tho u ght till a great gong resonant

, ,

but silvery sweet and clear rang through th e,

house , and a t the sa m e moment a tall clock ,

which Julia n had re m arked u po n the stair
case , sounded half past seven .

“ ”
D in ner ! cried J u lian addi ng that he was
,
“ ”
as hungry as a hunter and rus h ing to open
,

the door a nd precede his mother downstairs .

Wh e n the two approac h ed the drawi ng room , -

the door was thrown open by a servant , and

they found themselves i n presence of the mas
ter of the house and of t h ree boys all stand ,

ing sile n tly and so m ewhat uncomfortably

abo u t the stately and gorgeously appointed
apart m ent .

“ ”
Oh , goody ! said Julia n to hi m self .

T h ere are so m e fellows h ere I wonder w h o.

they are ? I guess th ey m u st be the

For he remembered his mother s p h ra se H e ’
.

gazed at t h e m chee r fully a n d with i nterest ,

while his grandfat h er spoke as foll ows :

“
M rs Robert and M aster Julian t h ese are
.
,
I 4 T H E L OS T JE WEL OF T H E MORT I ME RS .

M asters William S edgwick , Joh n Jacob and ,

Walter Wo rthington , belonging respectively

to the fa m ilies of Sedgwick M ortimer , Jacob
”
M ortimer and Wort h i n gto n Mortimer
, .

“ ”
T hey were indeed , the others
, M rs . .

Robert M orti m er i nclined her head and sm i led

at each boy i n t u rn J ulian greeted them all
.

with easy and cordial good fellowship to -

,

which eac h lad responded according to his

n ature They were all very different the one
.
,

from t h e other , i n m anners and appearance ;

the fi rst n a m ed be ing short t h ickset and ,

freckled ; the secon d tall dark and hatchet

, ,

faced ; the third blue e y ed , pale an d with

,
-

n ondesc ript hair .

M r M orti m er taking out the handsome

.
,

gold repeater which had so attracted his

grandson s fa n cy , tapped it sign i fican tly ,
’

saying
“
In co n sequ ence of this ceremony of i n tro
duction , we are exactly five minutes late for
—
dinner quite an u nusu al occurrence
,
”
.

He gave his a r m to his daughter i n law , - -

and t h e boys all passed i n toget h er i n a so m e ,

what sheepis h silence , which eve n J u lian d id

not feel incli ned to break .

M rs M ortimer was placed at her father i n

.
-
 T HE M AN S I O N AT P IN E B L UF F . I s

law s right hand ; Sed gwick the thickset lad ,

’
,

i n virtue of age sat opposite ,

.

“ ”
Julian I bel ieve is the you n gest , oh
, ,

served the grandfather , eying the boy as he

spoke .

“ ”
I m fi fteen my n ext birthday
’
declared
J u lian pro m ptl y —at which the other bo y s
,

stared ; for they stood i n awe of the florid old

gentleman a n d would by n o mea ns h ave
addressed him uninvited .

“ ”
Fiftee n is q u ite an adva n ced age sa id ,

the grandfat h er i n a tone which so m ehow

,

l eft a slightl y disagreeable i m pression on the

“
mother s mind
’
But it still leaves you ,
.

M aster J u lian i n the position of th e yo u ngest

, .

Sedgwic k is I am in f orm ed seventeen Toh n

, , ,

Jacob si x teen , and Walter Worthin gt o n a

month or two younger B u t you are still old .

e nough to take your s h are of what may be

demanded of you and to enjoy adven ture ; ,

other wise you should not be here ”

.

A s n one of t h e bo y s understood the mean

ing of this mysterio u s speech they made no .

atte m pt to an swer and sile n tl y devoted t h e m

,

selves , with an appetite which eve n the old

gentle m an s presence could n ot subdue to the
’

excellent dinn e r—so u p roast fowls tender

,

, ,

vegetables p uddings cake s a n d frui t

, , .
1 6 T H E L OS T J E W E L O E T H E u o a T m Eas .

T o morrow morn ing I will

-
see you all i n
”
the librar y said the grandfather , di s m ss tng
,

the boys from his presence and courteo usly

leading his daughter i n law to the morn ing
- -

room where he i n vited her to seek recreatio n

,

i n the magaz i n es a nd light literature strew n

about , or to try some of the n ew m usic which
stood temptingly i n a stand by the grand
piano T h is promised a treat to M rs Robert
. .
,

who was an excelle n t musician ; but she felt

inexplicably anxious and hea v y hearted , and -

could n ot br ing herself to dist urb the silence

of the room by any music of hers
You wi ll excuse me I kn ow —for to
.

“
, ,
”
n ight at least , said the host M y evenings
.

are usually devoted to my books In my lib .

~

rary I always fi nd perfectly congen ia l society ,

”
and so have got i nto un soc ial habits .

His daughter i a law begged of him to make

- -

n o change i n his custom o n her accou n t and ,

felt a very se nsible relief whe n he left her to

her ow n thoughts
M eanwhile the bo y s were out o n the lawn ,

looking about and talking busil y Julian .

,

within a few min u tes , had i nquired of his

cousins w h at school t h ey we n t to what clas ,

se s they were in , whether they had got to the

 T HE M AN S IO N AT P IN E B LU F F .

“ ”
asses bridge
’
i n geometry , where they
lived , and who were their chums Sedgwick .

was disposed to treat him with good natu red -

“ ”
co ntempt as a kid ; J oh n J acob was rese rved
and somewhat moody ; but to Walter Worth
i ng ton J ulia n was soo n displaying a val u ed
pocketknife which had got mixed up with the
r osa ry give n to the boy by his teacher , and

on which he faithfully said his beads o nce a

day Walter responded with similar marks
.

of confiden ce , displa y ing a hard wood top , -

a fishi n g li ne , and a bit of punk , relic of past

fireworks .

“ ”
Ru m plac this e grumbled J oh n Jacob
, .

”
Oh , I think i t s fi ne !’

“
Y ou do , cu r ly pate — d o y ou ? ”
l aughed
,
“
Sedgwick So do I Would n t mi nd ow n
.
’

”
i n g it.

Lo ok here , why do y ou thi nk i t s rum ,

’

”
J oh n J acob ? i n qu ired Julia n .

“ ”
Say , cut that ! retorted the hatchet faced -

“
o ne. Call me Jake A nd I thi n k i t s rum
.
’

”
because it i s .

Though they thus d i sa greed o n o n e i m

porta n t point they ver y soo n joined the others
,

i n a game of leapfrog till a bell sounded and

,

a peremptory message ca m e from their grand

1 8 T H E LO S T J EW E L O E T n E u o aT ru Eas .

father that this was th e signa l for bed Th ere .

was much gr u mbli n g especially o n the pa rt

,

of Joh n J aco b J ulian acquiesced with cheer

ful philosoph y ; Walter—o r , as he had re
.

“ ”— "
quested to be called , Wat s: l little ; a nd

Sedgwick s growling was tolera b ly good

’

n atu red So n ight and darkness found J ulia n

.

“ ”
and the others at Pine Bluff with but little
realizatio n of how momentous w as the oc

casio n .
20 T H E L OS T J E W E L OE T H E MO RT I ME RS .

a quest , or com petition which the mad ,

eccentricity of an a ncestor h as imposed upo n

”
his race .

T here was a world of bittern ess i n the old

man s voice ; however he went on
’
,
“
It is tr u e you are n ot obliged to accept
these conditions Any o ne of you may arise
.
,

when he has h eard w h at I have to say , a nd

l e ave this room and th is house , n ever to r e
turn A nd who knows but that such might
.

”
not be the wisest course ?
T he curiosity of the boys was by this ti m e
at fever heat but n one of them da red to put
,

a questio n .

“ ” “
Nevertheless , he added you will prob ,

ably decide otherwise ; for youth , generally

speaking i s rash adventurous full of con
, , ,

fide n ce in i ts ow n raw meta l , a n d h as little to

”
do with wisdom .

He paused agai n and stra nge express i ons

,

cr ossed h i s face , which an O lder observer

might have interpreted as anger , self contempt -

,

bitterness a n d regret ; but t h e listeners were

a n xious only to hear the e nd of this wo n drous
n arrative .

“
I may as well warn you resumed M r , .

“
M orti mer , that I attempted to ful fi l these
 T HE R E ADING O F T HE D OCUM ENT
condition s a nd failed ; that ea ch of your fathers
—
failed so m e miserabl y
,
”
.

The old man s eyes rested on J uli an as he

’

spoke the last words .

“
M y fat h er before me failed , his father
failed , and so g oes back this absurd tradition
to t h e founta i n head
-
A nd what has this
.

quixoti c whim o f our forbear done for his

descen dan ts I t has put enmity betwee n
father a nd so n , set brot h er agai nst brother .

It h as left them a l l discontented an d h as pre

vented legit imate eff ort i n any other di r ection .

It h as occurred to my mind , moreo ver , that it

ma y be a m y th , a pure i n ve ntion , a n allego r y
.

The lost jewel of which I am about to read to

yo u may have n o exi stence There may be
.

n o hidde n room N ow I sh all r ead you the

.

documen t , and I must modern ize the language

somehow or it will be impossible for you to
follow t h e vi sionary s wor
’

He unfolded the docume n t Wi th a han d

which trembled somewhat ; for he v ivi dly r e
called the day upo n which he i n his youth
had heard that reading , a nd , with beating
heart a nd glowing cheek , had vowed never to
rest till he had found the lost Jewel of the
M ortimer s Well , he had gr ow n weary soon ,
.
22 T H E LOS T J EW EL OE T H E MOR T I M ERS .

a nd had found inglorious ease instead A ll .

the rest had been be y ond him Adjusting h is

.

gold ri m med glasses he began to read with

-
, ,

out fu rther co mm ent

“
I , Ansel m Benedict M orti m er being an ,

exile from my countr y for t h e profession of

the C atholic and R o m an Faith and ha v ing ,

for t h at reason with m y father c rossed t h e

, ,

seas a m desiro u s t h at my descendants sh o uld

,

be i m bued with those qualities of truth valor , ,

p u rity and honor whic h h ave bee n theirs since

the da y s of chivalry I do hereby b e que ath e
.

to that o n e am ongst t h e m who shall discover

what shall henceforth be know n as the lost
j ewel of the M ortimers—i t is a ruby of ex .

ce edi n g great price of un u sual size and col

oring —t h e fi nder of t h e stone s h all co m e i nto

,

possessio n of large su m s of money variously

invested with all acc u mulations thereupon ;
,

and , after t h e death of t h e occ u pa n t then i n

possession shall becom e t h e owner of the
,

mansio n of Pine Bluff built by my father o n

,

fi rst co m ing to these colonies

“
B u t the discovery of this jewel , which i s
co ncealed i n a hidde n roo m , can n ot be m ade

without much dilige n ce and courage ; and the

seeker must undergo ordeals which s h all
 T H E R EADING OE T H E DOCU M E N T . z3

develop manliness , fortit u de endurance with , ,

a hab it of trut h fulness For being discovered

.

i n a single falsehood s h all disq u alify him for

the qu est ; and his conduct m ust be i n i m ita
tion of those knights who were enrolled in the
Order of Ch ivalry .

“
T ill t h e jewel be discovered the aforesaid ,

mansion shall re m ai n i n possession of the

eldest so n of t h e eldest branch B ut eve n if .

he have heirs direct he must relinquis h it to

,

him who finds t h e jewel M eanwh ile he shall

.

have sufficient monies to maintain him in

co m fort and if he will , in the luxury b e fit
, ,

ti n g his station.

“
T he eldest son O f each branch m ay alo n e
enter the competition ; nor ma y any you nger
brother be substit u ted in his place ; n or s h all
it take place until t h e youngest co m petitor
has attained his fiftee nth y ear T h e list O f .

orde a l s throug h w h ich the seekers must pass

are here subjoined b u t n eed not be told to
,

them i n detail u n til t h e y shall have entered

upo n the qu est Let t hem b u t understa n d
.

t h at their courage fortitude and manli ness

,
”
shall be p u t to severest tests .

H ere ended the reading of the docu ment ,

and the boys looked at o ne a n other To .

24 T H E LO ST J EW EL OE T H E MO RT I MERS .

Julian at least it see m ed as if t h e twentieth

, ,

century had faded awa y and as i f t h e gri m, ,

wainscoted library were a chambe r i n so m e

enc h anted castle T h e books t h e m selves
.

see m ed spectral and the grandfath e r a power

,

ful enc h anter T h e possession of t h e r ub y or

.

of t h e wealth w h ich acco m panied it did not

appeal very m uch to J u lian : it was the prom
ised ad v entures which fairly turned h is h ead ;
the thought of seeking for a lost jewel and a
hidde n roo m t h rough u nknown dangers and
thrilling experiences Tru e he began to t e
.

member how frequently h is mother had bee n

i n sore straits for mone y to meet all expenses ,

to pay for his ed u catio n and to keep hi m

clothed and fed It wo u ld be a fine thing to
.

have a lot of m one y to give her , and t h e

jewel too , and to let her live i n this beautiful
house fore v er .

H e looked about hi m : the other boys were

plainl y excited T h e h atc h et faced bo y was
.
-

leaning forward his eager gaz e fixed upon t h e

,

parch m ent Sedgwick tapped his foot n er

.

v ou sl y u pon t h e floor as though he were eager

,

to start that moment upon the quest Wat s .

’

pale face glowed with ex cite ment .

“
Y ou will have till to morrow morn ing -
,
 T H E R EA D ING OE T H E D OCU M E N T . 25

said M r M orti m er . to decide whether you ,

”
will accept or not .

”
O f co u rse we ll accept , sir ! cried Julian ’
,

enthusia sticall y .

“
What ! Ca n it be you are a mam mon
”
worshiper alread y , M aster J u lian ? asked t h e
grandfat h er with t h at pec u liar i ntonation i n
,

h is v oice which alwa y s bro u gh t a contractio n

to the s m oot h brow of J u lian s m ot h er ’
.

“
Oh it will be suc h splendid fu n , sir !
,

J u lian answered .

T h e old gentlem an elevated h is e y e brows -

.

“ ”
It is t h e c h ance of a lifeti m e broke in ,
“
John Jacob excitedly to get rich i n a n
, ,
”
instant !
H is voice rang t h ro u gh t h e roo m clear and ,

m etallic wit h a vibrant eagerness in it strange

,

in one so young .

“
You Jo h n Jacob are obli v ious to the fun
, , ,
” “
I pe rcei v e said t h e grandfather
, What are .

”
y our views S edgwic k ? ,
“ ”
Oh I sa y sir , replied t h e oldest of the
, ,
“
M o rti m ers no one i n h is sense s wo u ld gi v e
,

u p s uc h a c h ance And t h en the adv e n .

, ,
”
tu r e s l
“
Yo u seem unite the practical and the I

”
r oma n tic How about Walter Wort h ingto n ?
.
26 T H E LOST J E WEL OE T H E MORT I ME RS .

I onl y wish I we re bigger and stro nger ,

” “
t h at s all ! cried t he pale bo y
’
B ut , a nyway
.
,
”
I ll try e v en if it kills me
’
.

“
It h as killed som e before now , warned
“
t h e grandfather Bu t yo u th m ust take its
own wild wa y I suppose H owever y o u h a v e
, .
,

till to m orro w morning to t h ink it over If

-
.

a f ter the nigh t s reflection you are still of t h e

’

sa m e mind , y o u will be enrolled i n the band

of fortune seekers and will ver y shortly begi n
-
,

yo u r h u nt for t h e hidden roo m and the lost

jewel , as t h e y are somewhat incorrectly called .

I should be inclined to re verse t h e title and

speak of t h e lost roo m and t h e hidden jewel
—i i inde ed eit h er one or t h e ot her ex ists ”
, , .

1 T h e coldl y doubting c y nicism with which

he spo k e of the possible non existence of t h e -

room and t h e treas u re had n o effect on t h e

,

sangu ine spirits of t h e bo y s T h e y were .

presentl y o ut upon t h e lawn , talking at t h e

top of t h e ir voices argu ing speculating ;
, ,

already exa m ining th e fa cade of t h e m ansion

for traces of t h e hidde n roo m ; an d prepared ,

h ad t h e word been gi v en to enter upon an y

,

ordeal or inaugurate i n a n y way whate v er

t h at won derful series of ad v ent u res .

“ ” “
O f co u rse if I g et it sa id Julian I ll
, ,
’

divide wit h t h e rest o f you .

28 T H E L O S T J EW EL OE TH E M o R T I M ERs .

I shall certainl y advise Julia n to give y ou

”
e v ery detail .

“ ”
H e is sure to tell me , the mother
“
an swered , u n less he we re forbidde n to do so .

H e has never co n cealed a thought from me

”
in his life .

T h e old ge n tleman regarded her with his

i nscrutable s m ile .

“ ”
He is u n like his father he observed , .

”
The very opposite i n e very way agreed ,
“
M rs M ortimer
. His fat her ofte n with a
.
,

view to spare me wi th held e onfide nces

, ,

which it would have bee n be tter had he

”
gi ve n me .

“
Are y ou in favor of your boy undertaki n g
”
this qu est ?
“
T hat I can answer better w h e n I k n ow
more O f course I have t h e g e neral know
.

ledge that i n each generation there is some

test or ordeal , whic h the oldest so n i n the
various branches underta kes ; b u t further tha n
”
that I know little .

“
It has bee n a sad b u si ness altoget h er ,
“
declared the grandfather S o m e as y ou
.
,

know , went dow n to the grave sadly dis

appointed , e v er yearning for that unattained
tr easure O thers again wandered away into
.
, ,
 T HE R E A D IN G O F T HE D OCUM E N T . 29

the b y paths of life , embittered a n d disco n

-

tented ; while othe rs did as I have done , and

I suppo se were not much the worse for i t .

A fter a n atte m pt to fulfil a fe w of the co n

di ti o ns, I dropped out of th e co n test , a nd
si m ply put the ma tter o ut of my mind .

N e v er has any one succeeded , and for my

part I do n ot believe that succe ss is possible ,

for the si m ple reaso n that the pri zes offered

”
do n ot exist at all , i n m y opi nion .

“
A s fa r as I am co n cern ed , I would rather
”
he had n othi n g to do with i t sa id M rs , .

“
M orti m er. I would keep him far , far i n
deed , from all danger But it might n ot be
.

the best t h ing for t h e boy Effort i s a great

.

thing ; endu r ance

Here sh e was interrupted by the voice of
J ulia n c rying :
“
Mother , mother , where are you ?
Excusing herself to M r Morti m er , the .

mother hurried to wh ere Julia n stood wai ting ,

breathless .

“
I have bee n upstai rs a n d downsta irs look
” “
ing for you , he sai d I want to tell you
.

all about e ve rything It s the qu eerest story

.
’

y o u ever heard The re s a lot of m oney and

.
’

a j ewel shut up i n a h idde n room , and we l l ’

have all sort s of adven tu res looking for them ’

.
30 T H E L O ST J EW EL OF T HE MOR TI M ER S .

Let us go u p to our roo m s , dear , repli e d

“
his mother i n her caln: way ; and the n you
c an tell me quietly without jumbli n g y our
”
words .

“ ”
A ll ri ght , mothe r l agreed Julian , and
together they mounted the broad stairs , pa st
t h e tall clock w h ich ticked away the hours so
“ ”
sole m nly I wi sh it would go faster ! J u l ian
.

exclaimed staring at the timepiece as he

,
“
passed . I want it to be to m orr ow , till we -

”
get enrol led and begi n t h e adventu res .

“ ”
You will begi n soo n enough , sighed M rs .

M orti m er .

“ ”
It will be such splendid f u n l cr ied J u lian .

“
All the other fellows are wild about it too .

I m going to get u p at dawn

’
.

“ ’ ”
You re very brave overn i ght s m iled h is ,

moth er .

Just as t h ey entered their apart m ents ,

Julian , carrying out a trai n of thought in h is

ow n mind , O bserved
“
Joh n Js cob c ares most about the jewel a nd
the money b u t I g u ess all the others want
,
”
the adve n tu res e v en more .

M rs M orti mer s face contracted as wi th

.
’
,

sudden pain she t h ough t of a not h er besides

,

John J acob to who m those mysterious pri z es

 TII E R EAO I N G O F T H E D OCU M E NT .
3!

had be come as a n absorbing dream hau n ting ,

hi m day and night .

“
O f co u rse it would be a l l rig h t to get the
”
m on e y ; would n t i t, mother ? Julian i n
’

q u ired .

H is mother regarded h i m with a ne w

anxiet y Wh at if avarice s h o u ld se ize upon
.

t h at noble soul to blight a nd wit h er it ? B u t

n o : the face , O pen , s u nny fearless reassured
, ,

her She dre w a chair to the hea rth , and

.

motioned Julian to co m e n ear her .

“
Money , dear boy is a great power for
,

good and ca n never be despised But , O my .

son the passio n for it has wro u ght more harm

,
”
t h an all else i n this weary world !
“ ”
I don t care much for it my self , said
’

careless J u lian — “
as long as a fe l low has
,

enough to eat and some c lothes to we ar But .

y o u ca n do a lot of t h ings with it I suppo se , .

0 mother I wish it were to m orrow ! A nd I

,
-

do wonder what adve n ture we shall have

first
Julia n threw himself dow n upo n the rug as
he spoke , and rested h is c u rly head against
his mot h er s knee ; and t h ere were a few
’

moments of deep silence , d u ring whic h the

boom of the sea was heard beating fiercely
a g ai nst the rocks .
33 T H E LOS T J EW E L O E T H E MORTI M E RS .

Presently the m other s voice broke the still

’

n ess of the roo m

”
“
Well , no w, J ulian tell me all about it
, .
 Chapter I I

JULI AN T ELLS H I S M OTH E R .

“ ” “
F irst mother bega n the boy , there s ’

some old man—I think h e s old , anyway

, ,
’

and he sa id he was a n exile from his cou n try

for the Faith Now that s fine , mother
.
,
’
.

I d rather like to be a n exile fo r my religio n

’

B ut he left a jewel—a great big ruby—and a

.

l o t of mo ney to any fellow that ca n fi nd the

stone For it s lost in a hidde n room , and
.
’

“ "
D id you say any fellow ?
Oh , a ny of a s—th e oldest boy i n e ach
branch of the M orti mers l And we ve all got ’

to look for i t—Sed g wick Jake , Wat and I

, .

Won t it be fun ? T h ere s to be lots of ad

’ ’

ventures and the old chap wan ts us to do all

,

kinds of things t h at are hard an d pretty dan

”
gerons .

M rs M ortime r s face paled a n d she sat very

.
’

still and rigid , her eyes fi x ed upo n the fire ;

while J ulian , who had knelt up beside her in
his exciteme n t , watc h ed her with g l owm g
cheeks and eager gaze .

( 33 )
34 T HE LO S T J EW EL O F T HE M O R TI M ERS .

Di d h e sa y w h at h i s reason was for m ak

ing all these conditions ? s h e asked presently ’
.

Oh y es ! He said he wanted his desc e n

,

dants to ha v e tru th and honor and fortitude

a n d a lot of other t h ings ; and he t h o u g h t

ha v ing to work so h ard for t h e jewel and t h e

”
m oney would be good for us .

“ ” “
A h ! said M rs M orti m er . T h at puts it .

i n a n e w ligh t I tho u ght it was perh aps ,

.
,

so m e evil genius who had resolved to p u t a

”
curse upon his descendants .

“
Jake sa y s he s a bloke but I t h ink he s
’
,
’

fine m other
, I liked his letter ever so
.

”
mu c h .

“
S ince his intentions are good it alters ,
” “
things said M rs M orti m er
, . And it see m s .

to m e that t h e descendants the m selves ha v e

onl y to keep i n th e right path to s u cceed b y ,
”
t h e blessi n g of God Bu t t h ey ll nee d t h at
.
’
.

“
Yes Fa t h er Wallace at t h e college used
.

to say : Get God s blessi n g on w h at y ou re

‘ ’ ’

going to do and t h en go
,
“
Yes that is t h e t r u e Spirit A nd I wo u ld
, .

Wish you to go into t h is contest as S t G e org e .

we nt to con qu er the drago n We lo v e to read .

O f glorious ones like hi m T hink of his splen .

did courage and h o w he went , lan ce in rest ,

,
”
str a ig h t for t h a t horri b le f oe .
36 TH E LO S T J EW EL O E TH E M ORTI M ER S .

call a fool s qu est it w s to console h ersel f

’
,
a

wit h t h e a ssurance t h at J ulian was of anot h er

mo u ld and moreover , completely under her
, ,

infl u ence .

“
If you go into this contest , then Julian , ,

it m u st be with a n oble motive T he m erel y .

co mm ercial spirit b y which y ou tell m e Joh n

J acob is possessed will never c arr y you t h ro u gh
s u ch an u ndertaking n or will yo u r own mere ,

love of f u n be any better B y catc h ing t h e .

so i r i t of y o u r ancestor and stri v ing to carry

o u t his wis h es you will gain much eve n if

,
”
you fail .

T h e bo y s face grew earnest as he listened

’
.

U nder all h is carele ss ga y et y of manner h e

was full of fine feeling and whatever was ,

h ig h and noble alwa y s appealed to hi m .

“
Yo u must be l ike the knights of old my ,
”
dear I h ave O ften read to you about them
. .

“
Yes t h e y were splendid fellows I g u ess
, .
,

mot h er it wo u ld be pretty hard for us bo y s

,

to be like t h e m
Not so hard as y ou think You have onl y .

to tr y Think i t well over before you give

.

y o u r a n swer to morrow , and try to feel as t h e

-

knights used to feel whe n they were entering.

the O rder of T hen if you choose

to accept th e eondi ti pns— “ al
 J UL IAN T ELL S HI S M O TH E R .

”
O f co u rse I ll accept mother !
’
,
”
“
To be s u re you will rash bo y ! laughed ,
“
his m other .B u t tr y at least to look u pon
, ,

t h e affair as so m ething m ore t h an a frolic .

After that t h ere was silence T h e mother .

did not belie v e in too much preaching .

W h en s h e spoke again it was to inquire of ,

Julian
“
W h ic h of y o u r new companions do you
”
like best ?
“
Well let me see ! Sedgwick has the best
,

musc le : we were try i n g o u t t h ere and he s a ,

’

good fe llo w L ittle Wat hasn t m uch muscle

.
’
,

b u t I like him e v en i f he is a bit girlie and

”
alway s wis h ing to be bi g a n d strong .

"What abo u t Jo h n Jacob asked t he

mot h er.

Julian hesi t a ted So m ething i n the last

.

n a m ed bo y jarred upon J u lian s perfect honest y ’

and openness of c h aracter .

”
Jake s all right I guess he a n swered
’
, ,

B ut—well he laughs at fellows

,
“
doubtfully .
, ,

and he likes to be very smart and he says he ,

knows more tha n his father by a heap He s .

’

cocksure of finding the jewel beca use he ll ,

’

play some tricks and get o u t of adventures

that are too hard I told him I did n t thi nk
.
’
38 TH E LO S T J E W EL O E TH E M O RTI M E RS .

that was qu ite straigh t and he snatched off ,

my cap and ran awa y with it calling m e ,

J u lia !
‘ ’

Now t h is was an off ence which J u lian

,

co u ld ill brook—b u t he suddenl y re membered

t h at h e was telling tales .

“
I didn t mean to talk about it O f course
’
.

h e was onl y i n f u n But I was j u st trying to

.

”
describe Wh at he s li k e ’
.

“
H e is ver y like one who will o verreac h
”
h i m self wit h his c u nning said M rs M or , .

“
ti m er .B ut all y ou ha v e to do is to go
straig h t y o u rsel f and not heed what ot hers
,

do fl

“
T h at s so , agreed Julian
’
. E very fellow s ’

got to stand on h is o wn feet And I told .

Jake he d better let my cap alone i n fut u re

’
,
”
and m y se lf too or I d m a k e h im ,
’
.

H is mot h er was amused at the boy s pug

’

n ae i ty .
“ ”
y u r energi es for the quest
K eep o she ,

said s m ilingl y T h en as s h e regarded J u lian s

.
,
’

h and so m e face her mot h er love awoke and

,
-

“
wit h it a very pa ss ion of fear 0 m y dar .

” “
ling Sh e cried , what i f t h is q u est sho u ld
,

take y ou from me , or blig h t your beautifu l

life ?
 J UL IAN T ELL S HI S M O TH ER .

Sh e seized h i m i n her arm s and held hi m

close pressed to her great lad as h e was ; and
,

h e returned her e m brace with his bo y ish

ar s hug
’
.

“Dearest little m ot h er ” h e cried “ not h ing

, ,

will e ver take m e awa y fro m y ou ; and I l l ’

alwa y s lo v e you an yh ow and do what y o u ,

”
want !
T h e fire l i g h t shu t i n m ot her and son as i n
a c h arm ed circle rudd y and b u rnished T h e
, .

sea boo m ed o u tside at t h e foot of Pine B l u ff ,

and on t h e stairs t h e great clock tolled mid

night .

“ ” “
H u rra h ! e x cl a i m ed J u lian It s to .
’

”
morrow l
“
Dear m e , yes ; and h e re yo u ve never been ’

to bed ! H u rry off at once ; an d O my boy , ,

m y boy whate ver happens be true to y our

, ,
”
self a nd to God !
”
I will ! answere d t h e lad solemnly ,

standing still a mo m ent t h e r u ddy fi r e l i g h t

,

glo wing upon his face his head thrown back

,

a n d his m o u th s m iling .

M y bra v e yo u ng knigh t I believe you ,

”
will said t h e mother
,
“
And n o w to sleep
.
,
”
darling ! And try not to drea m of dangers .

“
Perhaps I ll dream where the r u by is ,
’
40 T HE LO S T J EWEL OF T HE M O RTI M ERS .

said J u lian as he v ani shed through t h e door

, .

“ ”
I read a stor y like t h at once .

H e was g one and the m oth er h eard his

,

feet pacing up and down i n th e adjoining

roo m whil e h i s m i nd was full of dream s a n d
,

h opes and O f t h at wonderf u l m orning whic h

,

seem ed so far awa y His head was scarcel y .

on the pillo w tho u g h w h en h e fell asleep

, , ,

and never drea m ed at all but woke to see t h e ,

s u n s h ining in a broad ribbon across t h e

,

floor and heard the s h rill voice of John Jacob

,

alread y upon t h e lawn J u lian was out of bed .

in a mo m ent and h u rried through h is toilet

, ,

ru sh ing down at l ast wi th bounding step and

be ating h eart th e very pict u re of a healt hy
, ,

happy boy .

”
H alloo Jake ! he cried from the door
, ,

p u tting his hand tru m pet wise to his m outh -

to give a lusty sho u t .

“ ”
H alloo ! answered Jake w h o was b u s y ,

poking a m ongst the weeds on t h e B l u ff as i f ,

h e had begun t h e search on h is own acco u nt .

“ ”
I though t you were to be u p at dawn .

“ ” “
I n ever woke la u gh e d J u lian ; and of
,

course mot h er didn t call me How did y ou ’

.

”
g e t u p so early ?
“
I co u ldn t sleep Jake answered Shortl y
’
, , .
 J UL IAN T ELLS HI S M OTH E R .

”
A nd it isn t so very earl y It s near eight
’
.
’
.

? ”
“
Near eight ? Where are t h e others
S noozing I s u ppose as you were said
, , ,
“
Jake . I guess I ll beat y ou all easy enough
’
,
”
if y ou go on at that pace .

“ ”
Don t crow too l ou d l
’
exclai m ed Se dg
wic k s pleasant voice from t h e br us h wood
’
.

“ ”
I was u p a good sigh t before y o u J akey , .

Jake , so m ew h at take n aba ck growled out ,

an inartic u late word or two and went at the ,

weeds with greater energy t h an e v er .

“ ”
Lo oking for an underground cave ? i n
quire d Sedgwick .

“
N 0 I m n ot ! retort e d J ake —getting very
,
” ’
,
“
red however
, I m tr y i n g to pass the ti m e
.
’

till breakfast s read y ’

.

“
I ve a bit of an appetite my self ” said
’
,
“
Sedgwick I ve be e n do wn to t h e sh ore
.
’
.

”
I could eat y ou curl y pate , boots a n d all
, .

“
T r y on “f at ! la u gh ed J u lian as Walter
”
,

appe ared looking paler and m ore sallow than

,

ever .

“
H e s not s u ch a te m pting m orsel as y ou
’

answered S edgwic k .

Don t try to be too f u nn y

’
p u t in Ja ke , .

”
Bu t I y there s t h e gong !
s a
’

“ ”
Good y ! cried J u lian begi nning to run , ,
43 T H E L O S T J EW EL OE TH E M O RTI M E RS .

while the silvery notes of th e s u mm ons to

“
breakfast still floated out over the law n Im .
’

star v i n g to o .

S o i n they all trooped to a s u bstanti a l break

fast ; thei r grandfat h er who sat statel y at t h e
,

head of t h e table sa y in g no t a word of the

,

events of t h e da y before n or of the da y s to

co m e ; b u t helpi n g ev e ry one to cold ha m or
bacon and egg to radishes toast or tea as if
, , ,

su ch m o m entous questions as the search for

a fort u ne h a d ne v er bee n u nder consideration .

H e joked with each bo y in tur n after his

pe culiar fashion ; a n d it was o n l y w h en h e
stood up from t ab le t h at h e req u este d all to
be i n attendance i n t h e librar y h alf an h o u r
later.

“ ”
A S if we ve t h o u gh t of a n y t h ing else !
’

whi spe re d J a ke .

“ ”
E xcept bre ak f ast ! ad de d Sedgwick .

”
H alf an h o u r see m s a good w h ile to wait ,
“
obser ved J u lian L et s do som ething to pa ss
’

”
t h e ti m e Let s play tag
.
’
.

Now this proposal se e m ed rat h er benea t h

,

the elder bo y s d i g n i ty ; b u t presentl y t h e y

’

relaxed and went at it hard a nd fast , t h eir

v oi ces borne up ward I nto t h e tall trees and ,

downward to mingle with t h e hoarse voice of

the wa v es .
44 T H E LO S T J E W E L O E T H E M O R TI ME R S .

T he bo y s were startled at the idea of being

ad m itted into the presence of a ma n dead for
about two hundred years B u t they made no
.

sign , and obediently followed their stately

relati ve thro u gh long corrido rs , hitherto n u
visited toward th e west wi n g a part of the
, ,

house which was ne ver u sed .

At l ast the grandfather turned abru ptl y i n to

what he called the west wing and paused
before a n oake n door curio u sly carved in
,

many a qu aint de v ice T h e old man s voice

.
’
.

trembled as he threw wide t h e heavy portal

and motioned across the t h res h old .

N o w, lads who enters here has entered

,
”
npo n the q u est .

With one accord the bo y s followed h i m

i nto the room .
 C hapter I V .

A N S EL M B EN ED I C T .

T h e bo y s , h aving crossed t h e thres h old ,

fo u nd the m selves; i n a spacious chamber ,

wainscoted and h an g wit h gorgeous tapestry .

Its f u rnit u re wa of most ancient fashion

s
.

T h e chairs , stra g h t and high backed had

’
-
,

ca r ved legs , representi n g the claws of ani

mals T here was no carpet upo n the floo r ,
.

w h ich was of hi g h ly polished oak I n the .

center of the room stood a m a ssive table , so

heavy a nd substa ntial that it m i g ht have been
m ade fro m so m e monarch of the forest ; it was
piled with all m anner of curio u s O bjects T he .

windows were stained and mullioned O ver .

the w h ole place hung a n indescribable air o f

m y stery—t h e enchant m ent of the past It .

was prec isely like a page out of S cott w h ile ,

so m e r o ma n c e of the M iddle Ages see m ed to

l u rk i n every one of its corners .

T h e grandfather stood still a moment look ,

i ng ro u nd h i m ; the n he said :
( 45)
46 T HE LO S T J EW EL OE TII E M O ET I M E ES .

f o nt n o w
abo u t to introd uc e you to A n
”
se l m Benedict h i m sel f .

Ad vancing to the very e nd of t h e room he ,

touched a spring i n o n e of the tapestried pa n

els . In sta ntly a doo r fle w open d i splaying ,

a n alco v e richl y l n m g with tapestry of velours ,

a n d d i s playing a fig u re w h ic h c a used e ver y

boy to start So cle ve rly was the portrait ar

.

ranged that it see m ed as i f the personage

re presente d were reall y a live and migh t at
any instant be gi n to speak .

J u l ian s first st a rtled feeling gave place to

’

o n e of profo u nd a stoni shm ent .

”
I t h u ght h e w s old
o a he e x ,
“
clai m e d i n v o l u n taril y ;
,
an d instead he s ’

”
y o u ng a n d h a n dso m e !
T h e bo y ish v oice sou nded oddly out of
pl ace i n that apart m ent h ea vy wit h t h e s h ad
,

o ws of t h e past a n d it ga v e J u lian hi m sel f

,

a cre e py fee ling .

Handsom e t h at my sterio u s ance stor n u

d o u b te dly was ; st r aigh t a n d t all as an arro w;
w i th a se nsiti v e fa ce f u ll of fire a n d p assion ;
,

e y es w h ose strange dept h s t h rilled even t h e

l e a st i m pressionable of the bo y s ; c u rling

locks falling loose o v er t h e sho u lders ; and a
m o nth t h at expressed co u rage and tenderness ,
 ANS EL M B EN ED I C T .

as well as sco rn for what wa s mean or base or

cowardly .

”
“
H e s just splendid ! said J nl i a n
’
.

Joh n Jacob was busy appraisi n g the severe

l y plain b u t ric h habi l iments the fall of co stly,

l ace at neck and wrists ; while Sedgwick was

m ost occ u pied with the sword so richl y ,

j e welled at the hilt .

Walter w h ispe red to Julian

“
He has awful e y es ! T he y scare me like
”
t h ing !
-
l s antime the gr andfather stood regarding

t h e portrait with a c y nical s m ile as i f he were ,

a n enchanter who had broug h t this splendid

fig ure from out the p ast and was scorn ful of
,

h is own power After a m o m ent or two of

.

silence ,
M r M ort i m e r bega n to address h i s
.

ancestor as follows :
“
So A nsel m Benedict your face is once
, ,

m ore uncovered to t h e ligh t a nd a n ew gen

cration—shall I sa y of v ol l l victi m s ?—are
,
‘ ’ ’

arrayed before you T hese like t h e ot h ers

.
,

a r e f u ll of mad daring e ger to f u lfil your a

,

co mmands and certai n of s u ccess You best .

”
kno w i f s u ccess is possible .

It seem ed as i f the pro u d dark eyes of t h e

pict u red y out h answered the old m an s tau n ts ’
48 TH E L O S T J EW EL OE TH E M O R TI M ERS .

wit h defiance w h erea s i n t h e v oice of t h e

,

li v ing m an t h ere was a deep bitterness against

the dead .

“
Yes t h ere you are after two h undred
, ,

years or m ore ; and yo u r in flu ence is still

u pon us T h ere you are abo u t to enroll i n
.
.

yo u r serv ice t h ese four young li ves W h at .

will y o u m ake of the m Ansel m Benedict ? ,

What h as y our m ad whi m made of your

descendants
T h e speaker see m ed to h ave forgotten for
the mo m ent t h e presence of h is fo u r y o u ng
listeners w h o looked from h i m to t h e portrait
,

with interest and c u riosity

“
I shall however do m y part S i nce y ou
, , ,

h ave i m posed upon each occ u p ant of t h is

m ansio n t h e d u ty of seeing yo u r co mm ands
en forced a n d yo u r wis h es m ade know n to all
”
who seek to enter upon the co m petition .

Having t hu s addressed the portrait , h e

turned to t h e bo y s .

“
To night you will fulfil t h e fir st con
-

dition Ea ch one of y o u in turn m u st spend

.

an h ou r after m idnig h t here , alone wit h ,

Ansel m Benedict F ace to face wit h h i m

.
,

y o u S h all look into t h e very depths of yo u r

own n at u re and discover if you have th e
,
 AN S EL M B EN ED I C T .
49

q u alities necessar y for s u ccess i n t h is q u est ,

and i f you are deter m ined to pursue it .

N O W t h is was not precisely the sort of ad

,

vent u re u pon which any of the bo y s had

co u nted and not one a m ongst them relished
,

it Walter Worth ingto n grew pale to t h e

.

very lips S edgwick sh ifted uneasily fro m

.

one foot to anot h er and thr u st his hands deep

into his pockets Joh n Jacob looked pe r
.

tu r b e d and a frown d arkened his hatchet face ;

while Julia n re v ived his ow n courage b y
prom ising h i m self to get h i s mot h er to sa y
h er beads for hi m His sagacious mi n d began
.

to reflect :
“
H e was a good m a n this A nsel m Bene ,

dict or h e wouldn t have bee n exiled for t h e

,
’

Fait h ; and he wants us to be good because ,

he said so i n h is letter S o he won t do us .

’

any harm Besides co u rage is one of t h e

.
,

things t h at h e t h inks his desce n da n ts should

”
h a ve .

M eanti m e t h e grandfather was watc m g s

the bo y s and s m iling with deep and some

,

w h at conte m ptuous a m usement He saw .

,

after all their eagerness to be gi n and t h eir

defiance of diff iculties and dangers , how little
this first test was to their liking .
50 T HE LO S T J EW EL O F T HE M OR TI M ERS .

T h e se rvice of t h is Ansel m Benedict is

”
not precisely a s umm er frolic m y lads he , ,
“
obser v ed ; and you will ha ve to obey h is
co mm ands very exactly i ndeed or give u p all ,

c h ance of fi nd ing t h e r u by and t h e fortune .

T h erefore S edgwick as soon as t h e clock i n

. ,

t h e hall tolls m idnigh t y ou will be brough t

,

to t h is place by a messenger and here rem ain ,

till one o clock At t h at ho u r Jo h n Jacob

’
.

will take your place At two i t will be t h e

.

t u rn of Walter Wort h ingt on ; and last of all

M aster Julian will be led here by one speciall y
”
appoi nted for the task .

A t h rill ran th rough his auditors as each

one was cited th us to appe ar in t h e S ilence
and g h ostliness of nigh t It was like a s um .

m ons to a secret tri b n r l w h ere t h e tho u gh ts

‘
,

and feelings of each one Sh o u ld be m ade

mani fest .

“ ”
A m I ri gh t Ansel m B enedict ? in qu ired
,

the grandfat h er .

And it seemed as i f t king ey es of .

the portrait m ade answer

Now go out all O f you down to t h e

, , ,
” “
s h ore
, said th e grandfat h er K ee p y o u r .

nerves stead y for to u i g h t You Julian need

-
.
, ,
52 TH E L O ST J EWEL OE TH E M OR TI M ER S .

wa te r , and ind u lgi n g i n i m promptu wrestling

m atc hes Jo h n J acob mean wh ile lay bac k
.

u pon t h e sand staring u p at t h e sky full of

, ,

h is ow n plans ; and Walter wandered di spi r

i te dl y up a n d dow n , kicking at the sa n d with
his toe ‘ .

“ ”
Halloo you fellows l cried Sedgwick .

If you knock under at the very first blow .

y o u d better chuck the whole b u sine s

’ s
.

“
T h e letter told us at once we d have to ’

” “
be brave added J u lian
, O f co u rse we .

didn t exactly think of that kind of bravery ;

’

b u t I g u e ss we ll get t h rough somehow and

’
,

it s n o use worry ing before h and T he ne x t

’
.

thing we h ave to do m a y be easier .

“ ”
Confound him for an old bloke ! cried
“
John Jacob Wh at does h e want to keep u s
.

”
up all n igh t for ?
“
I m afraid I ll n e v er get t h ro u gh t h e
’ ’

”
hour lamented Wa lter
, .

“
Well you se e fellows it s got to be
, , ,
’

” “
done re m arked practical Sedgwick or yo u
, ,

m a y as well bid good bye to the stone and t h e -

”
fortune .

“ ”
I ll never do that
’
said John J a cob , ,

springing up a n d pacing re stle ssl y abo u t ,

“
not i f I die for it .
 ANS ELM B E N ED I C T .

”
80 sa y we all ! chimed i n Julia n taking ,
“
off his cap and waving it i n t h e air Hurrah .

for the jewel and the hidde n room !

A strange and startling thing followed ; for
h is words see med to be repeated Clearly and
d istinctly from wit h in the solid roc k beside
which the boys were gat h ered T hey all .

t u rned and stared as if the rough g ra n i te

wo u ld reveal t h e secret But no : it stood
.

stern and gra y in i ts m ighty stren gt h jutting ,

away out i nto th e water where the waves ,

c h urn ed themselves into white froth a round

its base .

“ ”
I gue ss it s an ec h o of some sort
’
sug ,
“
gested S edgwick But it sounded mighty
.

qu eer .

“ ”
M ig h ty queer i ndeed ! m u ttered John
,
“
Jacob . I don t half like how things go
’

”
aro u nd t h is place .

T here were tears of positive alar m i n Wal

ter s eyes He co u ld not trust h is voice to
’
.

spe ak .

“ ”
O f course it was a n ech o ! cri ed Julia n ,
“
rall y ing hi s cou rage H urrah I say for
.
, ,

Anselm B enedict and the lost jewel of t h e

”
M o rti mers l
Again the words came back clearl y and
54 T H E LOS T J E WEL OE T H E M O RT I M E R S .

distinctly , tho u gh wi th a hollow and se pul

c h ral sound .

“
Well ! I won t try it ag ain said Julian
’
, .

We ve had enough of that I vote t h at we

’
.

”
go back to the house .

T h e vote was carried Bright as was the .

sunshine wholeso m e and p u re the air the

, ,

bo y s see m ed to ha v e lost their taste for the

s h ore ; and t h ey went back to the house , sit
ting upon the veranda , very gravel y and
qu ietly for t h em , discussing the o n e absorbing
topic of the nigh t watch -
.

“
I wonder what we ll t h ink of it to morrow
’
-

” “
morning ? said Julian It s bou nd to be
.
’

gh ostl y and all that But it s rather thrilling

.
’
,

t h e sort of t h ing t h e hero does i n tales of ad

”
vent u re ; and h e alwa y s co m es o u t all righ t .

“ ”
If we could go all together ! put in
Walter .

“
It wouldn t be much of a test i t we could
’

”
do that sonny ! Sedgwick exclaimed some
, ,

w h at contemptuousl y .

Jo h n Jacob was silentl y po ndering i n his

own mind on the possibility of slipping
t h rough t h e servant s h ands and not going
’

into the room at all .

“ ”
W h at do servants care abo u t tests ? he
 AN S E L M B E N ED IC T .

thou g h t . I can slip down again at two

o cloc k a nd when he unlocks the door get in
’
,
”
be h ind hi m .

Joh n Jacob was so elated with t h is plan

t h at h e quite reco v ered h is good h um or and ,

c huc k led to h imself till Julian asked

“ ”
H alloo Jake what s t h e joke ?
, ,
’

“’
I m laughing at the idea of us fellows
being i n such a pickle about n ot h ing W h at .

”
is it to sta y i n an e m pty room for an hour !
Julian s opi nion of his cousin s courage rose
’ ’

considerably Le was q u ite i m pressed by his

.

boldness and frankl y sa id so But Sedgwick

, .

rem arked rath er dryl y :

,
“
I hope you re laughing hardest at y our
’

self ; for you were the most sc ared of all when

y ou heard what we had to do , and when that
”
ec h o ca m e out of t h e rock .

“ ” “
I wasn t either contradicted Jake Wat
’
, .

”
was scared nearly o u t of his wits .

“
We were all pretty badly frightened this
” “
afternoo n said Julian
, I feel creepy about .

i t yet a n d about to night You must have a - .

”
lot of pluck , Jake .

“ ”
I have a level head sa id that worth y , ,
“
enigmatically ; and I guess we d better try ’

to put the whole business out of our mi n ds

”
till th e ti m e co m es .
56 T HE L O S T J EW EL O E T H E M O RTI M ER S .

T h is being good advice all f our tried h ard ,

to follow it and to forget the evil hour w h ich

awaited the m .

M r M orti m er and his daughter i n law h ad

.
- -

be en absent all day havi n g dri ve n o ver to a

,

neighboring villa ; 3 It was q u i te dark w h en

.

t h e y ret u rned a d Julian s m ot h er went

,
’

straigh t to her t o
W h en n ine o clock ca m e t h e grandfath er
’
,

despatc h ed t h e bo y s to bed J u lian going .

,

u pstairs found h is m other very pale with

, ,

traces of tears on her face a n d dressed for ,

o u t of doors .

“
What is t h e matter m other dearest ? ,
”
W h ere are y ou going i n th e dark ?
“
J u lian dear lad I h a v e to leave y o u
, , .

Yo u r gr and fat h e r d eclare s t h at my contin u ed

presence here would give you a n ad v antage
over t h e ot h er bo y s Jo hn J ai cob has no
.

m ot h er and t h e ot h ers cannot be spared fro m

,

h o m e I t h ink he is righ t J u lian Yo u mu st

.
, .

”
stand on an equal footing wit h t h e rest .

“
I will go with yo u mot h er and give up , ,

t h e whole job W h at do I care for rubies or

.

”
m o ne y !
“
No said his m ot h er
, . H a v ing under
taken t h is q u est i t is best , fo r you to p u rs ue
 AN S EL M B E N EDI C T .

it to the end if possible Yo u must n ot begin

,
.

”
life with a failure .

“
I f only you could sta y !
“
S ince I ca n not I com m it you to the care
,

of our M other i n heav en ; and I leave y o u

pra y er as your best weapon I n it you will .

find strength and all else yo u need .

As s h e spoke there was a so u n d of wheels

wit h out
.

“ ”
The carr iage com e for me ! she declared ;
and the mother held her boy i n a close em
brace , letting her tears mingle with his .

Whe n J ulia n w as left alon e he knelt and ,

prayed with all t h e fervor of his bo y s heart ’

.

It re m inded him of the ti m e whe n he was

planning to steal awa y to be a mart y r i n C hina
or Japan and of the struggle it cost him to
,

t h ink of lea v ing his mother S he had hap .

,

pily , discovered his intentions and advised ,

him to wait till he was g r o wii up .

H e got i nto bed very lonel y and miserable

, .

B u t he soo n fell asleep and was awakened b y

,

t h e clock tolling twelve He re m e m bered .

that Sedgwick was just then being led into

t h e west wing , and for a ti m e he tossed about
excitedly Prese n tl y however he dozed o ff
.
, ,

agai n ; and was aroused this time by the

str a ngest figure he had e ver see n .
 Chapter V .

T HE FI RST T E ST AN D ITS R ES ULT S .

T he strange figure standing be side J u lian s ’

bed when he awoke was that of a tall man ,

who seemed i n the dim light to be quite

gigantic . His face was pale and withered
and cove red wit h a close network of wrinkles ;
h is hair was powdered i n the fas h io n of a
bygone age and tied i n a queue at th e back ;
,

and his dress was a costly but out o f date - -

livery with kuee breec h e s

,
-
shoe buckles -
.

T h is personage stood intent l y regarding the

b o y t h rough whose mind flash ed t h e question :
,
“
Can this be Anselm Benedict hi m self
grown old or magically preserved these two
,
”
hu ndred O dd years ?
Presentl y a h arsh metallic voice which
, ,

so u nded weird and unnatural at that ho u r o f

t h e n ight , broke th e stillne ss .

“
Arise : your time has come T h e time .

”
piece witho u t strikes three .

J u lian obe y ed as i u a dream , the old man

( 58)
60 TH E L OS T s ur. o r: w e: n o x r r
'

m sas .

shu dde ring h orror wh i c h t h e hour a u d p l a c e

in spire d Bu t he t ie d to t h i n k h o w t h o se
.
r

k n ig hts of o l d a b0 1 t wh o m h i s m ot h er h a d
,
-

so o f ten r e ad to hi m wo u l d h a v e ac te d u ndo
,

si m il a r c ircu m sta n ce s V l m w1 th tr u l a n d
.
, .

h on o r was o n e o f t h eir fi r t q ua l iti e r H e

,
s

re ali z e d s udde y h o w th i s b r a v e a n e tm
r. . u

hi m s e l f wo u l d we de sp i se d a co a r d H .
:

bre a thed h i s li tt le pr a y er fo r c o u rag e th w , re

b a c k his h ead a nd m a rc h ed straight u p to Hi t

portrait loo ki n g f u ll into th at nob u fa

,

T h e n h e sa t do wn of h is own accord , ,
1

m a ssi v e h a i r wh i ch h ad stood w h ere

,
was ,

a s tr a diti o n sa i d f o r m r e th a n tw o h u n d re d
,
o

y ears ; wh i l e i ts gr e at a u s l i ke cl a se e m d
*

,
s
, c

to seiz e a n d h o ld h i m .

H e l o o k e d quite a s m al l bo y h a p l e ,
sa

i n signi fi a n t i n h is t wenti e th e ntu r y t Stl l

c
,
-
t )

o f jack e t a n d k n i c kc r bo c ke r B u t th r e was s . e

a fine co u rag e a b o u t h i m d th e s tr e n g t h ,
.

t h a t c o m e s fro m a u fl l ll m l e d i spo o u
' '

‘
‘. i s

wh i c h h as be n c a t c h e t r am t l g i la e
’

l y wa t c hed o w r b y mm : ll ig a t ~

m ot he r L i ttle b y
.
le 1 [
.

h i m : he forg ot th e ors of V f
we st “
‘

W i ng th e d a r k m m ; wi th i t
,
i n e an d s

appo i n t m e n ts wh ic h ad S l l l Vl Vé m a n y g e n ’ ’
t .
 r na 1 1 5? T EST AN D '
xrs ru esr LTS . 6:

e r a ti o n s of l H i l l l l a n d the te rrifying still

‘
c n
'

n ss of t h e n igh t
e H e be ca m e consc iou s o f
.

a o wi n g ad m i r ation for t h at brave gentl e

r
‘

m a n l i v in g o n " e canvas for h i s beaut y and ,

a n l i n ess for t h e h e oic things h e had do n e r

~

, ,

a n d for h i s crossi n g seas an exile for th e

w ith He f orgot l m sel f and even his fa u l ts

.
‘

and f l ie s W h i C
v
‘
h i s grand father had i n
,
l

tm
r h i m s h o u l d e laid b are to t h e searc h . >

. ug ; o f t h o se p i e rcin g eyes He felt a s .

if h e 1 k n o wn t h i s A nsel m B en e dict a n d ,

a de si re gre w i n h i s m ind to learn more 0 h i s ;

a ncest o r s life a n d character

’
He kne w h e .

h ad be e n a so ldi e r a n d a fa v orite of so m e
kin g t h at h e h a d su d ri ve n i nto exile and
,

h a d end u re d r pe rsecu tion ; b ut he de

"

te r rn i ne d if p ,
to l e a rn h i s histor y
. .

He cried o u t i n l tusi as m t h at he too

, ,

s h o u ld li k e to l e ad e li fe ; and h e fancied
‘

t h a t th e s m ile on ti p c tured lips gre w m ore . i

tender a n d that t h e e y e s looked into his with

,

kind n e ss as if he h ad fo u nd a friend
, .

So q u ickly passe d t h e ho u r that he was

a to ni s h ed when the q ua int servit o r p u t h i s
s

i za nd u po n h is shoulder a r d to l d him h is
time wa s u p Julian spran g to h is feet cry .
,

i ng out in qu ite a nat u ral a nd frien dl y w e '

62 T H E LO S T J EW EL or TH E M O RTI M ER S .

Oh isn t h e splendid ! But it can t be an

,
’ ’

h o u r yet ! It see m ed so short ! I had a heap

”
of t h i ngs to t h ink of l
T he man stared at hi m in genuine surpri se ,
“ ”
m uttering under his breath , A miracle ! as
h e bent his head before the portrait with
so m ething of genuine respect and affection ,

p u t o u t t h e ligh ts and thrust J u lia n from the

,

roo m ; after w h ich he locked the door and i n ,

silence followed hi m through the winding

corridors the lantern he carried casting wav
,

v e r i n g glea m s on wall and ceiling He con .

ducted Julia n to his apartment and the boy ,

said :
“
Go od nigh t !—I don t know y our na m e
’
.

”
N i ch ol as said t h e g utt u ral voice
, .

”
Good n ight Nic h olas ! repeated Julian
, .

T h e man i n repl y straightened hi m se lf

, ,

for h e had been a soldier i n h is youth —and ,

for the first ti m e in h is career of service with

the M orti m ers m ade a military salute to o n e
of the fortune seekers -
.

When N icholas had retired Julian s first ,

’

care was to kneel and offer a fervent act of

t h anksgi v ing to the Blessed V irgin ; though
indeed he scarcely realized that the first ordeal
was over . It was then four o clock ; but , ’
 TH E F I RS T T ES T AN D ITS R ES U L TS . 63

despite his fatigue he wis h ed it were time

,

fo r the house to be astir , that he might mee t

“ ”
the other fellows an d hea r their ex
pe ri e nces .

“ "
Jake looked pretty well scared he ,
“
t h ought . Somet h ing diff erent must have
”
h appened to hi m .

Julia n n estled comfortably amongs t his

pillows , wishing t h at his mother were there ,
so t h at he could tell her all about it .

“
There s n o one understands a fellow as
’

” “
sh e does , he reflected ; knows just what
”
y ou want to tell her .

When at last Julia n woke and saw the s un ,

like a n old familiar friend look n i n at the
,

windows , he h u rried downstairs where he ,

fo u nd Sedgwick upo n the lawn The latter .

looked very pale and tired , but he h ad a n ew

so m ething of ma nliness and d i gnity about
hi m which eve n carele ss J n an n oted i T he .

two stood and looked at e ar n other .

“ ”
Well , curly pate ? be ga n Sedgwick .

”
Well , old fellow ? responded J u lian .

“ ”
It was a hard pull .

N o t n early so hard as I t h o u gh t And the .

”
ti m e p assed so quickly !
Sedgwick stared .
64 T H E LO S T J EW EL O E T H E M o R T rM ERS .

”
It didn t g o v e ry quic k wit h m e
’
he ,

said gloo m il y
,
.

“ ”
W hat did yo u do first ? J u li a n inqu ired .

Oh I su ppose we all did abo u t the sa m e !

,

That r um lookin g old c h ap cam e f o r m e

-

“ ”
Nich ol a s put i n J ulian , .

Ho w o n earth di d y o u learn his na m e ?

I a sked hi m J u lian replied simply
, , .

Crick y b u t you re a cool one ! Anyway ’

old N ick—i f t h at s h i s na m e—c a m e for m e at

, ,
’

t welve sh a rp T he tolling of t h e hall clock

.

so un d e d like the Doo m sday tru m pe t or som e ,

thing o r other He pushed me in ; the roo m

.

wa s all dark e x ce pt t h e lights ro u nd t h e pic

,
”
t u re ; then he lock e d t h e d o or .

“
J u lia n nodd ed It was exactl y t h e sa m e
.

”
for m e he assente d
, .

“
I never was in s u ch a p i ckle i n m y life ,
“
Sedgwick avowed frankl y I felt as i f there .

were a t h ousand spooks hanging about the

corners I was afraid to look around and I
.
,

didn t care n m c h abo u t staring into Ansel m s

’ ’

face After a bit though I felt as i f I mu st

.
, ,

look ; so I stare d at him as hard as I co u ld .

The n I began to s h iver and shake as i f he ,

was searc h ing me through and th r wu h and or

fi nding o u t everything I ever d Great '

 TH E F I RS T T EST a n! r rs
'
R ES U LTS . 65

Scott but he s a corker for t u rning yo u i nside

,
’

out and making you asha m ed of yo u rsel f

I q u a k ed , I can tell you I got t h rough the
.

ho u r so m ehow , and yo u bet I n ever was so

”
glad to see any one i n m y life as old pigta il .

Joh n J acob cam e up w h ile Sedgwick was

still speaking , and a more haggard and m i s
e rab l e object i n the light o f th e sum m er mor

ning it wo u ld be hard to i m a gine T he great .

drops of pe rspiration stood o n his fore h ead ,

and he was shivering as if with cold .

Wh at o n earth i s the mat ter wit h you ,

”
Jake ? asked Sedgwick , suddenly catching
sight of his ashe n face a nd staring e y es .

“ ”
It feels li ke ague Jake said with a la u gh
, ,

so wild and forced that his co m pan ions were

startled . I g u ess there s malaria or so m e
’

thing here and i f this goes on I ll have to try

,
’

cha n ge of air .

“ ”
Lo ok here Jake , a nswered S edgwick i n
,
“
h is downright fas h ion , you re i n a blue f u nk ’

since last n ight O u t with it , man ! I was

.

m yself Tell us what happened You l feel

. .
’

”
all the better for it .

Thus adj u r ed J ake began —taki n g care to

, ,

keep bac k certain portions of the re v elation

relative to his little sche m e of yesterda y .
66 T HE LOS T J E W EL o r T H E MO RTI M ER S .

Wh e n we g o t to t h a t i n fe r na l do o r I j u st
t u r n e d ro u nd f o r a m i n u t e to l o o k b a c k a nd ,

t h a t O l d bl ac k g u a rd i n li v e r y
“ ”
\Vh at s t h e good O f c a lli n g n a m e s ? p r o
’

te sted J u lian .

“
H e c a u g h t m e b y t h e back of t h e n e ck
a n d ga v e m e s uc h a s h o v e i n to t h e ro o m t h a t ,

I ve r y n e arl y land e d fore m o st aga in s t th e

t abl e T h e n he plante d m e i n t h a t c o n
.

f o u n de d c h a ir a n d w e nt o ut Th e roo m
I was sca red —I ll ad m it
.

da n ce d ro u nd m e .
,
’

t h a t It s e e m e d as if de m on s or so m eth ing
.

we re h o pping abou t a n d grinni n g faces look

,

i n g o u t of corners and v o ice s c h attering

, .

T h e pl ace i s h a u nte d or t h e O ld B o y hi m self

,

i s t h e re . A n yh ow I w a nt e d to get o u t of
,

sta r i n g at t h a t O l d bl o ke upon t h e wall and ,

I t h o u g h t I d t ry a n ot h e r c h air T h e m o m e nt
’
.

I t r i e d to g e t up th e arm s stre tc h e d o u t a n d
,
"
h e l d m e fa st .

t il e h e spo k e J a ke s terror i n t h e m e m
’
,

or
y O f t h a t mom e nt be c a m e u n c o n troll ab l e ,

a n d h e had to wipe t h e be a d s of s we a t f ro m

h i s f o r e h ead .

“
I t was horri b l e ! I t h o u gh t t h e y w e re t h e
”
arm s of som e th i n g t h a t h a d a u gh t m e
c .

T h e oth e r boy s u ttere d horrified e x c la m a

ti o n s .
68 T H E LOST J EW EL or T H E M O R TI ME RS .

must have been unco n sc ious for h e reme m ,

bered not h ing A fter he woke u p again he

.
,

got o n better t h a n he had expected .

A ll the boys were surprised to hear Juli an s ’

accou n t of his ow n n ight s adventure ’

.

“
I was so busy looking at A nselm Benedict
a nd thinking abo u t him that the dark room ,
”
didn t bother me a bit
’
e x plained J ulia n
, .

“
I tried to re m e m ber the few things I had
heard about h i m a nd to piece them together .

I didn t fi nd t h e ti m e long at all N icholas

’
.

was good enough to me He ca m e up to m y

.

ro om with me and gave me a salute like

”
that .

As Julian raised his hand to his forehead to

imitate the sign Jake cast a so u r envious
, ,

look at his co u s in F rom that momen t he

.

bega n to di slike him .

S edgwick , on the other ha nd , cri ed out

admiringly :
“
You re a brick J ul ia n l I g u e ss yo u ve got
’
,
’

”
more grit i n y o u t h a n any of us .

“
Oh well—I said my prayers before g oi n g
,
”
down , and all t h at J ulia n added lest t h e
, ,

others m ight suppose he was boasting of his

own strength .

Sedgwick fidg e ted and l ooked uncomfort

 T H E F I R ST T ES T AN D I T s R ES U L TS . 69

able He had forgotte n all a bout his prayers

.

i n t h e excite m ent of th e ent . .

Jake gave a wild la u g I guess if I said

‘

”
pray ers I d be ashamed to te ll any o n e
,
’
he ,

sneered .

“
Wh y should I b e asham ed of saying my
”
prayers ? Julian asked i n all si m plicit y
, .

“
Because prayers are good enough for girls ,
”
but what bo y s say the m ?
“
A ll the fellows at the college said the m
” “
e very day Ju lian d eclared stoutly
, And .

some of the squarest fellows there used to go

”
o fte n est to the chapel .

“ ”
A rum lot they must h ave bee n gru m ,

bled J ake .

“
Pr ayers helped me a g ood deal , I k n ow ,
“
J ulia n went o n , address ing Sed gwick Bu t .
,

anyway , I m glad that test is over I was

’
.

horr ibly afraid whe n old N ichol as cam e to

g et me
“ ”
I n spite of your pray er s ! i n terposed Jake .

”
I bega n to say them than J ulian ex
,

plained .

“
You ought to have been a gi rl Julian ,
”
Mortimer ! J ake retorted .

Julian s face flamed

’
.

“ ” “
I tell y o u what Jake
, he cried if y o u
, ,
”
dare to say s u c h t h ings to me !
70 T HE LO S T J EW E L O F T HE MORT I ME RS .

”
Don t hee d hi m , sonny ! p u t i n Sedg
’

wick “
Y o u we r e the be s t man of the l o t
.

last night a n d so y ou can aff ord to let Jake

,

spout He s pretty well bowled out this

’
.

morn i ng .

“ ”
I o u gh t to h av e remembered that , a d o

“
m i tte d J ulian , and have know n how to take
”
a j ok e .

W h ile he was sa y ing so b reakfast was an

nou n ce d a n d the gran dfat h er recei v ed the m
, .

His k e e n e y e noticed that J u l ian s face was as ’

bra v e a n d brigh t a s ever a nd his appetite ,

un di sturbed H e also ob serv ed t h e signs of

.

past conflict i n t h e other lads and all b u t ,

la u gh e d outrigh t at J acob s broken dow n ap’ -

peara n ce H e m ade no all u sion to the m atter

.
,

howe ver till bre akfa st was over The n he

, .

obse r ved wit h h i s c y nical s m ile :

,
“
O f t h e fo u r li ttle Indian s , o ne has falle n
down l eav ing b u t three I hear howe v e r
, .
, ,

that “fa l te r Worthington m eans to ri se u p

a gain T h is afte r noon if he be s u ffi cie n tl y
.
,

re co vered I will announce to yo u t h e second

,

test M eanti m e go out and play footba l l or

.

so m e thi n g of t h e so rt Ou tdoor exerci se

.
,
”
Joh n Jacob i s an e x e z le n t tonic for ag ne
l
, .

John Jacob fl u sh ed s; "( let b u t said nothing ,

 T HE F I R ST T E ST AN D IT S R E S U L TS .
71

and o ff t h e y a l l tro ope d Bu t t h e y h ad not

.

t h e en e rg y to at te m pt so stre n u o u s a ga m e a s
foo tb all ; a n d t h e ir gran d fa th e r looki n g o u t ,

of t h e win do w at t h e m s a id to hi m se lf,
“
T h e po i son begins to work O ne i s .

knoc k e d und e r two ha v e n o h e a rt f o r pla y ;

,

a n d the oth e r h as escape d m a rvello u sl y so far ,

”
b u t he is d e presse d b y h is co m rad e s .

Wa lter Worthington presently appeared ,

looking very pal e , wit h great circles un der

his e y es ; b u t h is spirit was less s u bdued t h an
Jake s H e was determ ined to contin u e the
’
.

quest if a he said his strength only h e ld

, ,
s
,
-

out .

“
I wonder what the next test will be ?
J u lian obser v ed m editati vel y , .

And the bo y s all wondered in turn and tried

to g u ess b u t it was of no u se Not an idea
, .

s u gge sted itself a n d t h ey co u ld only wait for

,

the afternoon when their grandfat h er s h ould

,

make know n to t h e m th e second test He .

d id n ot keep th e m long i n s u spense I mm ed .

i a te l y after l u nc h eon he s u m m oned all fo u r

to m eet him i n t h e l ibrary thence to proc ee d ,

to the pre se n ce O f An se l m B e nedict w h e re a l l ,

t e sts w e re annou nced .

“ ” “
I t h i nk , said M r M orti m e r t h at l s
.
, t ol
72 T II E L O S T J EW EL O F T HE MO RT I ME RS .

second trial will co un n e n d i tself mech more

to you t h an the last B u t I must remind you
.

that diligence activity , e n durance will all be

,
”
brou ght into play .

J u lian regarded his grandfather wi th ea ger

e y e s w h ich bega n to sparkle with interest
,

a n d excitement ; while e v en the haggard Jake ,

the weary and dispirited Wat and the sobered

,

and saddened Sedgwick pl u cked up hea rt a

l ittle
. Their gr andfather re garded them with
a tant alizi n g expre ssion out of h alf shut e yes
-
.

H e enjoy e d pla y ing wit h their curiosity and

delay ing th e a nswer to t h e questio n which
hung o n every lip :
“
W h a t can be t h is second test ?
 C ha pter V I .

A C AM P I N T H E F ORES T .

Be fore a nn ouncing the se co nd test the ,

gr andfath e r arose from his ch a ir and sign ed

for the boys to follo w him All of the m ex
.

cept Julia n did so with visible trepidatio n ;

for the y knew that he was leading them into
the presence of A nselm Benedict Julia n felt
.

a n eager desire to see once agai n that portrait

which had so completely fasci nated him a nd ,

he remarked to his grandfather as they p assed

alon g the corridor :
“
I feel as i f he were a fri e nd , sir .

Eh l — ”
what ? inquired the O l d ma n in
su rprise , and he sto od a moment and looked
“
dow n at the eager face . Whom do y ou
mea n
“ ”
I mea n A nse lm Be ned i ct , sir .

”
O hl exclaimed M r M orti m er
. .

“
Is the re an y book about him i n the lib
”
rary ? J u lia n asked
.

“ ”
There i s a book , a n swered the gra n d

father slowl y.
74 T HE LOS T J EW E L o r T H E MO RT I MER S .

sl a y see it si r ?
I ,

I s u p pose so No one h as ever made the

.

req u e s t be fore The m id n igh t hour i n t h at

.

gentle m an s societ y was generally fou nd to be

’

”
suffic ient He ended with a short l au gh
. .

T h e re s another t h ing I wanted to a s k

’

”
you s i r
, ,
said J uli a n , as the long corridor
the y were p u rsuing t u rned i n to the west wing .

“ ”
Where does N icholas keep himself ?
The grandfather cast u po n the boy so
strange a gla n ce that it startled even t he fear
less Jul i an .

“
What do y ou know about N i eh o l as —how ,
”
did you fi nd out his na m e ?
“
I asked him Julian a nswered si m pl y
, .

"
When ?
When he brought me back to I v y roo m
”
last nigh t .

M r M ortimer stare d
. Well you are a
.
,
”
wonderful boy ! he exclai me d F e w ex
.
,

cept i n the message he h ad to deliver have ,

”
ever heard the sound of his voic e .

“
H e told me his na m e was Nicholas and
”—
,

t h e n he did t h is and J u lian i m itated t h e

,

m ilitar y salute .

“ ”
H e did that did he ? queried the gran d
,
“
father i n a stonish m ent
, Then let me tell
.
,
76 T HE LOST J EWEL o r T H E MO RTI ME RS .

“
I shall a nn ou nce your second dec ree , A n
”
selm Benedict M r M orti m er declared curtly ,
, .

“
and N icholas can do h e rest Your ancestor
t
.

”
here portrayed before you the old ma n went,
“
on , add ressing the boys directs that you
,

shall go forth into the forest which lies to the

ri ght h a n d of this dw lli n g , exte n ding inward
e

from the bl u ff and there encamp for a period

,

of two weeks Duri n g thi s time y ou shall

.

perform all menial o fli c e s fo yourselves prol ,

curi n g the chief part of your ow n food and ,

ma in taining during the da y and o n certain ,

n ights when the moo nlight shall pe rmit a ,

sea rch for the c a ver n in the forest u n deterr ed ,

”
by wh a tsoever obstacles may offer .

E ve n the m ost dejec ted of th e bo y s bega n

to ki ndle into pe tive enthusiasm Here at
. .
,

least was a test a f er their o wn hea rts Wh y ,

, . .

it would be capital fu n !
“
If during that period of two weeks n o
trace of the cavern is fou nd , the competitors
are free to abando n t h is test and conti nu e to
pursue the sea rch i n other ways o r they may ,

obta i n a n exte n sion of the original ti m e and

remai n longer i n the forest I know of a .

pe rson wh o has spent the greater part of his

l i fe i n that way . I should be i n clined to be
 A CA M P I N T H E F O R ES T .
77

li e ve that the cavern is a fabulous one , so

many having failed i n the search But there .

is a tradition from way back that one did ,

fi nd that cavern and thus fulfilled the seco nd

"
test.

“
D id only one fi nd it out of al l who have
”
e ver been looking for it ? asked J ul i an , a we

stricke n .

“
O nly o n e an swered M r M or ti mer
, . .

A nd Julian looked inquiringly fr om h is

grandfat h er to the you n g face i n the portrait ,
where the sa me smile seemed to greet him ,

a nd whence a feeling of hope a nd encourage

ment entered his heart .

“ ”
If o ne h as found i t, said the boy , with
“
su dde n enth u siasm , another may , a nd pe r
”
ha ps it will b e some o f us .

“
Perhaps agreed the g ra ndfather coldly .

A nywa y , i t will be fi ne fu n c amping i n

”
th e w oods and looki n g for a ca ve .

“
Y o u ar e a very sang u ine young perso n ,
“
sai d M r M ortimer
. . But let that pass You .

wi ll a ll leave for the cam p at four o clock , ’

an d retur n two weeks h e n ce , v ictor o r v an

q u i sh.ed I t will b e to your i n terest to give
as much ti me as possible to the search dur

i ng the day and o n th e a ppoi n ted n ights .

78 T H E L O ST J E WE L o n T HE M ORT I M ER S .

Loite rin g b y the w a y s ide will n e ve r find the

cavern Y o u a re now d i s m issed a n d I wo u ld
.
,

ad v ise you all to proc e ed to yo u r roo m s

a n d m a ke preparations for approaching de
”
pa rture .

T he bo y s co u ld h a rdly co n trol themselves

i n t h e old gentleman s pre sence followi n g ’
,

h i m i n S ilence along t h e corri dor ; and he had

scarcely d i sa ppeared into t h e library w h en
they broke i n to an ea g er b uzz of t alk , each
voice ri sing above the ot h er E ve n Jake was .

jubilant as an y one He be lieved t h at his

.

o wn p e culiar m et h od s of action and his ferret

like di spositio n wo u ld avail mu ch i n such a

search ; a n d he was b o y en o u g h to enjoy t h e
i dea of a two we ek s frolic i u t h e open ai r
’
.

T h e little band a sse m bled o n t h e law n pre

cise l y at fo u r O cloc k and set o ff i n t h e dirc e
‘

tion O f t h e forest As J u lian l ooked back the

.
,

grea t m a n sion of Pine Bl u ff see m ed to stare

da r k l y at t h e m Bu t a r a y of s u nlig h t fell
.

across t h e v e r anda stre tc h i n g dow n u pon t h e

,

l a wn ; a nd a bird wi th a fl u t e like n ote fle w -

j o y o u sl y u p i n to t h e bl u e B o th see m e d li k e
.

fri e n dl y m e ssa g e s to t h e la ds telling t h e m of ,

hope a n d g l adness .

T h e fo r e st a s t h e y approached it looked
, ,

so m e wh a t d a r k a n d f o r b i dd i n g .
 A C A M P IN TH E F OREST .
79
“
It is like t h e fo rests i n t h e fairy tales I -

”
us e d to read w h en I was little observed
,

J ulian ; and there o n t h e outskirts was N ich

olas , precisel y b i t e the gobli n or the dwarf or
the genius who used to lead adventuro u s mor
ta ls into the gloo m y depths He was sta nd
.

ing under a tree spectral i n its shadow ; and

,

he sole m nly came fort h to ee t them . . .

”
Good da y , Nicholas ,cried Juli an
c heerily .

The gh ost of a grim sm ile crosse d t h e old

man s lips as he sligh tly n odde d h is head ,
’

precisely like a wood e n i m age a n d m arshalled

,

the bo y s into th e fore st before hi m He tra .

v ersed each leaf strewn path wit h q u ick mar

-
,

tial strides .

Ju lia n promptly began to sni ff the odors of

the woods .

“ ”
I like that piny s m ell ,he sa id gl eefu lly .

A nd mixe d u p with it there s sa ssafra s and

’

wild flo wers and lots of things The forest is .

"
just fu ll of s m ell s .

Wat darted o ff into t h e underbrush after a

sq u irrel , and c a m e bac k laughing from the
Cha se w i th a faint color o n h is pi n k cheek s
, .

Sedgwick c u t hi m self a fi ne sto u t c u dgel a n d

decapita ted several bu shes Jake pl uck e d
80 TH E L O ST J EWEL or T H E M O R TI ME RS .

absently at t h e leaves as he passed a n d st u ffe d ,

a han d ful of sli m y ones picked u p fro m a ,

marshy pool dow n J ulian s back J u lia n

,
’

gave a wild yell s u ppo sing t h at a snake h ad

,

to uched him ; while Jake doubled up with

malicious la u ghter .

A t l ast they reached a cleari n g i n a den se

gr ove of ancient trees ; and here stood , with
spectral solemnity fo u r tents , awaiting their
,

occupants N icholas having thr ust each boy

.
,

i n to that lodging design ed for hi m dis ,

appeared as silen tly as he had come There .

was something weird abo u t t h ese ca nvas

dwellings , snow white i n the summer su n
-

shine , st a nding o u t in relief from the dark

wood and backgro u nd ; and their interiors
se e m ed , at fi rst u nreal and m y ster ious A
, .

basket of eatables stood inside each en tra n ce ;

so m e clea n stra w was throw n into a corner ,

with a r ug folded u po n it There was fi shing

.

ta ckle a crab net , and a g u n which with one

, ,

accord each boy set hi m self to exa m ine call ,

ing from tent to tent i n the excitement of the

discovery Whe n they had spent a sh o rt ti m e
.

unpacking , a nd setting t h eir n e w h o u se s i n

order , the bo y s ca m e fort h , f u lly of o ne mind
with regard to s u pper Their fi rst t h ought
.
 A CA M P I N T H E FORE ST .

was of a stream and how they should proc u re

water .

“
I suppose t h e old l u natic didn t set up the ’

”
tents w h ere there was n o water said Jake , ,

looking all about h i m .

“ ”
T here s water dow n there replied Se dg
’
,

wick , pointing over the bl u ff to where t h e

dull boom of t h e sea was heard B u t J ake .

took n o n otice of the witticism , a nd all bega n

seriously to reflect u po n the means of getti n g
water for present a nd fu t u re wants .

“ ”
We d better explore
’
suggested J u lian
, .

A nd explo re they did hurrying off i n dif

,

f e r e u t directions O ver a n ho u r had elapsed

.

and Sedgwi ck, J a ke a nd Wat had r etu r n ed ,

weary and disappointed to the cam p , .

“ ”
It s one of that old dotard s tri c ks said
’ ’
,

Jake , i n bitter spite ; and the others thought

so too , and wondered what t h ey were g oing

to do abo u t it A ll at once they hear d a faint

.

shout , which grew gradually n e arer ; a nd soo n

J ulia n appeared , very r ed i n th e fa ce and
dr a gging a h eavy pail .

”
“
That fello w alwa y s succeeds , sa id Se dg
“ ”
wi ck . I believe he ll get the r uby
’
.

Which remark made J ake t u rn al m ost black

wi th envy He set h is teeth hard while
.
,
83 a: J EWE L or m a n o a r m aas
'
.

S edg wick and Wat ra n forward to help their

co m rade .

“ ”
Good for you youngster ! cried Sedgwick
,

w h e n he sa w t h e pail of clear , sparkling

“ ”
wate r. Bu t where s the strea m ? ’

“ ”
Oh it s abo u t a mile awa y ! laughed
,
’

“
Julian . Nic h olas is bo u nd to give us plenty
of work ; a n d, of co u rse g randfather warned ,

us that we d have lots to do while we re out

’ ’

”
ca mping .

“
Well , we ll have to ta ke turns i n going
’

—
for the water t h at s all ”
,
observed Se dg
’
,

wick philosoph icall y

, .

J a ke mu ttered darkly to hi m self ; and Wat ,

as u sual , deplored h is want of strength .

“ ”
If you re n o t able to drag water Wat
’
, ,

I can take yo u r turn and you ca n do so m e

thing else instead B u t now we had better .

”
get wood together for a fire .

A ll hands set to work coll ecting sticks and ,

presently there was a huge , roaring fire built ,

well to the centre of the clearing T he kettle .

,

which Nicholas had left n ear at hand , was

filled with water I t soo n be gan to sing away
.

as merrily as though it were on a hearth i n

stead o i in t h e heart of a wood s u rro u nded b y
te ll trees , thro u g h w h ich t h e y ellow glow of
84 wa s LOS T J E W EL or TH E u o a r m aas .
'

right there assented Jake , .

“ ”
It won t m atter very much said careless
’
,

J ulia n , who was indeed a little too much dis

posed to n eglect all thought of the morr ow .

“
We ca n take what we want and leave the
”
re st. But I know I m just sta rvi ng ’
.

“ ”
D itto ! cried Sedgwick .

J ulia n dived into h i s basket agai n and

bro u ght o u t a tablecloth and i n a few mo ,

me nts 9 ve ry luxurious meal was spread to

.
,

wh i ch was added a pot of coffee a n d the po ta

toes pl u ck e d from the hot a sh es That was .

a royal s u ppe r a nd e v erything else was for

,

g otte n but the enjoy m ent of the m omen t .

“
He s gi ve n us a fi ne spread for t h e fi rst
’

” “
n ight rema rked S edg wick ; a n d the fra g
,

ments may do for to m orrow Bu t I g u ess -

.

after that we ll have to look out pretty much

’

for ourselves .

“ ”
I ll try to shoot t h ings ,
’
v olu n tee red

J ulian .

I might pick up so me clams o n the b each ,

W at added .

“
fi h ”
l , of c ourse ,
We ca n a l ca ch
t s Jak e
declared .

“
And there m ust be a place to go crab
” “
bi n g , Sedg wic k concluded , or he wouldn t ’

”
have left t h e nets .
 A CA M P I N TH E FORM . 85

”
Hurrah for life i n ca m p ! s h outed Julia n ,

getting up and dancing about in pure joyous

ness .

S u ppe r being finis h ed the boys se ttl ed ,

the m se l ves ro u nd t h e fire ; for the cool fresh ,

air r e do l e n t at once of forest and se a which

, ,

sprang up with t h e going dow n of the su n ,

m ade t h e blaze delightfu l And a s the stars .

ca m e o u t o n e b y one i n t h e heave ns above ,

the four ba nde d toget h er i n this strange
,

qu est sat aro u nd t h e fire and told stories of

,

advent u re and of ro b bers an d of ghosts ; as

they talked in lowe r e d tones of the stra n ge
histor y of the M orti m ers and t h e ma n sio n at
,

Pine Bl u ff with its m y steries know n or sus

pe c te d At last t h e y bega n to feel d ro wsy
.

a nd went to bed to sleep so u ndl y till the

,

morning lig h t an d t h e songs of th e bir ds woke

them again .

Julian was fi rst u p a n d cou ld hardly te

,

me m ber w h ere h e was w h en he hea rd the

rustling of t h e lea v es and t h e singing of t h e

birds He looked about at the w h ite w alls of

.

the tent and sniffed at t h e fragrant branches

,

with whic h he had o v erlaid his bundle of

straw T h e n he s prang u p drawing deep
.
,

breaths of the air w h ile he donned his gar

,
 86 T HE LO S T J EWEL o s r u n n o s r m a as .

’
ments and r u shed to Sedgw i ck s ten t to ask ,

h i m to t m e to the be ach for a plunge into

t h e salt wa ves It was quite a clim b dow n
.

over the e d g e of the bluff b u t the two acti ve

,

fellows c a re d little for that They were soo n.

swi mm i n g aro u nd divi n g u nder water or

,

s plashing u p and dow n like a pair of por

V poises N o w they let a n enormous wa v e seize

.

the m to carry t h em i nto shore ; agai n they

,

stood where great breakers broke , to be throw n

dow n and completely swamped .

B u t e ve n such delights as these had to come

to a n end a n d the two were pre sently scram
,

b l i ug up the blu ff hallooing a n d shouting

, .

Wat had lit the fi re ; a n d Jake h ad g o ne off ,

u n willi n gly enough for water The sand

, .

wiches left from the night be fore were rather

stale ; b u t then there was homemade bread ,
, ,

wi th fresh butter T h e coffee w armed over

.

fro m s u pper was n ot free fro m the charge of

muddiness ; but the h u ngry boys cared little
for s u ch drawbacks as these particularl y ,

t h ose two a m on gst them who had spen t a half

hour i n the bri n e .

“ ’
It s all very well for you fellows to sneak
”
o ff b y yo u rselves for a bath grumbled Jake
, ,
“ ”
and leave me to go and get water .
 a can ? i n r u n so n ar . 87

“O ” “
h , shut up ! retort ed Sedgwick You re .
’

a born grumbler J ulia n went for it l ast

.

’
n ight a nd I ll go n e x t time As for the ba th , .

the sea s big e nough for everyone , if y ou

’

had n t preferr ed to s n ooze

’
.

J ake darted a n evil look at the spe aker .

but thought it better to be silent A fter a .

pa use , however he a nn ounced :

,
“’
I m going fishing after breakfast ”
.

“ ”
N ot u ntil su nset said a voi c e nea r a t
,

ha n d.

The boy s stared ; but , loo k arou n d as they

might they could see n othi n g
,
.

“ ”
That cursed voice again ! muttered J ake .

“ ”
An d n o ec ho this ti m e , observed Sedg
wick , because it did n t re peat th e sa me
“ ’

words .

“ ’ ”
It sou nded like N icholas voice re ,

marked J ulia n , thoughtfully .

“
A s i f any o ne e ve r h ear d th at old du m my
”
spe ak ! sneered J ake .

“ ” “ ”
I did said J ulia n ,
, just o nce .

Oh I suppose we all hea rd him say a

,
” “
word or two l s n appe d Jake Besides .
,

where is Ni cholas ? He can t make himself ’

i n visible I s u ppose
,
.

”
“
I don t k now , said J ulia n gravely
’
.
88 T H E LOST J EWEL OF T H E MO RT I MER S .

He re m em bered the stran ge look M r M or .

timer h ad bestowed upon him when he had

inqu ired abo u t the old servitor It occurred .

to h im ( for bo y s bro u gh t up as Julia n had

been often ha v e a strong das h of poe tr y i n
,

their co m position ) that N icholas migh t ha v e

som e kind of occult po wer O f course he did .

not say so for he had a boy s horr or of

,
’

ridic u le .

Sedgwick was meanwhile looking all about .

”
There s no Nic h olas here
’
he declared ,

decidedl y as h e sat dow n upon t h e stu m p of

,

a tree , chewing a bit of Sassafras root .

“
I hope the y re not going to begi n any
’

”
an tics to make this place unend u rable ,

growled Jake w h o was a coward at heart and

,

did not like these my steries .

B e fore long Nic h ol as himself appeared .

Th e y could see h i m very far o ff along the

path advancing from the very edge of the
,

forest .

“
T here ! You see he wasn t round here at
’ ’

”
all ! cried Jake ; and Julia n did n ot contra
dict h i m .

Nic holas had come to start the bo y s upo n

the se arch T h e y agreed that for t h at da y
.
,

at l e ast t h e y sh o u ld s e parate each bo y tak

, ,

ing a c e rt a in portion o f t h e forest .

90 THE L OS J E W EL o r T H E MORT I ME RS .

a t all though t h ey prosecuted the search with

,

the ut m ost diligence It might almost be

.

said that Jake literally poked his nose into

e very crevice an d cranny ; for he was full of

the ardor of t h e hunt , and the glow of t h e

ruby and t h e glint of gold see m ed fairly to
daz zle his eyes If Sedgwick did n ot poke
.

with his nose he did with his stick , and got

,

a lot of solid enjoy m ent out of his morning i n

the w oods ; so t h at his ho nest face was fairly
aglow with good humor and the high spirits
enge ndered by the glorious air and the forest
life .

Julia n , w h ose path had led i n to the heart

o f the wood likewise prosecuted the search
,

very diligently He e v e n li m bed to the top

.
c

of tall trees , w h ich was s u rely a n un n ecessary

perfor m ance , as it would have bee n ra t her
di fii cu l t to disco ver a cavern from the heigh t
of a tree B u t it was a rest to sit up among
.

the cool bra nc h es swinging idly upon a

,

bough the lea ves fan n ing his hot face as the y
,

stirred i n the breeze It was up t h ere that he

.

m un c h ed his cracke rs and c h eese B ut he .

did n o t linger too long T he t h ought of the .

cavern sp u rred h i m on H e slid down agai n .

to earth and pursued h is way At last he .

 A CA MP I N T HE FO RES T .
9!

heard Walter calling ; and h astening i n that

,

di r ection fo u nd h i m with one foot stuck i n a

,

m arshy piece of ground H e had to pull i t

.

o u t with some tro u ble after which the y wen t

,

on together Julia n kept wishing for his gun

.
,

t h at he might have a shot at so m e of t h e rab

bits o r wild pigeons or other birds w h ic h ,

would have give n the m a fi ne s u pper .

“ ”
I hope we shall get good things to eat ,
“
said Walter because I wa n t to keep up my
,
”
strength .

Julian looked at h i m curiously He had .

n ever heard an y bo y talking abo u t his healt"

Bu t h e liked Walter : he tho u gh t him a square
little C hap anxious to be brave and to do his
,

best.

“ ”
It must be a bother to feel weak he ,
“
said. I have alway s bee n as strong as a
”
horse , except when I had measles .

“ ”
I wish I were strong ! sighed Walter .

“ ”
But , I sa y , what s that over there ?
’
 C hapter V II .

THE A DV E N T U R E S or A N I GH T .

J u lian turned hastily i n t h e direction i n

d ic a te d by Wal ter s staring eyes but saw
’
,

nothing .

“
I could almost swear I saw a big dog or
”
som eth ing standing over there ! w h ispered
Walter tre m blingl y
, .

“ ”
Perhaps i t was a bear ? sugg ested J u lian .

Both boys stood still with a t h rill of m ingled

fear an d gratification .

“
If I h ad my gun I d have a shot at it from ’

”
behind a tree ,continued Julian .

“
Better not said Walter al m ost under his
It migh t—i t mig h t be something
, ,
“
breath .

else D o you know , Ju lian ( I do n t mind

.
’

sa y ing t h is to y o u for you won t la u gh at a

,
’

”
fellow ) I really think t h is forest is h aunted ?
,
“
J u lian stare d b u t he did not pooh poo h
,
-

t h e assertion , as Sedgwick would have done .

H e re me m bered his own thou ghts about

Nicholas and t h e q u eer v oice t h ey had heard
more than once T h ere ce rtai n l y se e me d to
'

be so m ething m y ste riou s about this place .

( 92 )
94 T HE LO S T J E W EL O F T HE M O RTI M ER S .

“
Wh y what is there to hate abo ut hi m ?
,

He s alwa y s jolly a nd ready to help But

’
.
,
”
th e n , he s strong and well
’
.

“
Yes : he s made of cast iron nerves and
’ -
,

all ,
”
agreed Jak e “
A nd I tell you Wa
.
,
‘
.

I hate the w h ole kit and boodle of them

m a n M ortimer that crazy loon of a Nich e
,

S edgwick ; b u t most of all I hate J u lia n and

”
his frie n d , Ansel m Benedict
‘ ’
.

Walter had bee n brou g ht up at ho m e ,

away fr o m other boys ; he had n ever heard

j u st that sort of talk before and i t made hi m ,

uncom fortable M oreover both bo y s heard ,

distinctly a laug h—scornful a m used—pro

.

ceedi n g fro m they kne w n o t where Walter .

started to his feet i n alarm , and Jake s flow of ’

eloquence was suddenl y checked .

“ ”
It s some trick of that old dotard l he
’

muttered to hi m self .

B u t there was little more said and the two

lads kept pretty close together till J u lian s ’

cheerful w h istle was heard co m ing up the

cliff He had been absent a com parativel y
.

short ti m e ; and t h ere he was wit h a string o f

silvery shining fish q u ite sufi ci en t for the
, ,

supper .

“ ”
I didn t wait for any m ore
’
h e observed ,
 TH E ADV E N T U R ES OP A NI GHT .
95

“
apologetically ,
because I k new we wanted
”
o u r supper I guess we ca n do with these
. .

T hey the n set to work to light their fi re so ,

as to be ready on the return of Sedgwick who ,

had evidently tarried by the way .

”
Hurrah ! hurrah ! h ere he is ! cri ed Julian ;
and Wat waved his cap wildly , while Jake sat
darkly brooding .

T he next da y was spe nt somewhat ai m less

ly. A nigh t s search b y the light of t h e
’

m oo n was to begin after sunset T heir s u p .

per was very early and consisted of a brace or

two of wild pigeo n s which Sedgwick w h o
, ,

was a n excellent shot h ad succeeded i n bri n g

,

ing down and of some red pl u ms whic h

J u l i a n had discovered growing wild some
w h e e T h e bo y s set out i mm ediately after
r
.
,
‘
i fi e re n t directions but agr eeing to
,
“ ”
I!“ t moonrise a nd enjoy the hunt

N othing could be more beautifu l tha n those

first cool s u nset hours with the rosy lights i n
,

the western sk y reddening all the la n dscape .

T h e moo n was rising a sil v ery arc above the

, ,

marsh lands where the y had agreed to meet ,

and which was t h e identical spot w h ere Julia n

and W at had see n , or fancied t h ey saw , some
96 T HE LO S T J E W EL or TH E M O RTI M E R S .

stran g e ani m al N o w a curio u s awe fell u pon

.

t h e boys ; t h ey sta re d a t the m oon which was ,

j u st showing its face abo v e t h e treetop s .

J u lian had an odd fee ling that it looked pale ,

a n d th at its light u pon t h e mar sh was cold

and flickering m akin g weird u ncerta in, ,

s h adows .

“ ”
Not a ble ssed S ign of a ca v e rn !
Sedgwick .

“
Te n to one grand fat h er s r igh t and t h e
,
’

”
h orrid old bloke is fooling u s growled Jake , .

“ ” “
Well said Julia n e v en if he were it s
, , ,
’

worth while if all the tests are going to be

,

like this t wo weeks ca m ping i n th e woods ’

.

“ ” “
Y es ,
a greed Wat I feel a h e a p b ett e r,

and stronger since I v e been o u t h e r e Bu t ’

.

”
w h ere are we going now ?
“
Let u s go to the ot h er side o f t h i s m arsh ,

“
suggeste d S edgwick None of u s h a v e g o n e
.

”
t h at far yet .

T here was just a mo m ent s h es itation o n ’

J ulian s p art whic h was fu ll y s h ared b y Wa t ;

’
,

b u t t h e form er rem inded hi m se lf t h at courage

was a m ongst the qualiti e s i n whic h An sel m
Benedict had bee n pre e m inent and wh ich h e -
,

desired to be reprod u ced i n the m H e t h ere .

fore pre pared to set forth with a cheery

“ ”
all right !
98 T H E LO S T J EwEL O P T H E H O RT xH ERS .

where i t was rarely di sturbed by huma n feet .

Jo h n Jacob co n tinued to hammer away to ,

“ ”
the tune of Tally heigh h o the grinder !
- -
,

When this amuseme n t palled and Sedgwick ,

sh outed to them all to come on Jake raised ,

the dead snake on the point of a stick a nd

c a rried it with h i m for the sole purpose of
,

pl a y ing tricks upon Julian who m h e hated ,

a n d Wat who m he kne w to be nervous As .

t h e y passed t h ro u gh a dark clu m p of trees ,

i nto t h e blackness of w h ich the moo n scarce

sent a ray Jake sud denl y bro u ght the slim y
,

ski n of the reptile into contact with Julian s ’

c h eek Julian forgetting the snake and b e

.
,

lieving hi m self attack e d by so m e u n know n

ad v ersary pro m ptly struck out with his stick ;
,

so that Jake received as h e said hi m self such

, ,
“ ”
a crack upon his h ead as kept h i m at a
safe distance fro m J u lian f o r t h e re m ainder of
that expedition .

“ ”
I didn t know it was y ou Jake J u lian
’
, ,

explained .

“ ”
You lie th e re l cried Jake f u riousl y , .

The hot blood m ounted to J u lian s face and ’

,

it w as by a strong eff ort that he controlled

hi mself He made a short ejaculatio n to our
.

B lessed M other as his professor had taught

,
 TH E ADV E N T U R E S or A N i c HT . 99

him to do ; and t h o u ght of Anse lm Be n edict ,

who wo uld certa inly ha v e ad v i sed t h e mastery

over self a n d have taugh t that it was n o part
,

of courage to rush i nto every vulgar qu a rrel .

The n he sa id quietl y ,
“
Lo ok here Jake , you re out there ! I don t
,
’ ’

tell lies an d I say agai n that I didn t know

,
’

it was you But , anyway , what right had

.

y o u to hit me with that di sgusti n g s n ake ?

“ ”
Cu rly pate is ri gh t there ! put i n Sedg
wick . A nd I m mighty glad , Jake he
’
,

struck out as he did You d better let that.

’

”
youngster alone , or you ll get the worst of it
’
.

N ow , J ake was rather afraid of Sedgwick ,

who was big and strong so he did not a rg ue ,

the point ; a n d they all went o n in sile nce ,

till suddenly they were start led by a r us h ing

sound in t h e bru shwood Presently a h u ge .

beast rush e d toward them with flaming eye;

and panting jaws What sort of a nima l i t
.

was they could not very well tell ; f the u r r .

’
.

certai n light of the moo n ga v e ti m ely th e

outli n e of i ts form a n d the glea m of its fi ery
eyes .

Jake turned deadly pale a n d fled without a

mom ent s warn ing T he beast seeing h i m
’
.
,

detached from t h e rest darted forward i n ,

I OO T H E LOS T J EW EL O F T HE MORTI M ERS .

pursu it gaining rapidl y upon t h e fugitive

, .

I n h is haste and fear J ake s foot caught in

,
’

t h e ta n gled undergrowth and he fell heavil y

,

to the gro u nd In another mom ent t h e fa n g s

.

of the be ast wo u ld have been i n th e prost r a te

boy but Julian hastily making the Sign of
, ,

the C ross fle w after t h e fu rious ani m al a nd

,

brought the fu ll weight of the stick which he

carried dow n upo n its flanks .

T he monster t u rned upo n this new assail

ant f o rsaki n g Jake who got up and conti n ued
, ,

h is flight Julian th u s left alone succeeded

.
, ,

in getti ng be h ind a tree ; after which ensued

a co n flict , not so m uch of strength as of
agility , between the se strange adversa r ies .

Sedgwick tried his best to m ake a diversion

in the rear haras sing t h e flank of t h e enem y ;
,

but the ani m al see m ed u nwilling to be di

verted from its p u rsuit of Julian How it .

m igh t have ended wo u ld be hard to say , but

J u lia n had a n i nspiration .

“
T ry to keep his attentio n for a minute ,
“
h e called out to Sedgwick ti ll I ligh t a
,
”
match .

T his Sedgwick did by dealing a tremendous

blow on the ani m al s hide w h ich made it
’
,

turn quickly in h is directio n The next mo .

1 02 T H E L O S T J EW EL OF TH E M O R TI MER S .

Don t y ou talk ,
’
Sedgwick ! You stood
b y m e a nd h elped m e like a hero O nly for .

you I m s u re t h e be ast would have had m e

’
.

”
A nd Julia n added h is generous heart feel
, ,

ing sorry for Walter who would fain have ,

“
been a hero also I don t blame you at all
,
’
,

Wat You re n ot strong and you couldn t

.
’
,
’

”
ha v e done a t h ing .

“
T h e one I bla m e is that hound of a Jake ,
“
said S edgwick , wrathfu ll y Running awa y .

an d leaving you in the lurch after you had

”
sa v ed his life !
Jake who was lurking near by and had
,

heard this conversation was filled with greater ,

rage than ever against J u lian which b e poured ,

o u t afterward to Wat who told h im i n retur n

,

that h e was just like one of the ungrateful

dwarfs i n the fairy tales -
.

“
If t h e re are any more of these beasts
roaming about here we s h all ha v e our work
,
” “
c u t out reflected Sedgwick gloo m il y E v en
, , .

as it is we may m eet that same ugly c u sto m er

,
”
again .

J u lian could n ot help a shudder He r e .

membered t h ose fiery e y es and the hot breath ,

which had all b u t touched h i m Jake was .

shaking a nd shook all that nig ht , with a rz

,
 T HE A DVE NT URE S OF A NI G HT . 1 03

other of those attacks rese m bling ague Wat .

was plainly d e spondent and S edgwick had ,

lost his hopefu lness .

“ ”
I m afraid after all , he said as the four
’
, ,

trudged along p u rsuing t h e search i n a m ore

,
“
or less perfunctory manner , t h at t h ere s n o ’

such t h ing as a cavern We re just being

.
’

kept here two weeks to try our m ettle ; and

u nless so m e of u s get e ate n up i n t h e mean
ti m e , we ll all go bae k to the mansion at
’

Pine Bl u ff like a pa rcel of whipped hounds

”
say what s t h at ?
,
’

“ ”
What s w h at ? queried Ja k e eagerl y
’
,

S l n v e ri ug all over .

Sedgwick strained h is eyes peering into ,

the darkness ; and e v eryone stood still—w h ile

s u ddenly o n the stillness broke a long low , ,

wailing sound .

“ ”
Great Scott l e x clai m ed Se dgwick .

Wh at can i t be ?
J u lian breathed a prayer Wat stopped his ,

ears a nd Jake said i n a stifled voice :

,
“
I ll lea v e this confounded old place to
’

”
morrow It s full of spooks and wild beasts
.
’
.

T h ere was sile nce for a moment , save for

t h e boo m n of the water o n the shore But .

as the listeners waited the so u nd cam e again

,
1 04 T H E LO ST J EW EL O F T H E MO R T I MERS .

thro u gh t h e air ri sing as it were out of the

,

gro u nd and soaring upward to the treetops .

“
It s like the Banshee m y old Irish n urse
’

”
used to tell about whispered Julian , as the
,

four boys looked at on e another i n genuine

fear a n d drew C loser together At last Julian .

“
spoke agai n : Fellows I guess we had better,

go forward to meet it whate ver it is That s

, .
’

”
what Anse l m Be n edict would have don e .

Jake broke into such a torr ent of abuse

agai n st the dead and gone ancestor that the
- -

other bo ys were startled a nd Jul i a n at last,

protested .

“ ” “
Look here , Jake sa id he , I do n t call
,
’

it the squ are thing to talk e that None of .

us were forced to come into this contest a t all ,

and we can get out as soo n as we like ; b u t

while we are in let us tr y to behave like
,
”
gentl e m e n .

“ ”
Bravo ! said a voice close
,

beside the m —a voice so deep so hoarse that

, ,

it was like the wa v es against t h e rock .

The bo y s started a part a nd began to look

i n all directions ; b u t look as t h ey might there
was n othing to be see n A n d while they
.

so u ght t h e wail rose again , louder , mor e

,

piercing th an before Jake and Wat both .

1 06 T H E LOS T J E W EL on T H E MO RT I ME RS .

The n , after a few seconds

ti n g u i sh a b l e .
,

ca m e a long , hissi n g whisper which fairly

,
’
froze the blood i n the boys vei ns :
“
I seek—I seek the los t jewel of the M or
—
timers ! Woe woe is me ! ”

It was some time be fore a n y one rallied

from the terrible dread into which this appa
t itio n had c ast the littl e ban d o f ex plorers .

Then J ul ia n said :
“
I think I k now who it is I t s that ter ’

rible m an grandfather S poke of o n e day— the

.

M ad Hermi t of the Forest ’

 C hapter V II I .

T H E MA D HE RM I T .

Julia n spo ke i n a thri l ling whispe r , wh ich

seemed to be repeated i n ghostly fashio n fro m
aisle to aisle of the forest I nvoluntar il y , the
.

little group grew closer together ; an d i n the

silence that followed Sedgwick asked :
“
Wh o was he ? ”

“
I t s a queer sto ry Grandfathe r told me
’
.

just a l ittle of it o ne da y He didn t say that

.
’

he lived i n these woods , but o n ly that o ne of

the M ortimers lost his wits looking f o r the
cavern , an d he s still seeking i t, and every
’

one calls him the M ad Hermit "

.

“ ”
Here he comes ! c ri ed W alter turni n g to ,

r un i n the opposite directio n ; whil e J ake

cli m bed a tr ee , a nd eve n Se dgwick bega n to

edge away fr om the spot Julia n alone stood
.

his gr ound .

“ ”
I gu ess he s harmless
’
he said to hi m
,
“ ”
self , or he would have been shut up A nd .

so , try n to keep u p his courage , he waited

( 1 0 7)
 1 08 T H E L OS T J EW EL OE T H E MO RT I M ERS .

the swift approach of that spe ctral emaciated ,

fi gu re .

u l t was clad i n a tattered gow n , with a cloak

throw n over the shoulders and wavi n g wildly
i n the wind The hair and beard likewise
.

streamed i n the n ight blast and a withered ,

hand gras ped convulsively at a tall staff The .

face was ashen pale the e yes wi ld and stari ng

, ,

a n d the restless steps were of o n e who could

n e ver be still .

A t first the spectre appeared to see n othing ,

b u t talked an d muttered i ncessantly Sud .

de a l y however , catching sight of J uli a n the

, ,

M ad H ermit stopped .

“ ”
Ha ! ha ! he cried a ki nd of surpri se ,

ligh ting up the haggard face You re the .

’

ghost of Bob M orti m er , I suppose Don t .

’

you reme m be r B ob when we sta rted to se ek

, ,

th e cavern ? Ha ! ha ! we did n t find it quite

’

so quic kly as we thought But liste n hither ,

”
Bob !
He came close till his hot breath touched
Julian s cheek ; but the little fellow stood h is
’

gro u nd , gazing up at the apparition wit h

frightened yet resolute e y es
You re little Bob ,—you re very little
.

“ ’ ’
, ,

the Hermit went on .

1 10 T H E LO ST J EW EL on T H E mo ur n mas .

seemed to h i m that his gra ndfather ought to

be told so that he might be the j udge as to
,

whether or n ot this forek n owledge interfered

with the ho n est fi nding of the cavern Whe n .

t h e last trace of th e Hermit had disappeared ,

J u lia n raised h is voice .

“ ”
Hie , Se dgwick ! he called .

And th a t boy , who was at n o grea t dis

tance , adva n ced i n a so m ewhat shamefaced
way , saying frankly that the appearance of
“ ”
the Hermit had put h i m i n a blue funk ,
though he was no t afraid of most things .

Jake too , came dow n from the tr ee ; while

,

Walter presently e m erged from a thick grove

near b y , fu ll of apolog ies for his own wa n t of
courage .

“ “
Never m ind that n ow , said Julia n He .

didn t do m e an y harm , and h e wasn t so very

’ ’

awful He mistook me I gue

. for m y ,
s a

father But fellows , h e said so mething

.
,
”
important .

“ ”
What ! the Wandering Jew there ? asked
“
S edgwick I m blest i f t h is Hermit is n t
.
’ ’

”
exac t y like the picture of him
l .

“ ”
Oh , he s da ft ! cried Jake contemptuous
’
,
“
ly. It doesn t matt r what he says He s
’ e
.
’

”
as mad as a M arch hare .
 T H E M AD H ERM I T .

” “
Well anyway
, declared J u lian
, I m ,
’

going to ma l e you all as wise as myself ; and

-

i f it s a madman s ravi ngs why we re n o

’ ’
, ,
’

"
worse o ff than before .

T he curiosity of the others b g a n to be .

excited .

“ ”
Ou t with it curly pate wh atever it is !
, ,

cri ed Sedgwick
Is i t—is it a ny thi n g about the co ntest ?
.

Jake inquired .

“
Do n t keep us i n suspense , put in Wat
’
.

Well he said th ere was a ca v ern and that

, ,

the entrance was at the moving marsh where ,

”
the wild beasts are .

Sedgwick whistled .

“
There may be something in it J ulian , ,
“
he dec ided We ve bee n pretty well throug h
’

t h e rest of the wood ; and probably no one has

ever gone far i n exploring the mars h e s
—
,

p ec i a l l y with that ani m al whatever it is

t h ere
. A nd after a mo m ent or two of t e
“
flec ti o n , he added : Look here Julian , it was ,

very square of you to tell the rest of us fellows

”
and give us all a chance .

J ulian fidg e ted and tu rned red The praise .

confused hi m .

“ ”
That s all right , Sedgwick
’
h e said , ,
z r a r n a L OST J EW EL or r m: ri o a r m s as
'
.

awkwardly Hearing it i n the way I did

.
,

it wouldn t have been fair to keep it from

’

y ou O f course i f I h ad found it out for m y

.

”
self i t would ha v e bee n different
, .

Y Wou t e a lways o n the sq u are Julian

‘ ’
, ,

spoke up Walter .

But Jake said n ot a word and his face wa s ,

disfig ured by an ugly sneer .

“
Before we do an y th ing abo ut it t h ou gh , ,
“
declared J u lian I think we o u gh t to te ll
,

grandfather a nd ask hi m if it makes an y di f

,
”
ference having found a clue i n that way .

“ ”
All rot cri ed Jake angrily ; and even
, ,

Sedgwick was disposed to think that it was

fair enough , — one of the chances of th at m v s
f erions wood .

“ I think s m y self ” agreed Julian “

Bu t
o , .
,

still , I wo u ld rat h er tell grandfather and feel

”
sure a bo u t it .

T h e n followed a so m ew h at heated disc u s

s ion ,
in which their voices rose high er a n d
h igher one abo v e t h e other after the m anner
, ,

of the m ost ordinary bo y s Fi nally Sedgwick .

and Walter ca m e round to th eir co u sin s view ’

,

and it was decided t h at on t h e morro w h e

sh o u ld go to the mansion at Pine B l u ff and

acqu aint M r M orti m e r with all t h at h ad

.
1 1 4 T HE LO S T J EW EL OF T HE M O RTI M ER S .

bo y s no less t h a n t h e ir elders h a v e at ti m es
, ,

th e ir pre m onitions and their fears of co m

ing ill .

Bu t wh en they reached ca m p a very com ,

m o n pl ace incident dro v e all t h ese unw h ole

so m e fancies fro m t h eir m ind T h e re was a .

c a t—a co mm on e v er y da y T abb y—b u sil y e u

,

ga ged i n eating t h e string of fish w h ic h Se dg

wick had ca u g h t a n d hu ng up on a tre e for
t h e i r breakfast At first they belie ved it a
.

wild cat and were for approa c h ing it with

,

prec aution and wit h carefull y le velled guns .

At l ast howe v e r wit h a h earty burst of

, ,

l au gh ter t h ey disco v ered t h at it was onl y a

,

lean h alf starved p u ss y I t is ver y u n di g n i

,
-
.

fle d to relate a n d qu ite a de sc e nt fro m t h e

,

s ubli m e to t h e ridic u lo u s , t h at t h ese four ex

pl o r e rs engage d i n so m o m ento u s a q u est
, ,

n o w i n d u lged h eartil y in a cat h u nt T he y

p u rsu ed t h e ani m al with wild y ells wit h ,

b u rsts of laughter a n d occasional t h rowing of

m issiles B u t M istre ss T abit h a was sly and
.

finally escaped into a tree f a r ab o v e t h eir ,

m aliciou s p u rs u it ; taking with her t h e re m

nants of a fish w h ic h sh e enjoy ed i n their ,

act u al sight as t h e y lay re sting at the foot of

,

th at gi ant oak Eac h one t h re w a parting

.
 T H E M A D H ERM I T . 1 1 5
pebble at her i n good hu m ored defiance
,
-
.

None of t h em to uched her and T abby c o n ,

tinned h er meal watching with gleaming ,

e y es of green her late adversaries depart

toward t h e ca m p .

E ach bo y h aving munched a piece of

,

bread threw hi m self down i n h is tent to sleep

,

off t h e fatigues of the long n ig h t s c h ase ’

.

J u lian lay wakeful for a ti m e , watching the

stars as t h e y peeped i n bet ween t h e fla ps of
his tent and revolvi ng i n his mind the e n
,

counter with the wild beast and the still ,

more terrif y ing though less perilous m eeting

, ,

with the M ad Hermit O nce or twice he .

fancied t h at he sa w the weird figure ho vering

about the tents ; t hen he tried to reme m ber
w h at his grandfather , i n a few brief cynical ,

sentences had stri v e n to tell him of this si n

,

gu lar bei ng F inally his t h ough ts got into

.

a tangle confused b ewildered m ingled with

, , ,

th e sounds of t h e forest and of t h e sea ; and

at last he had floated o ff into that paradise of
untro u bled sleep where the old are y o u ng
,

again a n d t h e world weary are ligh t of heart

,
-
,

and from w h ich bo y hood e m erges with r e

newed vitality hope and energy , .

I t seemed to Julia n when he woke t h at he

1 1 6 THE LO ST J EW EL on TH E MOR T I M ER S .

cou ld ne v e r wait to gain h i s grandfat h er s ’

conse nt or anyt h ing else ; b u t t h at once hi s

, ,

brea k fa st was swallowed h e m ust hasten to ,

t h e m arsh and find the entrance to the cavern ,

i n t h e light of t h e Her m i t s word s As a first ’

.

step to wa rds action he r ush e d o u t of th e tent to

,

lig h t t h e fire d e ferring h is m orni n g pl u nge

,

i n the se a till the ke ttle was filled with water

and h u ng o y e r t h e b laze
'
.

”
I m ustn t lose a m o m ent
’
he said to ,
“
himself . I ll go a n d se e grandfat h e r and
’

get back here b y m idda y T h at will g i ve us .

a fine long afternoon for the s e arch

, .

T abby h ad inter fe red a good d e al with the

morning m eal Bu t w h e n J u li a n we n t to
.

bathe as it was l o w water h e fo u n d a fe w

, ,

clam s on th e be ac h T h e fo u r boy s reli sh e d

.

them later with salt a n d pepper fin ding th e m

, ,

a pleasant addition to t h eir bread and b u tte r .

W h en e v ery t h ing was put awa y Julian pre ,

pared to start upon h is m ission ; but as he

neared the edge of t h e f orest w h o m sho u ld h e ,

enco u nter b u t Nic h olas standing wit h arm s,

outspread pl a inl y barri ng his passage ?

,

Julian looked up into t h e r u gged face

e a rnestl y .

“ ”
I m ust go ! h e said .
1 1 8 TH E LO ST J E W EL O F TH E MOR T I MER S .

T h e arms were withdrawn , and Nic h olas ,

ma k ing once again the m ilitary sal u te stepped ,
“
a side J u lian , wit h a si m ple T h ank yo u ,
”
Nic h olas ! passed on h is wa y ; w h ile t h e old
m an loo ked after t h e brave figu re of t h e bo y ,

just to u c h e d with the m orning sunlight ,

and looked and looked till he had to w ink

awa y so m e very hum an tears fro m his e y es .

It was a be a u ti f u l m orni n g and as J u lian

,

hurried on t h e bea u t y of it see m ed to sink

,

into h is he a rt ; for a peace f u l heart a good ,

consc ience and a jo y ous te m pera m ent gi v e to

,

Nature a gladness t h at is indescribable .

E v er y honest boy experiences t h is w h e n h e

gets u p on a s umm er m orning and goes fort h
for a ram ble b y se a or land .

It se e m ed to J u lian s i m patience t h at t h e
’

way was very long to t h e m ansio n at Pine

B l u ff ; but at last its roof and gables ca m e i n
sight and the dwelling itself sole m n and
, ,

drear with t h e s h adows of m ore t h an two

,

centuries upon it J u lian entered at t h e gar

.

den and passing b y t h e flowering beds and

, ,

bushes of roses and ot h er bloo m he reac h ed ,

t h e fa m iliar lawn It was very silent now

.
,
“
since the fellows were all gone fro m it ;
and with so m et h ing of awe J u l i a n passed
 T H E M A D H E R M IT . 1 1 9

across its bars of ligh t a n d shade w h e re th e ,

su n ca m e t h r o u g h t h e e l m s g u a r di n g i t o n

e v ery si de H is figu re loo ke d stra n g e l y s m all ;

.

b u t h i s face h a d th a t b ri g h tn e ss u po n i t wh ich
one a ssociate s wi th t h e s u n sh ine ; a n d h is
h air as he too k o ff his cap to wipe h i s fore
,

head s h o n e too i n t h e wandering s u n b e a m s

, , , .

H is gr a ndfat h er perc e i v ing hi m fro m the

,

b r ar y window felt a glo w half of pleasure

, ,

half of ve x ation Had this little c h ap co m e

.

to di st u rb his beloved solit u de ? A n d h ad he

been a f ter all t h e first to gi v e up t h e c o n
, ,

test ? With th e se t h ou ghts was a certain

pleasure o wing to the gl adness of t h e bo y s
,
’

face and to his bra v e and m anly be a ring .

“
I f he has gi ve n u p t h e others ha v e no ,
” “
chance t h e old m an t h o u ght
, A n d y et .

I am s u rpri se d I did n ot t h ink he wo u ld

.

”
have accepted defe at so spee dil y .

And t h en M r M orti m er heard th e young

.

voice sa y ing o u tside h is window :

“
M a y I co m e into t h e librar y , grandfather ?
”
I have so m ething v ery i m portant to tell y o u .

T h e old m an co u ld scarce restr ai n a s m ile

at the gravity with w h ich this m essage was
deli vered ; and he looked do wn at the sm all
fig u re with its resol u te air a n d into the
, ,

bri ght e y e s ga zi n g so e ar ne stly into his ow n .

1 20 T H E LO S T J E WEL on T " E mo a r m s x s .

” “
Come i n then he said and let us h ear
, , ,

the mo m ento u s tidings O ne would think y ou

.

were an a m bassador from the C zar of All the

”
R ussi as .

A nd J u lian accepting the i nvitation went

, ,

u p t h e steps and i n at t h e open door taking ,

his wa y to t h e library where M r M orti m er

, .

sat awaiting h i m .
1 2 2 T HE LOS T J EW EL O F T HE M ORT I M E RS .

brows studied the fearless countenance and

,

t h e shini n g hair before hi m O n his lap .

rested a n open treati se whic h discussed so m e

,

abs tru se problem of life wit h which y out h h as

nothing to do .

“
I thou ght i t was fairer to come a nd te ll
“
you , said Julian t h at I met the M ad
,
”
Her m it .

The g r andfather started .

Th at is we all m et hi m co m ing along

, ,
”
just like fury Bu t he spoke to me
. .

“ ”
Why to yo u ?
Ju lian hesitated H e did n ot want to say
.

that the o thers , even Sedgwick had r un ,

awa y .

“
H e mistook m e for m y fat h er called m e ,
” “
Bob , e x plained J u lian ; and he told me
”
where to look for t h e entrance of th e cavern .

“
H e told y o u that e x clai m ed the grand
father leaning for ward i n strong exc itement
, .

“
T hen , my bo y if y o u fi nd t h at , half the
,

—
battle is won o r so I hav e a lwa y s heard
,
”
.

“
H e told me it was in the mo v ing mars h ,
”
where that wild be ast is .

“ ”
The moving marsh ! the wild beast !
repeated t h e grandfather t h oughtful l y ; th e n
“
he leaned back i n his c h air Pshaw child ! .
,

—
he is mad re m e m be r he is mad !
,
”
 AN A F T ER NOO N S A DVE N T U R ES ’
.

“ ”
But may we try ? inquired Julian , looking
“
earnestly into his grandfather s face Will ’
.

it be fair i f we fi nd the cavern after getting

”
the clue from the Hermit ?
The grandfather stared He was an up .

right m an as me n go ; but this point of honor

,

was beyond him .

“
T hat s what I ca m e to ask y ou went on
’
,

Julian .

“
You came to ask me if you might make
use of this knowledge gained fro m the mad
”
m an ? asked M r M ortimer . .

“
Yes sir , .

“
Di d the others agree with y ou in thi n ki n g
”
my j u d g ment necessary ?
Well we had an argu m ent b u t at last
, ,
”
they all agreed even Jake , .

M r M orti m er looked away out over the

.

sunlit lawn n to so m e far distan ce as tho u gh

,
r
,

he was seeking for his own sunny y outh .

Per h aps h e strove to re m e m ber if this q u ality

of absolute tr uthfulness a nd sincerit y had cast
a glow over that beautiful land of t h e long
ago Then with so mething like pain con
.
,

tracting his forehead for an instant he ,

answered
“
I have no power to dec id e i n such a case
1 2 4 T HE LOS T J EW EL O F T HE MORT I M ERS .

n o instructions have bee n left B u t my i ndi .

vid u al opinion is that you should certainl y

proceed to act upo n this knowledge O f course .

it may prove to be a Will o the wisp , but y o u

-
’- -

”
are entitled to what light i t gives .

Having so decided M r M orti m e r was

, .

silent a moment ; then he i nquired with so m e ,

curiosit y
“
D id the H ermit gi ve this infor matio n to
all the bo y s ?
“
No sir, ,sa id Jul i a n I think I was
.

the only o n e who hear

“
T h en I presume you will follow the cl u e
”
for your own be nefit ?
“ ”
Oh no ! cri e d J u lian his fair face flush
, ,
“
ing . I couldn t do that I hav e alread y
’
.

”
told th e m ; for I want to go ahead fairl y .

T he grandfather s eyes were dim m ed t h i s

’

ti m e with a very un u sual moisture akin to ,

t h at m i st which had obscured t h e orbs of

Nic h olas o n the edge of the fore st akin to ,
-

t h at di m ness w h ic h clo u ds an old m an s vi sion ’

when he catches sight of the h alf forgotten -

sk y of y o u th aglow with t rustfulness hope fu l ,

n ess and the lig h t of integrity

, .

“ ” “
My boy he said
, ,unless t h e lost jewel
and the hidden room be but shadows of a
1 26 T H E LO S T J EW EL o r r n E n o ar m na s .

was said , a n d a fter the meal the oddly assorted

pair returned to t h e library Whe n they had .

bee n sitti n g th ere a few moments , the grand

father drowsy a n d doz ing i n his chair , Julian
s uddenly rose .

“
I am afraid gra ndfathe r I sh all have to
, ,

”
be going , he anno u nced .

M r M ortimer started , awoke , rubbed h is

.

eyes and looked at his grandson a m u sed at ,

his tone a nd bearing .

“
I n deed ! And pray what s your hurry ’
,
”
J uli an ?
“
Well you see sir , I promised the others
, ,

to get bac k as soo n as I co u ld so that we ,

mig h t be gi n the search for the cavern this

”
afternoon .

“ ”
So e ager ! sigh ed t h e old m an gazi n g ,

out agai n through t h e windo w to what m ight

“
have bee n the lost hills of youth Well , I .

m u st n ot keep you I will give y o u the vol

.

u m e as a precious l oan I t is of m u ch val u e

.

as an hi storical record —t h ough f e w of us

,
”
have ever so mu c h as opened it .

y
‘T he grandfath e r adjusted his glasses and
cast his e y es down the pa ges of a folio evi ,

de ntl y a list of books i n the library The n he .

rose and pressed a spri n g i n the wall : a cup

 AN A FT ER N OO N S A DV ENT UR ES
'
.

bo ard stood revealed Its shelves were laden

.

wit h many thi n gs which to Julian s e y es ’

seemed like treasures : slippers of Spanish

leather w ith silver buckles ; dagge rs with
elaborate hilts ; quai ntly car v ed tennis balls ,

W ith which traditio n said a king of F rance

h ad pla y ed a king of E ngland ; stirrup cups
of t h e lo n g ago ; snuff boxes fur tri m med -
,
-

gantlets ancient m anuscri pts curious M issals

, , .

A m ongst these last M r M orti m er sought a nd

.

found a volu m e bo u nd i n leather richly ,

j e welled with solid silver clasps of rare work

,

m anship Ha v ing take n i t fort h he blew

.
,

the dust from i ts cover a n d wiped it with a

silken duster .

“ ” “
Here my boy he sa id , is the history
, ,

o f o u r ecc e ntric a n cestor A n e lm Ben edict s

,
”
M ortimer of u nquiet memory
, .

It hurt Julian to hear his grandfather s tone

’

of disparage m ent toward a person whom h e

h ad already transformed into a boy ish idol .

For t h e most genero u s and high m inded of -

bo y s are us u ally he o worshipers and exalt

‘
-

som e on e to a pi n nacle whether it be the ,

s u ccessful pitcher or catcher i n a baseball

contest the professor w h o b y som e eloquent
,

lecture has won their ad m iration th e mat h e ,

 1 28 T HE LO S T J E W E L O F T HE M O R T I M E RS .

m atic i a n wh o h as d e m on strat e d a d i ffic u lt

propos ition the circ u s ride r w h o h as ridden
,
-

t h e wildest mu stang or t h e gre at ge n e ral who

,

h as co mm anded t h e a pplau se of a nation .

J u li a n was n o e x ception to the r u le a n d this ,

te ndenc y i n h i s n at u re h ad been enco u raged

an d di rected i nto s a f e channel s b y h is m ot h er .

J u st n o w he h ad gi ve n t h e fi r s t place in his
i maginatio n to t h e so m ew h at Vi s ionar y an
c e sto r w h o had i m pos e d so stern an ordeal

u pon h i s d e scendants .

“
I entru st y o u wit h t h is vol um e because I
”
kno w y ou will val u e and care for it declared ,

M r M orti m er
. .

“
Bu t grandfat h e r I a m afraid It is so
, , .

h an dso m e so costl y ! Su ppose it s h ould get

,
”
lost ?
“
Well then my lad y o u or I wo u ld be
, , ,

responsible to t h e e state for a considerab le

amo u nt ; but after all , ( h e ga v e J u lian a
peculiar glance w h ic h t h e bo y was far fro m
,

u nd e rstanding and fini shed his sentence )

,
“
,
after all if, y ou go on as y ou re doing t h e ’
,

p r i ce of t h is volu m e may be a ve r y small

J
”
matter to you by and b y .

J ulian said n oth ing looking g ravely u p ,

into h i s grandfather s face wit h his h ead on

’
,
1 30 T H E LO S T J EW E L OF T HE M O R TI M ER S .

J ak e . H e had le f t cam p ver y soon a f ter

J u lian s departure t h at m orning
’
.

“
I gu ess he s try ing to s h oot so m et h ing for
’

” “
su pper re m ark e d S edgwick We re get
’
.
,

ti n g rat h er low for pro vender .

“
I sa w a tiny h o u se on t h e edge of t h e
fo rest o v e r n e a r t h e cli ff said J u li a n ; and
,
”
,

t h e re s an old wom a n t h e re h as a cow I m

’
.
’

go i n g to tr y and g e t some m il k and perh aps ,

b u tte r from h e r I h a v e a little m one y m ot h e r

, .

ga ve m e B u t I wis h we co u ld g o to th e
.

m a rsh n o w w h ile it s ligh t O f course we ’

.

ca n t b e gin t h e s e arc h tho u g h without Jake

’
, , .

”
It wo u ld be unfair .

“ ” “
It s a pit y
’
cried Wat ; b ecause it s a
,
’

fi n e day a n d t h ere are clouds o v er yonder !

,

I sh o u l d n t wonder i f it rains to m o rrowu

’
-

“
H e s t h e gre atest beggar for being out of
’

t h e wa y w h en h e s wan te c growled S e dg
’

“
wi c k .I vote we all wa lk do wn toward t h e
,
”
m a rsh We m ay m eet t h e fello w so m ew h ere
. .

S o o ff t h e y all starte d ; for an y t h ing was

be tte r t h an ke eping still And as they went .
,

t h e y sang l u stil y t h e las t college song w h ic h

h ad often disturbed t h e ca m p u s W hen t h e y .

dre w near the sinister spot a silence fell u pon ,

t h em and even the bravest were conscio u s of

,
 AN A F T E R N DO N S
’
A DVE NT URE S .

a feeling of trepid tion What was t h e ir

a
.

con s te rnation to h e a r f aint b u t repeated cries

as of distress S o m e ani m al—o r m ore hor
rible tho u ght so m e hu m an being—was i n
.
,

danger or pai n of so m e kind or another T he .

bo y s listened and li stened T h at moaning .

,

t h ose faint cries for help fai rl y c u rdled their ,

blood At last J u lia n CI i Ct with a sudden

.
’

flash of intuition
( t
k
Ja e l
fl

He b e g an to run forward at full speed ; the

oth ers after so m e hesita tion following T hey
, , .

had run halfway round to the far side of the

marsh when they beheld a strange and hor
,

rible sight Jake h ad sunk into the marsh

.

as far as his knees To the boys excited

.
’

i m agination it see m ed as i f he mu st be drawn

down before their e y es after the manner of ,

the story books M ore terrible still the beast

.
,

that had before threatened their very lives ,

paced restlessly upo n the bank growling a n d ,

sni ffi ng deterred onl y b y t h e uncertai n nat u re

,

of the marsh fro m falling upon Jake And as .

i f to complete t h e chapter of h orrors and to

ens u re the hapless lad s destruction , above ’

hi m to wered sec ure upo n a sh aded knoll the

, ,

awf u l figure of t h e M ad Herm it , bran di shing

a n ax e i n his power fu l arm s .
1 32 T HE L O S T J EW E L O F T HE M O R TI M E R S .

J u li a n wa s a bra ve b o y a nd h e was m ost,

an x io u s to li ve up to t h e h i g h i de al of cou r
age a n d manlin ess se t h i m b y h i s il l u strio u s
a nce stor t h e c h i v alro u s An se lm B e n e dict
, .

B u t he stood n o w fa i rl y pe trified by fe a r i n ,

presence of the three fold da n ger t h reate n i n g

th e h aple ss Jake Su ddenl y with a gre a t
.
,

l e a p of t h e h eart , it c a m e h o m e to h i m t h a t
he co u ld not al low h is cousin t h us to peri sh .

So m eth i n g mu st be done !
Followi n g t h is i m p u l se he stepped as ,

lightly as possible u pon the m a rsh It qu a .

vered but h e contin u e d h is co u rse for t h ere

, ,

was n o ot h e r m e an s of re aching J ake while ,

the wild ani m al k e pt watch upon the oppos i te

bank . T h e m ar sh was dotted curio u sl y ,

enough wit h l ittle knoll s s u ch as that upon

, ,

which t h e H erm it h ad en sconced h i m self ,

and upon each of t h e se knolls was a wid e

spre ading o ak T h e se circu m stance s sug
.

ge ste d to Juli a n s acti v e m ind the possibility

’

of approaching the struggling J a ke H e a d .

v a n ce d as ca u tio u sl y a s possible to t h e fi r s t of

these knolls and se izing t h e o u tspreading

,

branch of a tree , s u cce eded witho u t di ffi c u lty

i n swinging hi m self to a tolerably secure
positio n a m ongst the branches .
1 34 T H E LO ST J EW EL OF TH E M O R T I M ERS .

I will plun g e you dow nwards a nd b u ry

”
you i n t h e q u a gm ire !
Ja k e uttered s h riek after shriek while the ,

ani m al upon the s h ore redo u bled i ts growlings

and paced ba c k a n d fort h sni ffi n g m ore ,

feroc io u sl y than ever It al m ost see m ed as if

.

it would leap upon t h e uncert a i n grou nd ,

which had hit h erto restra ined it a n d seizing ,

upon J aco b d e stroy t h at m iserable boy s last

,
’

chance of escape .

“ ”
You wo u ld dig ! you wo u ld dig ! cried
the l u nati c y ou wo u ld find t h e ca v ern b ut
, ,

I tell yo u y o u s hall not for it is mine

, , .

I keep a hu ndred lions t h ere ; B ob tried to

find it ; he couldn t and he went back to
’

”
town .

As the Her m it spoke t hu s J u lia n glanced ,

at the spade upon t h e bank and realized with

a c ur i o us sen se of di sg us t a nd abhorrence ,
that J a ke had act u all y co m e h e re on his ow n
account to steal a march upon his c ompa n
,

ions a nd disco ver the cavern witho u t the m .

Ho we ver t h is did not interfere with his settled

,

resol ve to s a v e J a ke i f it were poss ible no

, ,

m a tte r w h a t m i g h t b e t h e risk to hi mself .

T h e H er m it whose unstable m ind had for

,

the m ome nt wandered from its p u rpose of

 AN A FT E R NOO N S A DVE NT UR ES
’
. 1 35

bodil y harm to Jacob suddenl y re m e m bere d

,

his previous i ntentions and seizing a fi rmer

,

grip of his vict i m , bega n to dance him up and

down cry ing :
,
“
I will b u r y yo u ! I will b ury you !
”
Bu t if you b u r y h i m cried J u lian fro m
, ,
“
his vantage gro u nd amidst the foliage he ,
”
may find t h e cavern !
T he words prove d m agical .

“ ” “
T h at is true l cried the H erm it I will ,

pull him out and cast h i m upo n t h e shore for

”
the wild beasts to de v our .

Now this n e w feat u re of the programme

fi lled Jake with a terror which he e x pressed
,

by renewed shrieks J u lian too was greatly

.
, ,

alarm ed ; for the m arsh had bee n the sole

protection against the beast And if t h e .

l u natic carried o u t this latest desi g n , Jake

was indeed lost By a sudden inspiration
, , .
,

however , Julian be gan to cry out to the Her

mit from his vantage point abo v e :
.

“
N o n o , help m e to hoist him into t h e
,

tree and we ll faste n h i m up th ere ; he ll be

,
’ ’

too far above the earth to find th e cavern .

“ ” “
Ho ! Ho ! cried the lunatic , is that you ,

B ob c u nning Bob ? T hat s a good sc h e m e

,
’
.

I ll p u ll him o u t of t h e quagm ire a nd gi v e y ou

’
1 36 TH E LO S T J E WEL OF TH E u o a T nuERs .

his h ands T h en we ll get a rope and tie

.
,
’

”
h i m u p for the crows to pee k at .

He actually se i zed upo n J ake with a force

and celerity which released the boy from h is
prec a rious position a n d stood him up against
,

the tree J u lian the n qu ickly seized his

.

co u sin s hands urging him i n a whisper to

’
,

help all he could and to try to reach the low

,

est bo u gh of the tree Jake who was quite .

,

unnerved tried to grasp the tree tru n k with

,

his legs and by t h e assistance of Julian

, , ,

managed to attain a secure positio n upo n the

outspreading branch .

But whet h er the co m bi ned weight of the

two bo y s was too m uc h for t h e bough , or
whet h er Jake by so m e aw k ward move m ent
had dislodge d his cousin , it was impossible to
tell : Julia n slipped off t h e branch and fell
hea v ily into the marsh , on t h e other side of
the tree from t h at w h erei n Jake had so lately
struggled J u l ia n tho u ght he must have been
.

losing conscio u sness ; for he felt hi m self

Slowly slo wly de scending whither he knew
, ,

not but he b e lie v ed it must be i nto the realms

,

of death H e ga v e one swift thought to his

.

moth e r on eart h , another to h is M other in

h eave n .
 C hapter X .

T HE CAVE RN rN T H E FO R E ST .

Jake was at first horrified at the disappear

ance of J u lian and so m et h ing like re m orse
,

entered his soul when he re m embered the

danger to whic h J ulian had been exposed on
his accou n t However the thought of his
.
,

ow n safety soo n b ec m e uppermost i n h is

e

mi nd The grim fig
. of the M ad Hermit
was still i n evidence tossing wild arm s up
,

ward and addressing in v ocations to i m ag inary

be i ngs w h o see med to people t h e air about
hi m ; while o n t h e bank still paced restlessly ,
wit h feroc ious sn iffi n g s the angry beast
, .

J ake was suffi ciently a gile , once he had r e

cove red from his first fright , and presentl y
made for hi m self a temporary retreat in t h e
top m ost branches of the tree sec u re for a ,

time from his two a ssailants As h e sat t h ere

.

ru m inating a though t s u ggested b y t h e de m on

,

of a v arice began to take s h ape h alf con ,

sc i ousl y in his mind : t h a t , after all it was

, ,

( 1 3 8)
 T H E C A VE RN IN T EE FO R ES T . 1 39

as well i f this Julian who see m ed likel y to

,

be a s ucce ssfu l co m petitor i n the great race ,

had really bee n removed from the arena .

N o o ne could help it : it was one of those

happenings for w h ich n one could be held
responsible He did n ot directly rej o ice b u t
.
,

he co u ld n ot be expected to mour n for Julian ,

who m he hated J u lia n was always popular

.
,

ever making friends and doing pl ucky things

,

which cost him little effort and gai n ing a p ,

pl a use from old and young .

While John Jacob was busy with these dark

fanc ies Sedgwick had made a pole of the
,

branch of a dead tree which lay prostrate

across a corner of the m arsh and stro v e to ,

explore the dept h s i nto which his co m rade

had disappeared W h e n he at len g t h realized
.

that these efforts were fu tile he stood i rr e so ,

lute and grief stricke n on t h e bank in co m

-
,

pan y with Wat w h o alterna tely wrung his

,

h a n ds and wiped his eyes .

Sedgwick had meanwhile give n very l ittle

heed to Jake who now began to i m plore his
,

assistance ; for he feared t h at his companio n s

might go away and leave him in his danger
o u s plight , with his two dreaded foes still in
a position of vantage below him .
1 40 T H E L OS T J E W EL on THE 1 R T rn ERs .

”
Here I am stuc k up i n this tree ! he cried
o u t i n a c a u tio u s whi sper
, .

“ ”
Serves you right ! replied Sedgwick
Yo u re the cause of all the tro uble —
.

c oming
’
,

here alon e , like the sneak y o u are N ow , I .

suppose , you ve gone and d one for Julian the

’
,

best of the w h ole crowd and the only o ne

who had the least bit of a chance to fi nd t h e
”
r uby .

The tears were very near the honest lad s ’

eyes as he thus spoke ; for he had learned to

love his brave a n d generous cousin and fe lt ,

not the slightest envy at the general good will -

he earned However , he resolutely suppressed

.

his e m otion a nd went o n , i n a voice that

sounded like a growl :
“
I v e a g ood mind to let you stick up there !
’

Well , you d better get o n to the n ext tree and

’

I ll give y o u a hand —though I d a great

’
,
’

”
sight sooner give you t h e toe of my boot .

Sedgwick , howe ver , i n point of fact gave ,

Jake s uch effi cient assistance that the latter

presently stood upo n solid earth nervous a n d
shake n by conflicting emotions —a mere hag
,

gard wreck .

As they pa u sed a m o m ent convers ing i n ,

whispers , uncertain w h at o do and a f raid tot

1 42 T HE LO S T J EWEL O F T HE M O R TI MER S .

the gro u nd Nigh t was upo n t h e) solem n

.

and d rear and both S edgwick and Wat were

,

d e termined to proceed to the mansion at Pine

Bl u ff i n the m orning acq u aint their grand
,

father with what had occurr ed and give up ,

“ ”
the whole blessed job Jake despite his
.
,

cowardice , was st u bbornly determ ined to con

tin n e the p u rs u it with the hope , daily b e
,

comi ng more faint , of discovering the jewel .

“
I guess i f you stay here alone you ll go ’

”
mad like t h e Hermit prophesied Wat
,
.

That was a n awful n ight at the c am p .

J ulian s te nt stood like a w h ite spectre , a

’

warni ng and a prophecy ; and the dawn found

the boys still wakeful pale and haggard from
,

the horror of what had befallen them Sedg .

wick an nounced his intention of going first to

the marsh , to discover i f by any m eans Julia n
could have made his escape ; and i f this effort

pro v ed fu tile b e resol v ed t h at he would call

,

upo n t h e gr andfath er to org ani z e a search

part y , that might th orough ly explore , wit h
Spade and Shovel , the m u d and slime of the
morass .

Jake positively refused to ac co m pa ny him

on his fi rst expedition alleging the utter use
,

l essness of seeking for Jul i an who had been ,

 T HE C AVER N I N T HE FO REST . 1 43

buried for sev eral hours i n the morass ; and

Wat frankly co n fessed that he was afraid to
venture near the Hermit and the beast .

“ If I were strong a n d well perhaps I ,

”
shouldn t mi nd so much , Wat decl ared apol
’

o g et i cal l y

Sedgwick wi thout m sweri n g , be gan his

,

lonely way i n the fi rst white l i g ht of the

,

dawn through the forest

, .

M ea nwhile it is time to retur n to J ul i an ,

who felt himself desce ndi n g thr ou g h spa ce
with a curious rotatory movem en t , for which
he co uld not account I n the co nfusio n of his .

thoughts , h e wondered that he w as n ot choked

with the Sli m e n or swal lowed up i n the thick
black marshy substance , as he h ad supposed
would be the case After rapidly revolvi n g .

for some time he suddenly came to a stan d

,

still o u some soft and yielding surf ace , after

which he lost conscio u sness .

4 Whe n he came to hi m self he began to look

about hi m The boo m of the sea so unded
.

strangely near and rocks gray and sombre ,

stood aro u nd i n the light which had begu n

,

to gr ow di m O ne t h ing was clear : h e was

.

n ot dead nor were the objects which sur

,

r ou n ded him m ere spe ctral shapes He lay .

1 44 T HE LO S T J EW EL O F T HE M O RTI M ER S .

s till a fe w m o m ent s while s u dden and sh a rp

,

t h e re m em brance of h i s m ot h er flashed i nto

h is m ind W h a t wo u ld S h e think could she
.
,

kno w of her bo y s perilous position ? T he

’

recollection h owever gave h i m courage She

, , .

was certainly praying for him earn estly lov ,

i n g l y ; and her prayers would help him what

ever ca m e or went .

At l ast h e tried to move and found to his ,

satisfaction t h at he was unhurt He rose to .

his feet and began to m ake observations I t .

was a strange scene wild and desolate ; a n d ,

as h is eyes wandered over sea and rocks it ,

became apparent to h i m t h at he was close to

the entrance of a cave Breathlessly he r e .

garded the spot ; w h ile with a bounding of ,

the heart and qu ickening of t h e p u lses the ,

t h ought occ u rred to him that here was the

ca vern of t h e forest .

T h e entrance c un ningly concealed an d

, ,

upon which h e h ad happened by the m eres t

chance tallied stra n gely with t h e d e scription
,

gi v e n by the M ad Her m it a n d h e h ad found ,

it j u st when he was ri sking his life for h i s

pe r fidi ous co u sin While scarcel y d welling
.

upon th is l a st con sideration he was v e r y glad ,

that he had m ade t h e di sc o e ry with o u t tak v

1 46 T HE LO S T J EW EL O F T HE M O RTI M E R S .

T h i s so st artled t h a t he was te m pte d to

h im
t u rn b ac k B raci ng u p h owe v e r h e m ade
.
, ,

a f e w s tep s forward and b y a sud den turn

,

f o u n d h i m self con f ro n t e d b y a l a rg e co m par t

m ent fitted u p qu ite co m fortabl y as a h u m an
,
‘

h ab itation \A wood e n floo r ing h ad been rai sed

.

so m e feet abo v e t h e roc k pa v e m ent and was ,

co v ered wit h a t h i c k ca rpet I ts coloring was .

di m and obscure d b y ti m e b u t it answered ,

ad m irabl y i ts purpose of i m parting war m t h

a n d co m fort to the place T h e walls were
.

hu ng abo u t with skins of beasts so m e of ,

wh ic h w e re unco u t h and for m id able others ,

gl ossy and shining b ut all te nding to exclude

,

t h e o u ter c h ill and d a rkness E asy c h airs .

-

stood abo u t in carel e ss profu s ion ; t h ere was

a gr eat table with d ra g on legs u pon whic h ,

stoo d a pair of m a ss i v e S ilver candlesticks

containing two wax e tapers and provided ,

with s n u ff ers and tra y .

La st b u t n ot lea st a fire burn ed bright and

,

clear upon t h e h eart h —a chimney or v ent

, ,

h ol e h aving been arrange d to e m it t h e s m oke

, .

T h i s a ppeared to J u lian m ost wonderfu l of all ,

and filled h i m wit h a very w h irlwind of

thou gh ts H e recalled v agu el y and conf u sed
.
,

l y t h e v estal fi re which the R oman m aidens

,
 T HE CA V I Z R N I N ‘
TI I E FO R ES T . 1 47

had fore ver k e pt aligh t i n t h e T e m ple of

Ve st a ; the fire s of t h e su n worsh ipers ; a n d h e
-

wondered i f An se l m B enedict h ad contri ve d

i n any way wh ate v e r to have had t h is fla m e
kept b u rning for over two h u ndre d ye ars .

H e stood staring at the hearth as t h ou g h h e

had seen a veritable apparition ; w h il st a l o w ,

c hu ckling laugh s u ddenl y broke t h e stillne ss

a n d i n r eased his t e rror
c H e did n o t dare to
.

t u r n h i s head a n d was not a ware t h at Nic h

,

olas stood j u st b e h i n d h i m till a d eep g u tt u ra l ,

voice , hoarse a s t h e sea so u nded on his over

,

str ai ned ears .

“ ” “
For t h e second ti m e it said , a seeker ,
”
has fo u nd t h is c a vern .

T he bo y t u rning slowl y looked i nto Nic h

, ,

olas d eep se t e y e s a n d saw a powerf u l e m otion

’ -

agitating t h e r u gge d feat u res J u li a n was .

h alf relieved half terrifie d b y t h e sight of t h e

,

old man ; for just t h en his id e ntity s e e m e d

more t h an e v er u nreal Together t h e boy a n d
.

ma n stood loo k ing i nto each oth e rs face for

abo u t three mi n u tes d u ri n g w h ich J u li a n
,
“ ” n
mur mu red a H ai l M ary a d i m plore d th e
help of his M ot h er i n hea v en Then he ven .

tur e d to spe ak .

“ ” “
Nicholas he said
, y ou are sure that
,
1 48 TH E LO S T J EwEL OE T H E MOR TI ME RS .

this i s t h e ver y caver n i n t h e forest that we

”
ha v e been seeking all these da y s ?
“ ”
Y CS !
”
A nd n ow m ay I go ? t h e boy queried
eagerl y .

“
Not until s u nri se t o m orrow -
.

A shi ver crept t h ro u g h J u lian s fra m e ’

.

“ ”
I am afraid to sta y here alone h e said ,

f r an kl v .

“
If yo u l e a v e now y ou re nou nce t h e i n
,
”
heritance ,Nic h olas replied brusqu ely .

Withi n t h e n ext half ho u r i f y ou still wis h

,

to be free strike wit h t h is stick upon the

,

cavern w all three ti m e s i n s u ccession For .

”
that space of ti m e I wi l l hear a n d an swer .

Julian involuntaril y took t h e curiousl y

carved stick which Nic h olas place d i n h is
hands b u t before h e co u ld u tter anot h er word
,

the old m an h ad di sappeared and the boy ,

stood alone i n t h e growing darkness T he .

light fro m witho u t co m ing faintl y through

,

the winding passage s h ad d ied away co m

,

p l e te l y ; and t h e logs w e re b u rning with a

stead y glow w h ich av e heat b u t n o longer

,
~

much ligh t J u lian p au sed irresol u te try ing

.
,

to m ake up h is m i n d as to w h eth e r or not he

should be equal to t h e dread ordeal of spend
1 50 T HE LO S T J EW EL CF TH E M O R TI M ER S .

Sc arce co m preh e nding t h eir nat u re they ,

fill e d h i m wi th terror He rose and began to

.

g ro pe his way to ward t h e ta b le All at once .

h is hand ca m e i n contact with a h ead He .

recoil e d i n h orror onl y to rest his hand upon

,

so m e cla mmy s ubst a nce In his affrigh t he .

ru sh ed to t h e heart h snatched thence a pine

,

knot which he lit th u s pro v iding an excel

, ,

lent torch with w h ic h he also enkindled the

,

two wa x en tape rs H e th e n discovered that

.

t h e head was t h at of a leopard h anging from

one of t h e ski n s upon t h e wall and that t h e ,

cla mmy s ubstance was t h e nose of a stu ff ed

S il v er fox .

B u t t h ough t h e cle a r ligh t of the c a ndle s ,

blending wit h t h e red glo w of t h e torch ,

made e ver y object i n t h e apa rt m ent plainly

di scernible a n d so relie ved his wors t fears he
, ,

suddenly felt t h e various surro u n ding ob j e cts

intol e rable a n d fancied t h at the rocky cave
,

wit h o u t a n d t h e foa m ing wa v es of t h e sea

wo u ld be le ss un e nd u rable He grasped h is .

torc h firm l y a n d set forth to se ek t h e m o u th

of the c a v e ; b u t o wing to a wro n g turning
,

i n som e of t h e winding p assage s h e s u ddenly ,

fo u nd h i m se lf i n a not h er large co m part m ent ,

w h ich t h o u gh v ery different i n its appoint

,
 TH E CA N E RN I N T H E FO REST . 1 51

ments , s h owed signs likewise of hu m a n h abi

tati o n
. R ude ch a irs box e s and kegs stood ,

abo u t ; t h e a s h es o f a fire were upon a hearth ;

while g u n s c u tlasses and other l e s fa m iliar
,
s

weapons were strewn i n t h e corners of thi s

rock y cha m ber .

As J u lian stood and g a zed wit h the ro a r of ,

the se a i n his ears he re aliz e d with a t h rill ,

tha t here ready to h is h and were som e of

, ,

those adventures w h ich had fascinated h i m i n

t h e pages of boys books T his m ust be t h e ’
.

abode of sea rovers perhaps of pirates W

-
Vh i l e
, .

he familiarized hi m self with this idea h e was ,

grad u ally seized with a fear n o t of me n but

of the sea—the terrible li m itless sea—w h ich
,

sounded so near and into which a n inca u tious

,

step mig h t hurl him He sh u ddered as his .

i m agi nation conj u red u p sea m onsters , strange -

uncouth fishes t h e broke n h u lls of wrecked

,

vessels and t h e motionless forms of drowned

,

m ari ners .

And w h ile he grew every moment m ore

terri fied the keel of a boat grated upon t h e
,

rock , the so u nd be coming gradually lo u der

and more distinct J u lian sank tre m bling .
, ,

upo n his knees pray ing with a fer v or whic h

,

surprised h i m self as all of a s u dden t h e g rat

,
1 52 T HE LOST J E W EL O F T HE MO RTI MERS .

i ng noi se gave place to the rushing and tra m

pling of feet and a doze n ro u gh fellows
,

ru shed into the compartment .

1 54 TH E LO S T J E W EL or T uE .
M O RT I M ERS .

w h ile t h e rest stood by re gard i n g J u lian wi th

,

re v e re n ce or c u rio sit y u n cer t a i n w h a t to do

, .

T h e b m s e y e s d i st u l e d b y fea r we r e
’
e
, ,

rai se d i n s u pplica tion a n d h i ; h a nds we re

,

cl a s pe d a s h e fe r v entl y i m pl o re ! th e help of
o u r H e a v e n l y M o th e r A r u n d h i m u po n
.
o
,

t h e wall wa s t h e gl e a m o f h n g e W l pt n l b ;
,
c a

a nd i n a se m icircl e r e ; a r d i n g h i m i n te n tl y
, ,

were t h e u nc ou th fi g ure wh o 1 i ch a tl y m a d e
s,

an habi tua l re sort o f t h i s c a v e r n What t h e y .

we re J ul i a n co u ld not i m a g i ne
,
L i v i ng i n .

an i nland to wn he k n e w b u t li ttle o f m u g g
,
s

lers pirate s or ot h e r wat e r side c h a racte r s

,
-

an d it was only h is r e ading of more or l e ss

ve racio u s bo y s book s wh ich en a bl e d h i m to

’

form a g ue ss a s to the i r real c h ara c te r .

At last th e capt a in who was a t o n ce t he

,

shrewdest a n d fierce st a m ongst t h e m e n l u v ,

i ng made u p h i s m i n d t h a t t h e b o y wa s c e r
ta i n l y of fl e sh a n d bl o o d a ppro a c h e d a n d
,

se iz e d h i m r u del y b y t h e s h o u l der S O l l l o f .
t

th e ban d tarted forw ard as if to pre ve n t a

s

sac rilegious act and t h en pa u s e d in a n a t ti

,

tu de of c u riosit y a s i f to observ e th e o u tco m e

, .

“
S a y w h o b e yo u and what b e y o u do i n ’
,
”
here ? g rowled th e dari n g r u ffia n .

“
I a m J u li a n R o b e rt M o r t i m e r a i d th e .
s
 A M O N G S M UG C I J i RS . 1 55

bo y ri s i n g a nd
,
th e i r? “ 4 ru n e circle ,
with
head ere c t a n d l . is b i ug e x e s.

“ ”
M o rti m e r ! l c h oe d o . e a nd a nothe r un

eas i l v . T he m u u as an old o ne it . the

ne i g h b or h o i i k the
'

and I m e
r
O a
’ ‘

fo r e i g n: rs !r w mo r e "
ag xe i
'

y a sso
c t d
a e i n t hi ir mind ; s i th s n zi v t
‘

l s and
e

a n a t mo s p h e x of m y te r v
”
“
Y es , M o r
‘
r
h e at
re p
,
,

am o ne O f
‘

he s
r

e ke '
s

a de s;
mt f u r

rad < ma n a el I t ld you i

L
)
' ‘
o t

was s
pa
-
ne 0 t h e m dead anti
’
-

go ne M o r ti m e r s
co dodg i n around after ’

t ne mom
B ut Re C
pta i n
a
r ho was a stranger to the
lac e s ti o n < l { g e dl y z
p
:
f
,

See ke rs ? be t he y ?
“
B oy s wl n a jewel an d a for
see ki ;
”
une a ns u ul i an pr o u dl y
"

t , , .

”
*

a s to m
r l a ug h e d the S kipper bru
e
, ,

I pr e tty m u ch the sa m e l ine

’
u re
o

”
o u rse l v es .

p u t i n one sole m n loo ki n g fel

-

s e a ki u
p a b o u t t h e k in g do m o’ ’

i :1 t h at t h e p arsons chi n
1 56 T H E LO S T J EW E L OF T H E MO R TI M E RS .

”
Yes t h at s it ! cried the Frenc hm an ex
,
’
,
“
c i te dl y It s a saint co m e to seek his sal
’
.

v atio n i n this ca ve I m n o saint and I don t

.
’
,
’

belie v e m uch i n an y thing ; but I don t want ’

”
to hurt a sai nt .

”
B e you a saint ? grunted the captain , not
very c lear as to w h at the other meant ; and
the question despite his fear sent J u lian i nto
, ,

a gurgling fi t of laughter which prevented his

answering .

“
B est leave h i m alone a nd make tra cks !
cried one .

“ ”
B ut what about the swag ? queried
an other .

“ ”
If yo u mea n these thi ngs observed J ulian ,
“
politely glancing at th e kegs they re q u ite
,
’
,
”
safe with me .

“ ” “
S afe , you bet roared the captai n , till ,
”
you bring the pe rl ic e about us !
And he ripped o ut an awf u l oath , which
made Julian s blood r un cold ; but he managed
’

to control his feelings and answered hastil y : ,

“
O h no ! The only person that knows
,

about this caver n has noth ing to do with the

police N icholas
N icholas ! repeated the smugglers —and
.

“ ”
,

a m ongst some of the m at least , there was ,

1 58 TH E LO S T J EW EL OF TH E M O R TI M ER S .

T h i s was un a n s werable so m e of the

, a nd

m en b e g a n to mu t te r a m ongst t h e m selves t h at
there wa s n o harm i n preca u tions .

“ ”
So my y oung cockatoo roared the cap
.
,

“
tain ,do wn o n y o u r m arrowbones and sa y ,
”
w h at I tell y o u !
He forced J u lian down upon his knee s and
proce eded to formu l a te so a wf u l an o at h t h at
even so m e of t h ose hardened i n cri m e actuall y
sh u ddere d T h e ir ner v es h ad got a Sh ock
.
,

and they were not q u i te sure yet as to wheth e r

or no they h ad bee n called u pon to d e al wit h
the supernat u ra l ; w h ile t h e m entio n of t h e
my sterio u s N ic h olas was far from reass u ring .

The bo y s face t u rned pale wit h horror a n d

’
,

he thre w bac k h i s h ead wit h t h e gesture of

pride and co u rage so fa m iliar t o all w h o knew
hi m .

“ ”
S top ! h e cried I wo u ldn t repe at
.
’

those wicked words if y ou we re to kill me on

”
the spot !
“ ”
I tole you i t was a saint murmured t h e ,

Frenchman ; a n d ot h ers secretly concurred i n

the senti m ent .

“
You o u gh t to be asham ed of yourself to
”
insult God like t h at ! Julian went on borne ,

out of himself by honest indignation ; and as

 A M O N G S M U GG L E R S . 1 59

he th u s spoke t h o se i n a pos ition to m ake t h e

,

co m parison wo u ld h a v e note d a m arke d r e

se m b lance in t h is y o u ng de sce ndant to Anselm
Benedict of h eroic m e m ory .

“
If y o u won t swea r as I b i d y o u we ll find
’
,
’

”
mea n s to m ake yo u snarled t h e c apta in
, ,

with another frigh tf u l i m precation T he .

tr uth is he tre m bled for h is a u thorit y with

,

h i s u ngo v ernable cre w s h o ul d h e per m it him

,

self to be bearded b y t h is m ere stripling .

You ll n e v e r fi n d m eans to m ake me

’

” “
repeat that ! cried Julian I a l wa y s disliked
.

boys t h at said bad words a nd blasph em ed

God . I never wante d to ha v e anything to do
wit h th e m A nd it s worse for grown up me n
.
’ -

”
to use suc h language .

T he clear yo u ng voice rose above the roar

of the ocean gi v ing its honest testi m ony there
,

i n t h at undergro u n d ca vern surro u nded by ,

lawless and desperate m e n far fro m all h um an ,

succor I t was the fearlessness of a noble

.

na ture protesting again st what was evil and ,

it wrung a reluctant trib u te of admiration

from n earl y all who heard Deep dow n i n .

the so u l of so m e of those wretc h ed m en old

me m o e s stirred and across m any a lurid
ri
,

scene
t
the su nshi ne of innoce n ce brig h t
e
1 60 T H E L OS T J EW EL O E T HE M O RTI M E RS .

and clear T h e ol de s t a m o n gst t h at fierce

.

ba nd m echanicall y dre w a h and across eyes

w h ich were di mm ed by a n u n wonted
moi st u re .

J u l ian was unaware h owever , of t h e effect

,

which his g allant b earin g h ad produced ; and ,

looking arou nd t h e circle of dark faces he ,

found no co m fort t h e re T h e captai n was

.

absolute and n one dared openl y to opp ose hi m .

So m et h ing like a c h ill of f ear cre pt into t h e

yo u ng heart He thou gh t of his m oth e r a n d
.
,

of her horror and con sternation c o u ld she see

him then ; bu t h e al so re me m be r e d her o ften
repe ated inj u nction to h a v e re co u rse in all
dangers to God a n d H is Bl e sse d M ot h er .

T h en the m e m ory of An se lm B enedict suffer

ing exile a nd i m pri sonment for t h e Fait h
flashed i nto his mind T h e b m s t h o u gh ts
.
’

were bro u gh t back to his aw f u l s u rro u ndings

by t h e captain s voice giving a gri m com
’

mand
“
To the boats then ; an d ta ke him along
,
”
i f h e won t swe ar l
’

T h e m e n approached the boy with m arked

reluctance and securing his arm s l e d him
, , ,

swiftly awa y t h ro u gh t h e rocky passages of

the underground retre at till he felt t h e salt
,
1 62 T HE LO S T J EWE L OF T HE MO RT I M ERS .

hi m of t h e fact t h at h e was probably l e a v ing

t h e j e wel o f t h e M orti m ers a n d t h e p h anto m
fort u ne be h ind hi m ; a nd h e recollected wi th
a p a ng th a t h e was like wi se l e a v ing his mot h er
in her I t n el i ness disappoint m ent a nd sorrow
, .

Sh e wo u ld not e v e n kno w h is fa te T h e onl y .

consolation wa s t h a t h e co u ld n o t h a v e do n e
oth er wi se a n d s h e wo u ld h ave b een t h e l a st
,

to ad v i se h i m to blasp h e m e God i n order to

sec u re h i s o wn s a fety .

As t h e y we n t o n t h e sk y beca m e gradually
,

overc lou de d and t h e few sta rs w h ic h had

,

appeare d n o w v ani sh e d o ne b y one ; a m oan

ing wind c rept o ver t h e s u rface of t h e sea ,

stirring the wavelets into angry billo ws A s .

th e y g re w i n v ol um e t h e y be at th e boats ab o u t
,

wit h te rrific fo rce n o w tossi n g t h e m h i gh

, ,

n o w b u ry ing t h e m i n a d e e p tro u g h It was .

soon appare nt t h a t ro u g h we a t h er wa s at
hand a n d t e rror began to m ani fest itself u pon
,

th e fac e s of t h e m en as t h e y c ast u ne a sy,

glance s u po n J u lian w h ere h e sa t cal rrrl y i n

,

t h e ir m i dst his face p a le b u t stead y a n d co m

,

pose d For h e wa s too in e x pe rienced to dread

.

t h e f u r y of t h e el e m ent s a nd t h e gathering ,

storm h ad to t h e bo y s nat u re all t h e ch a rm

,
’
,

of novelt y He felt like gi ving a wild hall o o

.
 A MO NG S MU GG L ER S . 1 63

as wave after wa v e sent s h owers of spray o ver

e very in m ate of the boat a d he h ad to hold ,
n

his cap tightly on his head lest it should be

blown away .

“ ”
I tole you ! broke i n the F renchman .

“
It s a saint and the anger of God—the God
’

—
,
”
he prays to is after us .

M ost of the others were disposed to co n cur

i n these sentiments e spec ially whe n l u rid
,

glea m s of lightning began to part the dark

clo u ds to the southwest and the m u tterings
,

of thunder growled ever louder and louder .

“ ”
A nd look you there skipper ! cried o n e
,

of the crew pointing to the rocky shore they

,

had just left which was i ll um ined with flashes

of light glea m ing a m ongst the rocks —n ow
,

livid white , now red n o w o p alescent green

, .

”
“
St E lmo s fi re ! e x claimed another , wh o
.
’

i n his yo u th had gone dow n to the sea i n

ships and had bee n fa m iliar with many S ights
unknow n to the offshore s m ugglers and
wreckers a m ongst whom he n o w dwelt .

T he men , turn ing gaz ed with s u pe rstitious

,

awe upo n that granite bound coast ill um ined

-
,

wit h strange lights Nor was their u n easi

.

n ess lessened by the tongues of fla m e which

pre sently shot u p fro m so m e h i dden rec ess of
1 64 T H E LO S T J EW EL or TH E M O RT rM E Rs .

rock and the meteors or so it seemed which

, , ,

m ounted to t h e ver y heavens .

“ ”
That devil of a Nicholas ! muttered t h e
“
ca ptain . He can do most an y th ing with
them meteors and t h ings ; and I recko n he
ca n make fi res blaze up jest as h e w an ts
”
them to .

J ulia n felt a shiver pass over him N ich .

olas se e m ed to be s u rrounded , indeed by all ,

kinds of m y steries ; and as he looked toward

the shore he fancied he sa w h is form fantas
,

tically enlarg ed i n the dim light , wavi n g

great arms .

“ ”
The St E l m o fire croaked the travell ed
.
,
“
on e , m eans storm it do , and death and mis
,
”
fortune .

T he me n with one accord b egged of the

c aptai n to put into S h ore , and to retu r n J ulia n

to N icholas and the cavern .

“
I sa y , we d be tter heave the lubb er over
’

b oard , i f so be he s the cause 0 the foul

’’

” “
weather suggested the skipper
, Let .

N icholas t ake h i m ashore if he s g e t a’

”
mind to .

Happily however , the predomi na n t se n ti

,

ment was i n favor of putting J u l i a n ashore ,

a nd the captain rel u ctantly gave orders to
1 66 T H E LO S T J EW EL O F T H E M O RT rM ERs .

attribu tes he all the more commended his

,

m a nline ss a nd for tit u de , and i nwardly cursed

old N icholas who by his devices had depri ved
,

him of so promi s ing a seaman .

“ ”
Them things he s se ndi ri u p is sign als
’ ’
,

he muttered to hi m se l f while h e watched ,

rocket after rocket soa r upward into t ue blue .

“
He s wa r n i rr me to bring back the young
’ ’

nu , th a t s what he s at ; a nd t h e sea s sidin

-
’ ’ ’ ’

with hi m I couldn t never git the boats safe

.
’

off t h e coast i n this gale " .

So rumi nated the skipper while he mau ,

full y handled h is o a rs l ike the rest ; their hard

labor being at l ast of some avail By a de .

te r mi ne d eff ort they sent t h e boats ashore ,

J ulia n be i u g devoutl y t h ankful whe n he heard

t h e grating of the k e els against the pebbles .

He was h astil y h u stled as h ore a nd t h rough

the entrance of t h e cavern ; b u t not before he
had re nra r ke d that there was n o s ign of N ich
olas a nd t h at rockets and fi res were apparent
,

l y going of their own Volitio n .

J ulian was left i n t h e cavern whence the

s mu gglers h a d wit h drawn hi m an d which ,

was n o w d ark a n d silent He did not re m ai n

.

there long He be ga n to wonder if the fi re

.

still burned u po n t h e hearth and i f t h e t a pe rs

,
 AM ONG S MUGG LER S . 1 67

were still alight i n that more comfortable

apart m ent fro m which loneliness had te m pted
him M oreover , i t see m ed to h i m that per
.

h aps after all it was there that N icholas h ad

, ,

wished him to re m ain .

He groped his way with some di mc ul ty

th ro u gh the rocky passages gu ided by a ,

th read of light which soo n dee pened i nto a

glow There blaz ed the fire upo n the hearth ;
.

and the ca ndles i n the silver can dlesticks

burn ed with a stead y flame , as i f only a mo
ment had passed since he left the spot To .

J ulia n it see m ed as i f t h is must be the work

of enchantment Wet a n d chilled as he was
.
,

the warmth and ligh t were m ost wel come ; and

he sank i nto a n ar m chair , real iz ing a t the
same time that he was n ot o n l y very tired ,

bu t faint an d hungry Scarcely was he seated

.

whe n he heard a slight gr a ting sound ; a nd ,

turning his head he sa w a species of shelf
,

proj ecting from a corner of the roc k U po n .

it were plates piled with h a m sandwiches and

plum ca ke , also a glass , an d a s m all j ug co rr
-

tai n ing a hot posset of milk T h is was sweet

.

ened a nd spiced and was highly agreeable to

,

t h e wearied boy A fter parta king abundantly

.

o f t h is refection he settled himself i n the arm

1 68 T H E LO S T J EW EL o r T H E M O RT e ue

chair and fell sou n d aslee p He woke j us t as

.

a fa int g l i mm er of daw n stole into the cavern .

T h e fi re had at l ast b u rn e d o u t an d o rly the ‘

t wo c a ndle s— evi de n tly re newed—n ow re lieved

,

t h e dreariness .

Ju lia n felt rested and refr eshed , thou gh

somewhat stiff ; and a s u dde n desire , born of
his adventurous n ature seized h i m to explore
,

the caver n He took up o ne of the ca n dle

.

sticks and bega n to look about He ra ised .

one of the skins and found that i t covered

,

but t h e bare rock ; anoth er concea led what

seemed to be a door Thi s however , appeared
.
,

to be securely fas tened a nd resisted al l efforts

to forc e i t O pe n He raised a t h i rd—th e ski n
.

of a tiger —a n d there was reve aled a pa ir o f

,

winding stairs leading he knew n ot whither .

As he stood , hesitating , at their base , it

seem ed to hi m that h e heard a voice , and the
voice he could ha v e sworn was that of Scog
wick .
1 70 T H E L OST J EWEL O F T HE MO RT I ME RS .

was revolving t h is problem i n his mi nd he ,

heard a shuffling n oise , a stifled exclamation ,

and the n a heavy dark m ass came rolling

rapidly over the moss covered i ncli n e a nd
-

landed at the boy s feet ’

He dre w ba ck
.
,

startled ; and the n ext moment was al m ost

paraly z ed to d iscover i n the grey light of
,

morning that it was a h u ma n body which

,

had thus rolled swi ftly toward him .

A fter t h e fi rs t m ovement of terror he drew

near to where th e fi gure lay motion less , and
found t o h is d ism ay t h at it was Se dg wmk .

Grieved at the thought that the co mrade

who m he loved best might be l y ing there
dead J ulia n bent over him , unfastened his
,

n ecktie and the collar of h is shirt The n all .

at once h e re m embered h i s ow n fall , the brief

pe riod of u nconscio u sness which had followed ,

a n d hoped that things would go n o wo rse with

Sedgwick He bro u g h t a lit t le of the sa lt

.

water fro m t h e shore i n a cla m shell and

bathed the pale face and moistene d the lips .

I n a very short ti m e the u n consciou s bo y

showed sign s of re v i v ing He ope ned h i s
.

e y es , stared abo u t him a mome n t , fi xing be

wildere d eyes upo n Julian s fac e The n he ’
.

asked tremulo u sly :

,
 T O T HE RESC U E .

Am I —are we d ead ? -

So m ething i n the questio n touch ed J uli a n s ’

se n se of the ridiculous a n d he burst into a

hearty la u gh ; Sedgwick looking at him a ,

moment began to l aug h too Whe n t h eir

, .

merriment had exhausted itself Sedgwick ,

exclaimed :
“
So curly pate you re alive after all !
, ,
’
,

I g u ess you ll come through anythi n g

’
B ut .

”
where on earth are we ?
“ ”
Get up and look a round said J ul i an , .

A s the first step toward following this ad

vice Sedgwick sat up ; then with Julian s
, ,
’

assi sta nce he slowly rose to a sta nding pos

,

ture stretching hi m self , and feeling all his

,

bones to be sure that they were unbroken .

“ ”
Whatever this place is remarked Sedg ,
“
wi ck thoughtfully , I guess I came down
,

pretty muc h as y ou did I was poking i n the

.

marsh , hoping to find you dead or alive , whe n

the gr ou n d gave i n , and here I a m I t looks
—
.

”
like like the e ntranc e to a cav e !
“ ”
It is a cave r eplied Julia n ,
, the cave
-
the cavern i n the forest Hurrah ! .

”
“
Hurrah ! echoe d Sedg wick , catching t h e
c on tag i ous enthusi asm .

“
A nd I m as pleased as an y thing that you
’

”
found it too we n t on Julia n
, , .
1 72 T H E LOS T J EW EL O F T HE MORT I M ERS .

B u t you found it first suggested Se dg ,

wick .

“
Oh I don t th i n k that matters , so long as
,
’

you found it on your ow n hook with ut a ny , o

”
help from me ! declared J u lia n .

A nd together they pressed forward , Julian

eager to s h ow and Sedgwick anxious to see
,

the wonders of this mysterious place When .

at last they stood i n the largest room before ,

that f whic h seemed to burn forever upo n

t h e hearth Sedgwick said
,
“
Well these are joll y quarters I wouldn t
, .
’

mind l i i n here for the rest of my days B u t

v '
vr .

”
w h at s to be done n ow ?
’

“
Wait for Nicholas I suppose Julian , ,

responded .

T hey h ao not long to wait ; for as if i n ,

ans wer to th e t h ought Nicholas stood s ud ,

de n l y be h ind t h e m H e showed n o sign of

.

s u rpri se at Sedgwick s a ppearance thoug h

’
,

never be for e i n all his years of service with

t h e M orti m ers h ad a second fort u ne seeker -

fo u nd t h e cavern Greatl y to the bo y s dis

.
’

a ppoint m ent —for t h e y wou ld have enjo y ed

be ing toget h er i n t h e cavern —Nicholas a n ,

n o u n ce d t h at h e was abo u t to take J u lian

a wa y Bu t h ere c a m e into pla y t h e favor

.
1 74 T H E LO S T J EW EL or TH E M O RTI M ER S .

of the existence of some secret hidi n g place -

at so m e point along t h e coast O f all thi s . ,

of course the boys were ignorant

, .

“
I wonder i f all the wild tales we read
”
about t h ese sort of people are tru e ? Sed g
wick observed thoughtfully as he ga z ed
, ,

abo u t h i m .

“ “
I don t know
’
replied Julian ; but I tell
,

you what Sedgwick if it hadn t bee n for my

, ,
’

mother s pra y ers I t ha v e been taken away

’
,
’

”
and have see n far o ff places and all that
-
.

But I don t suppose they go very far

’
,
“
said Sedgwick unless they re pirates instead
,
’

of smugglers .

After a ti m e they reluctantly returned to

that habitable part of the cavern where Julian
had spent his first nigh t ; and were mu ch
gratified to find upon the sli ding shelf , which
had so s u ddenly appeared be f ore a substantial ,

meal of bread and cheese .

Having done full j u stice to the m eal they ,

set about exploring the odd q u arters i n w h ich

they fo u nd t h emselves Julian wa n ted to .

show his friend the winding stairs u po n which

he had stood when he fi rst heard Sedgwick s ’

voice ; but for a long ti m e the search for them

see m ed absolutely fruitless .
 T o T HE R ES C U E . 1 75
“
I could al m ost s wear it was be h ind that
”
leopard skin J u lian said d i sco m fite d ; b u t
, ,

the raising of that furry covering disc losed

onl y the solid rock .

It was late i n the afternoo n when at last

they ca m e upon the missing stairway quite
unexpectedl y T hey mo u nted i t with eager
.

haste a nd ca m e to a t u rning that led along a

,

passageway they kne w not whither T his .

they unhesitatingl y follo wed ; co m ing after a

ti m e to another winding stairs , which they
mounted al so , an d pressed eagerl y alo n g a
second passageway T hus they continued for
so m e time—n o w going u pward now pressing
.

forward led by occasional gleam s of light

,

fro m c r evices in the rock til ! at last the y b e

,

thought the m selves of turning backward It .

was then they realized with s u dde n dread

, ,

that the y were in absolute darkness T h ey .

stumbled on however ; but instead of going

, ,

downward continued o n and o n upon the

,

sa m e level It finally occurred to them that

.

they were lost i n a species of labyrinth where ,

the darkness gre w more and mo re i ntense ,

and from which t h ey knew no wa y of exit .

B u t as they stood and shivered another ,

thought fla shed upon Julia n which set his

p u lses beating hard .
1 76 T HE LO S T J EW E L o n T HE M O RTI M ER S .

Pe rh aps h e w h i spered to Se dg w c k
, ,

“ ”
th is passa ge wa y l e ad s to t h e h idden roo m .

”
I don t belie v e i t l e ads anywhere ! cried
’

Sed g wick Bu t his e y es too g l e a m ed i n t h e

.
, ,

darkness and h i s c h eek glow e d with a certain

e x cite m ent ; for the very thought was a
sti mu lant .

“ ”
Suppose we p u s h on ? said J u lian eager ,
“
ly . We can t get lost altoget her ; or if we
’

”
s h o u ld Nic h ol a s will get us o u t so m e wa y
, ,

—for J u lian had come to have unli m ited con

fide n ce i n t h at m ysterious personage .

“ ”
H ere goes then ! cried Sedgwick
, .

And togeth er the bo y s made a rus h forward

as swiftly as t h e d a rkn e ss would permit ; feel
ing their wa y b y rocky ledges turning now ,

this wa y now t h at At last t h ey discovered

, .

t h at they were at th e head of a stairs leading

downward w h ic h caused them to go very
,

c au tiou sly T his e x perience was but th e first

.

o f se v eral si m ilar ones so that the y were often ,

on t h e point of s lipping and tu mb ling prec i p

i tate l y to th e gro u nd .

O n ce t h e y were brough t to a halt b y w h at

so u nded li ke a m ocking la u g h T h is was .

blood curdling coming through t h e silence

-
,

and d arkne ss and re echoed fro m passa g e wa v

,
-
1 78 T HE L O S T J EW E L or r nE M O RTI M E R S .

fi rst regal e d the m se l ves wit h a fresh supply of

b read a nd cheese w e re forced to take leave
,

of that fasc inating spot a n d follow whither

their gri m g uide led .

Nicholas conducted t hem through some

de v i o us p a ths known to hi m sel f and alon g ,

the shore beneath the cli ff T he sea stretched .

before the e ager eyes of t h e two lads ; it was

pearly white or fl u sh ed with t h e pink of the
,

dawning a nd catchi n g qu ive ri ng arrows of

,

gold from the sky i n the east The tide was .

just co m ing in .

T hey reached camp j u st as the su n was high

i n the heavens T h ey found Jake sitting at
.

the door of his tent He cowered i n a very

.

paro x ysm of fright w h en he fi rst caught sight

of Julian who m h e h ad s u pposed to be dead
, .

B u t Julian s cheery voic e very soo n dispelled

’

the illusion .

“ ” “
Hello Jake ! he cried out
, You see .

”
I m ali ve a n d kicking !
’

“
You sh o wod h i m a short cut to the cavern ,
”
J aky p u t i n Sedgwick , m aliciou sly
, .

T he look of terror upon Jacob s ill favored ’

-

counte n ance gave place to a n expression of

rage a n d hate j u st as Nicholas i nterpose d
, ,

intimating i n h i s monosyllabic fashion that

 TO T HE R ESCUE .

no i n formatio n was to be given regarding the

c avern . He al so m ade t h e adventuro u s fo u r
u nd e rsta n d t h at t h ough Jake and Wa t would
,

b e obliged to fini sh t h eir two weeks i n the

forest i f they desired to continue th e quest ,

J ulia n and Sedgwic k were free to retur n to

the mansio n at Pine Bluff , and there await the
an nou ncement of the third and last test .

Wat who had testified genui n e delight at

,

the r eturn of his fa v orite cousin began to ,

protest that he kne w he had n o chan c e of

fi nding th e c a vern and wanted o n ly to gi ve
,

up the co n test a nd get out of the horrible

fo r est He d eclared t h at he would retur n to
.

the house with Se dgwick and J u lia n .

J ake was divided betwee n c u pidity and

co wardice . H e still hoped that by so m e ex
e rc ise of h i s wits he might d i sco v er the cav

ern , but he was dismayed at the thought of

being left any longer without the protectio n
a n d support of J ulia n a nd Sed gwick .

” “
Look here ,
o s r ved J uli n , wha t do
b e a

y o u say , Se dgwick to see i n g th e two wee ks

,
”
o u t i n the forest ?
“ ” “
Hurrah ! cried Sedg wick . It would be
twic e as much fu n as waiting at the house
N icholas made n o objectio n , and this poi n t
1 80 '
T E E Los r J EW EL or T m : wo a r m aa s .

was speed ily settled to t h e sati sfa cti o n f all o .

E veryone wa s h u n g r y by t h i s ti m e a n d ,

J ulia n we nt o ff foraging He reme m b e red .

the little hou se n ear t h e cliff ; a n d ha vi n g

made his way th e re found a tin y woma n be n t
,

nearly do u ble Her ho u se wa s as s mall as

.

hersel f and sc ru pulou sly clean S he looked .

up with her bleared eyes into Julia n s br i ght ’

face a s he stood cap i n hand before her ;

, , ,

an d readily g a v e h im the milk and butter for

which he begged wi th a fe w freshly ba ked
,

scones throw n i n When J u lia n offered to

.

pa y j ingling h is money pro u dly i n h i s pocket

, ,

the old woma n altogether refu sed to allow

him pa tting h i m kindly o n the shoulder a n d
,

bidding h i m come agai n whe ne ver he wanted

milk from her cow .

J ulia n ran ho m e i n triump h to the ca m p ;

a nd the breakfast was a s plendid affair af te r ,

all spread out o n the gr een sward before t h e

,

tents while t h e birds sa ng o v erhead and b ut

,

te rfli e s ditte d u p and down th e forest path s .

1 82 T H E LOST J E W EL OF T H E MOR TI MER S .

They fought with desperate valor and the ,

n ame of A nsel m B enedict appeared i n several

dispatc h es O f the day ; and it was he again
who , while the K ing was e scaping by St .

Martin s Gate to the n orth , at the moment

’

when all was lost m ade a counter movement -

with the E arl of C leveland and a f e w other

gentle m en and retainers , to draw upon them
the fury O f t h e Cr omwel l i ans and cover the
K i ng s retreat
’
.

Nu m berless were the feats recorded of h ero

is m of reckless daring —all inspired by u n
, ,

swervi ng loyalt y to God and country ; all

showing that far O ff ancestor to have been at
-

once c h ivalric and romantic valorous and , ,

above all religio u s They delighted the soul

.

of his enthusiastic hero worshiping descend

,
-

ant u nder A m erican fores trees ; but eve n to .

his i m mature judgm e n t they se emed less

glorio u s tha n that after struggle when the -
,

man of m ature years deliberately gave up

“
fam e and fo rtune and cou n try for that one
true C atholi c and Apostolic Faith which is ,

of a surety more precio u s to a ma n tha n goods

”
of fortune , or even life itself I t was a
splendid i nspiring tale—the flight capture
.

, , ,

fi ne i m prison m ent i n a dungeon , and finally

,
1 84 T H E LO S T J E W E L OF T H E M ORTI MERS .

ity at their color and lustre especiall y whe n ,

Julian in the S i m plicity O f his heart began

, ,

to dilate u pon the great value of th e bo ok .

A pla n was slowly form ing i n the bo y s e v il ’

mind , b y whic h h e co u ld at once injure J u lian ,

who m he hated and secure a substantial ad

,

vantage fO r hi m self H e argu ed that if he

.

could O btai n possession O f t h e book it would ,

not be by any means stealing It seemed .

little likel y n o w t h at h e could e ver discover

the je wel and the hidden room Should he .

by a lucky chance do so the bo ok would be ,

but a s m all item i n t h e list O f valuables the n

falling to his share ; while i n the contrary ,

event , it was only fair t h at he , a genuine

descendant of the M orti m ers s h ould secure ,

this small portio n O f their wealth He , there .

fore I aid his plans carefull y , and determined

,

i n the fi rst place to discover where his nu sus

pec ti n g cousi n kept hidde n the prec ious
chronicle .

“
You d better be carefu l of that book of
’

fairy tales -
sneered Jake with a n O blique
, ,

look at J u lia n from out his dark eyes and a

“
Sharpen ing O f h i s h atc h et face , or you ll have
-
’

O l d man M orti m er a n d half a doze n other

blokes after you .

 JUL IA N M EET S WIT H M I S FO RTUNE . 1 85

”
Oh , I am careful ! said ho n est Julian ,
“
impulsively .I keep it u nder my pillow at
n ight , and in the daytime I h ide it i n a hole
i n the ground be tween t h e te n t poles with ,
”
leaves and a rug over it .

Something i n Jake s expressio n as he lis

’

te ned struck Sedgwick and he hastily I nter ,

r upted Julia n but too late to prod u ce the

,

eff ect he i ntended Jake having secured the

.
,

desired information , skilfully changed the

subject But long after they had all sought
.

the shelter of their tents Sedgwick pondered ,

upo n the singu lar expression of Joh n J acob s ’

face , and feared that it porten ded n o good to

Julian .

N ext day was cheerless and cold , with a

dri zz li n g rai n which finally inten sified into a
down pour . The bo y s shiveri ng i n their
,

tents experienced to the full the discomforts

,

of life i n the woods under leade n skies when

, ,

the d u ll drip dr ip , drip from the sodde n

, ,

leaves upo n the path seemed intermi n ably

wea ry and monotonous .

“
I guess i f it had rai ned much , we d have ’

”
gi v e n up the whole job long a g o observed ,

Sed g wic k poking his h ead i n be twee n the

,

cu rtai n s of Julian s te n t
’
.
1 86 T H E LOS T J EW EL or T H E MOR TI M E RS .

Julia n l co ke d up brigh tly He h ad almost .

forgotte n the matter i n the fasc inating story

of A nselm Benedict s life and doi n gs
’
.

“ ”
I suppose i t is d i smal responded Julia n
, .

I wonder if there s any pl ace where we co u ld

’

”
make a fi re ?
Sedgwick s face brighte n ed
’
.

“
Let s see’
h e cried looki ng out upo n
,

the landscape , which was n o t very pro m ising .

“
Perhaps i n that sheltered corner over the re .

Hardly any rai n has got through ; a nd it

couldn t be dange rous because the trees are
’
,
”
so wet .

J ulian , having waited long enou g h to co n

ceal his treasured volume went forth with ,

his cousin to investigate T hey brought out

.

some dry wood from the tent a nd presen tly ,

had the satisfactio n O f kindling a blaz ing fir e

o n the spot indicated by Sedg wick Wat ca m e .

fort h from his quarters i n great delight at th

fir e , which he hoped would prevent him from
taking cold Jake , too , strolled out , i n laz y
.

enjo y ment of t h e crackling logs ; though he

did n ot vouchsafe one word O f comme ndatio n
to the kindlers of the blaz e .

When the t wilight fell , gh ostly shadows

bega n to creep i n and out among t h e trees ;
1 88 T H E LO ST J EW EL OF T EE MO RTI M E RS .

but a m oment He stood at the door looking

.

forth into the darkness The da m p cool

.
,

smell of the woods heavy with the delicious

,

fragrance O f the forest depths s m ote u po n his

,

n ostri ls T he drip drip of the rai n fro m the

.
,

trees l ike noiseless footsteps , startled h i m

,

back each ti m e that he atte m pted to move .

The birds were all still i n their n ests ; the

hush O f night lay over the forest ; and the
shadows of the woods , intensified by the glare
of the fire l i g h t, concealed h is moveme n ts from
Wat , who was i nte n t o n stirring up the fi re
an d heard only the crackling of the logs .

Hence it was a n easy matter for the catlike

Jake to Slip from his own into Julian s tent , ’

where everything lay around in a kind O f

cheerful disorde r —for Julia n used to say that
,

he n eeded h i s m oth er to tid y up O nce on .

the scene O e mpl a te d theft , the n u

‘
t '
. i

scrupulous b l y fo u nd his way to wh er e

..

the precious v o u nn e lay buried He had .

fo u nd o u t th e exact spot from J ulia n , and so

lost not a moment i n securing his booty .

Thus it was that w h ile merry hearted J ulian -

,

i n rain coat and ro u gh hat was swinging ,

along the dripping paths i n compa n y with

honest S edg wick a tre acherous act against
,

him was be ing done .

 J UL IAN M E ETS e u M I S F ORTUN E . 1 89

J ake having secured the book , crept

,

stealth il y back to his own tent panting and,

brea thless as though he had been a lon g dis

tance , with staring eye s and burning cheeks .

I t seemed to h im as i f he were a n hour i n

passing from tent to tent O nce safe back i n
.

h is ow n qu arters , he hugged the precious

volume to his breast with fi endish glee , and
held it close to the O pen door that he migh t
see the reflectio n of the fi re l i g h t i n the glow
i ng ge m s upo n the cover It seem ed to the
.

excited fancy of the wretched lad that they

glowed with a baleful light , a n d were livi n g
a nd co nscious of his act .

A ll at once Wat called out to h im

“
I say Jake , I thi n k you might help to
,

keep up this fi re !
J ake started as if he had bee n stu n g The .

voice seemed to be that of a n accuser ch arg

i n g him with the theft In his fright he
.

almost dropped the book ; but , presently rally

ing , he hid it i n a n O bscure corner Hasten .

ing forth , he almost rushed into t h e arms of

Sed g wick , who fi xed a pe netrating look upon
his a gitated face , j ust then revealed b y the
fire l i g h t .

“
Halloo , J akey l You look as if you h ad
”
se e n a spook !
1 90 Ti m LO S T J E W E L OF T H E M O RT I M E RS .

I — ”
I ha v e got a chill ! stammered J ake ,
“ ”
that s all’
.

“
You wo u l dn t be so chilled i f you had bee n
’

”
carrying w ater for a mile or so Sedgwick ,

responded after w h ich there was a diversion

,

for s u pper : broiling bacon baking potatoes ,

a n d cobs O f corn i n the as h es and boiling the ,

kettle to m ake a po t of hot coffee For all , .

e x cept J a ke of t h e g u ilty conscience this was ,

really a festi ve supper It only seemed to .

add to the hilarity that the coffee strainer had -

got lost so that t h e coffee was a tri fle muddy ,

,

a n d so m e O f the ears of cor n wer e a little

scorched .

When J u lia n went to his tent that n ight ,

he though t he wo uld like to read a page of
the fascinating me moirs He caref u lly n u .

covered t h e hiding place a nd put his hand -

into the hole His fingers came i n contact

.

only with t h e paper w h ich he had placed

between the vol um e a nd t h e da m p earth He .

groped abo u t feverishly : no volume was there .

The cold sweat broke out upo n his forehead ,

he tre m bled from head to foot He snatched .

a ca ndle fro m its place i n a tin sconce o n the

wall and sent its rays into the hole : there was
,

n othi n g to be see n .
1 92 T HE LO ST J EW EL O F T HE MO R TI MERS .

O Se dgwi c k an s wered J ulia n ,

,
”
heart s broken : t h e boo k i s gone !
’

“ ”
T h e book ! e c h oe d Se dgwick who n ot , ,

so interested i n the me m oirs as his cousi n ,

did n ot remem ber at fi r st what boo k was
meant .

“
Anselm Be n edict s boo k answered Jul ’
,

ian wit h a sob in his voice s uch as his cousin

,

had never heard from hi m before .

With a s u dden realizati o n o f Wh at had

happened and w h at it meant to J u l ian Se dg ,

wick started to his feet He m ade a hasty .

toilet and accom panied h is cousin back to the

latter s tent where together the two bo y s
’
,

explored t h e hiding place once more but -

,

i n vain .

“ ”
T hat villain Jake ! cried Sedgwick with ,
“
a sudde n flas h of intuition He has a hand .

”
i n it , or I m mistaken ’
.

J ulian however refused to e n tertain this

, ,

notion or eve n so m uc h as to q uestio n the

,

gu ilty boy Sedgwick had no such scru ph

.
,

and put Joh n Jacob thro u gh a tol erab i J

searching investigation Jake h ad planned
o u t h is part b y this time and acted it thor ,

ough l y He affected the utm ost i ndifference

.

abo u t the W h ole matter declaring that it was ,

 JU L I A N MEETS wi m m '
f
sr oa wn a
'
. 1 93

altogeth e r Julia n s affair i f h e chose to bring

’

valuable books from t h e library and t h en

report that they were lost He threw out .

this last suggestio n with so mea n i n g a glance

and so e v ident a n i nsinuatio n that he very
r o v o ked Sed gwick to viole n ce
°
e ~
n .

i t , however had but one thought—to

,

set .m s gra ndfather as soo n as possible and

make know n the loss He s et forth through .

the forest at sunrise The woods fresh from .

,

the ra i n , gave forth del i ghtful odors ; and the

leaves i n their renewed verdure were hung
with rai ndrops glittering like j ewels i n the
, ,
V

morni n g light But Ju lian s heart w as so

.
’

heavy t h at he h ad no eyes for the beauties of

n ature He sped o n and on , a n d then h ad to
.

wait an hour or mor e for the appe ar ance of

his gran dfather .

M r M orti mer was a n early riser and took

.
,

a constitutional on t h e law n every morning

at seve n On this occasion he scarcely stepped
.

forth whe n he saw Julia n running toward

him T h e bo y in his i m petuous trut h fu lness
.
, ,

was only too eager to acquaint his grandfather

with the loss he had su stained H e ra n .

swiftly across the law n a n d reached h i s g r and

father s side , pa n ti n g a nd bre athless ; under
’
1 94 TH E L OS T J EW EL OF T H E mo a r m s as
'
.

going one of those agonizing mo m ents m ore

com m o n in earl y y o u t h t h an is generall y sup
posed Sedgwick had advised hi m to spare
.

himself t h is ordeal and allow Nicholas i n , ,

his m ysterious fashion to acq uaint M r M or , .

timer with t h e theft Bu t t h is co u rse of

action did not co mm end itself to the bo y s
’

manly fearlessness nor to his sense of h onor

,

and j u stice He alone was responsi b le and

.

he alone m ust take all the consequences .

M r M orti m er looked dow n upon hi m with

.

genu i ne kindliness He was growi ng att ac h ed

.

to this fi ne hearted lad w h o alone of all w h o

-
,

had run the traditional race had seemed to

be i m bued with t h e highest qualities of the
dead and gone ancestor
- -
His n atural good .

feeling and kindness of heart whic h had been ,

embittered by his ow n fail u re , reasserted

the m selves more or less , under J u lian s
,
’

genial i nfl uence as t h e s un shines upo n t h e

,

h oa r f r ost of t h e valley and melts it away

s
.

He f u ll y apprec iated his grandson s indo m’

i tab l e spirit h igh courage and t h orough going

,
-

honesty H e told hi m self th at he mi g h t

.

tru st this boy in any emergency and wo u ld

ne v er m eet wit h disappoint m ent .

“
Grandfat h er , said Julian , his voice
1 96 TH E LO S T J E W EL o n T H E MOR TI M ERS .

prevent your co m peting a ny further for the

”
great prize .

N ow it flashed into Julian s mi n d that t h is

,
’

was rather unj u st , considering that M r M or .

ti m er had al m ost forced th e book u po n him ,

hinting in high good hu m or that he wo u ld

-

n o do u bt be able to pay for it , i f lost o u t of ,

the fortune accru ing from t h e ruby B u t h e .

qu ickly di sm issed t h e though t , being too gen

ero us to s h ift t h e blame fro m his ow n shoul

ders to those of any other .

“
Have you reaso n to suspe c t an y one ?
inquired t h e grandfat h er .

“
No sir I 1 1 i d it hidden away
, , .

Were t h e other lads acquainted with t h e

”
hiding place ?
-

“
Yes ; b u t of course none of t h em would
, ,

take it I wonder i f an animal could have

.

”
bee n the thief ?
“ ”
A nimal i nde e dl retorted the grandfather ,
who was f u rio u sly angry at t h e whole affair ;
the more so as he felt th at he had be e n to
blame for i ntr u sting so precious a vol um e to
“
a mere bo y . Get o u t of m y sight , i n any
case ; an d don t co m e near m e till you ha v e
’

”
so m e news of t h e volume ! the angr y old
gentlem an concl u ded .
 J UL IAN M EETS WI T H M I SFO RT UN E . 1 97

A s poor J u lia n fled back to the forest , his

hea rt bursting with n ew and painful emotions ,

feeling convi n ced that no boy had ever been

so miserable before h e suddenly encountered
,

N icholas lurking i n the shadow of t h e trees ,

like some gno m e of the woods and forthwith

,

blurted out t h e story of his misfort u nes .

N icholas wooden face re m ai ned perfectly

’

undisturbed by the recital ; nor did he give

J ulia n any sign of enco u rage m ent save onl y ,

a slight pat o n the s h o u lder The n he pointed

.

toward the forest depths say ing laconically

, ,
“ ”
Go l-
and Julian was left alone .

He ran on and on till he reac h ed the camp ,

with a faint hope springing up i n his heart ,

eve n as t h e leaves raised their heads after

being beate n dow n by t h e storm B u t the .

day wore to afternoon and there was no trace

whatever of the m issing volu m e Both J u lian
.

and Sedgwick , who h ad energetically p u rsued

the search , were utterly discouraged All at .

once , however , just as the shadows were

purpling the west , a great outcry was heard
i n the trees adjoining the ca m p Presently.

N icholas e m erged grasping J ake by the back

,

of t h e neck with one hand and holdi n g up

the missing volume wit h the other .
1 98 TH E LOS T J E W EL o n T H E MOR T I M E RS .

You let me go y ou old s neak ! You stole

,

the book yourself and tr y to pretend t h at

”
I did it .

N icholas took not the sli g htest notice o i

Jake s exclam ations n or of his frantic
’
,

struggles to get free He hurried the miser

able boy into the ver y centre of t h e ca m p
where Julia n sat i n dejection wit h Wat h o v ,

ering about eager to off er any consolatio n i n

,

his power ; and Sedgwick pacing up and

down his honest face showing genuine
,

concern .

N icholas shook o ff if he had bee n

out the book
n The . scarcely believe
that really sa 3 volume again .

But s pleasure urn was swallowed

horror , indignatio n at his
’
s tr eac uct He could not
.

hi m self to however Sedgwick

made up for t he silence expressing his feel ,

i n gs in forcible terms .

But here Nicholas interposed a nd made ,

them understand that matters must go on as

before So Jake , da rkb ro we d and s u lle n was
.
,

left u nmolested ; t h o u gh n eedless to say t h a t

his presence there after w h at had h appe n e d
, ,
 Chapter X IV .

B E F O RE T H E T H IRD TES T .

The t i me was drawing near for the boys to

leave the forest whe n one evening Sedgwick
,

a n d J uli an were caught at some distance from

,

the ca m p i n a wild storm of wind a nd r ai n

, ,

with hailstones b i g as pebbles fal l ing upon

the paths and rattli n g against the b ong h s .

T h e wind raged with such fury as to sh ake to

their roots eve n the tallest trees .

The boys , who were i n a remote par t of the

forest , struggled along manfully for so m e
time , accepting the buffets of the storm with
cheerfu l indiff erence But just as they began
.

to gro w exhausted being t h oroughly drenched

,

besides , they caught sight of a singular

looking structure formed of the boughs of
trees , which were piled one upon the other i n
a most fantastic ma n ner ; but cunningly ,

e n o u gh were set over against a rock which

,

had been carried thither b y some stra n ge con

vu l si on of n ature This served as a bulwark
.
 B E F ORE T HE T HIR D T ES T .

to protect the frail dwelling against the f u ry

of the ele m ents B y a common i mpulse th e
.
,

bo y s made for this shelter which they sup,

posed to be deserted .

Sca rcely had th e y crossed the threshold

whe n they saw their mistake T he b ut gave .

every Sign of being inhabited , though all i n

the interior was i n wild confusi o n The dis .

ordered fancy of a mad m a n was clear i n the

in c o n gruous mingling of all sorts of oddities .

Bits of colored cotton , torn pri n ts , s rips of t

cloth , grasses s nake skins

, all sorts of
,

tri vialities which had caught the wand r ing e

fancy of the M ad Herm it , were dis '

upo n the walls or han ging from the roof and ,

i n terlaced with festoo n s of cobwebs , the growth

a pparentl y of many years .

U po n a couch of leaves and straw i n o n e

corn er lay the weird fi gure O f the M ad Her
mit and i t was evi d n t even to t h e i n ex
,
e

pe ri e nce d eyes of the two observers that

Death had claimed him H e lay i n sole m n
.

m ajesty , h is cloak gathered about hi m his ,

snow white bea r d glea m ing out of the still

-

ness , his restless feet and wan dering m ind

stilled forever .

The boys , awestricken , bent t h eir heads

re vere n tl y
.
2 0 2 T HE LOST J EW EL O F T HE MO RT I MERS .

Let us sa y a prayer , whispered Julian ;

an d together t h ey k n elt i n that strangely
impressi v e scene .

T h e storm gr ew momentarily wilder and

wilder so th at it seemed to threate n the b u t
,

with destruction —though it , like its late

,

occupant had wg at h ered many a storm The

, .

lightning flash e d through t h e loosely placed

boughs which formed the walls and across ,

the calm face O f the dead As the boys re

.

cited the De P r of cmdis , J u lian s u dde nl y

ca u gh t sigh t of a small picture of the M other
of Sorrows st u ck upon the wall I n the wild.

disorder of t h e place it was as a be agM

, On
so m e stor m y se a the sy m bol of peac e and
,
'

m ercy , the S ig n of at least a long past faith -

.

For the M orti m ers h ad al ways been Cath olics ,

a n d even the m ost degenerate among them

had preser ved the na m e and so m e outward

practice of t h at religion w h ich was sy non
y m ou s with what was m ost honorable i n
their race .

“ ”
Let us say t h e B eads for him , obse r ved
Julian .

A nd so amidst t h e howlings of the te m

,

pest t h e two bo y s in so m e sort perform ed a

,

Requi em over t h e mortal re m ains of t h at

2 04 T HE LOS T J EW EL O F T HE MO RT I ME RS .

about wi th an ai r of satisfactio n A nd if .

it s ever yours , curly pa e , I am comi n g here

’ ‘

”
to st a y with you .

“
J ust a s likely it will b e your ow n , a n
swere d J uli a n , turni n g a somer sa ult out of

pure joyous n ess .

He instan tly straightened himself to atten

tion however , as his grandfather appeared at
,

the library window Forgetti n g the last

.

i n terview , which had bee n decidedly n u

pleasant , J ulia n ra n forward to meet him with
pe rfec t freedom and cordiality Th i s was t h e .

v ery be st course he could have ta ken , had he

plan ned it deliberately ; for it relieved M r .

Mortimer from the a wkwardness of maki n g a

fir st overture after his late displeasure .

“ ”
Good morning gr andfather ! J ulia n cried
,
“ ”
out. I m glad to see you again
’
.

“
A nd to h ave got out of the e nchanted
”
for est I suppose ? said the old gentle m an ;
,

but ther e was a faint glow of pleas u re on h is

pale cheek , and a sparkle i n his eye at the
hearty a nd spontaneous greeting .

“
O h , I liked being i n the forest well
” “
enough ! Julian a nswered ; though we got
lots of frights while we were there But i t s .
’

n ice being back , a n d we re all d y ing to k now

’

”
abo u t the t h ird test .
 B EFOR E T HE T H I RD T E ST .

Y ou won t h a ve very lo n g to wait f o r

’

”
that , said M r M ortimer
. I mmediately
.

a fter luncheo n I shall make the ann ou n ce

men t , and i n a bout half an hour y ou will hear
"
th e gon g so und .

He the n withdrew to the l ibr ary , glad as

he al ways was to return to his books ; and t h e
boys , left to themselves , ra n and j umped and
wrestled , c li m bing ta l l trees a n d sta rtli n g the
r ooks into a n g ry clamor J ulia n se t o u t to
.

run a race wi th a chipmu n k that was skippin g

along the hedge o n the g arde n side of th e
lawn But he soo n ga ve it up , join i ng i n the
.

shouts of laughter with which Sedgwi ck and

Wat greeted his e nde avor .

A fter lunche o n ca me the summon s whi o

'

was to lea d them for the l ast time i nto th .

prese n ce of A nselm Benedict .

So far M r M ortimer had give n n o sig n as

.

to whether or n o he had heard of J s . . s

’

latest misdemeanor with regard to the b o o k .

He had n ot referred i n any way to the los s or

reco v ery of the precious volu m e J ake tho u gh t .

he had regained his confidence , and felt as

s u red that M r M ortimer had accepted the
ex cuse he hi m self had invented—that his a h
.

stracti on of th e book was merely a joke He .

2 06 T H E LOS T j nwm . OE Tun M O RTI M ER S .

w as oppressed by n o spec ial u n easi n ess there ,

fore , whe n the grandfather turned the key

and u shered t h e four i nto the prese nce o f
A nsel m Benedict J ulia n felt a keener ad
.

m i rati o n th a n ever for their remarkable

a ncestor , a d was more eager tha n ever to
n

study every detail of the face and fi gure of

that splendid soldier , w h o had left so strong
an impress o n the ann als of his time .

M r M ortimer s u rveyed the two boys for a

.

mo m ent or two i n silence ; the n he touched

the spring , revealing once more the n o w
fa miliar portrait He turned toward the pic
.

th red fi gure o n the wall n o longer i n mockery ,

,

but with a s ubtl e deference an d a more s y m

pa thetic u nderstanding t h a n e v er befo re ; and
for this change J ulian , though he k new it n ot ,
was responsib le .

“ ” “
A n selm Benedict , he said , for the last
time your four descendants are assembled in
your presence ; and it is my painful d u ty to
decla e the abso lute unworthiness of one
r

amongst t h em eith er to appe a r here , or to

,

take a n y f ur ther p art i n a contest which i s

pr i ma r h y go verned at least by t h e rules of
, ,
”
g e n tle m a nl y conduct .

Jake s face grew livid d u ring this address ,

’
2 08 T HE LOST J EW EL OE TH E M O R TI M E RS .

”
Wh at you ask is i m possible declared ,
“
t h e grandfat h er H e has violated every
.

r u le laid dow n for the contest He has show n .

neither cou rage n or fortitude nor resol ution .

He has proved h i m self sadl y deficient in truth ,

i n honor , i n fine feeling ; and h as p u t a cli m ax
to his i n glorio u s career by an act not only of
dis h onest y , b u t of malice For with t h e .

recovered volu m e was found a calculation O f

the a m ount which the book would probably
bring and of the i njury which its loss would
,

be to you .

If ever there was the picture of a beaten

hound , it was Jake being hurried fro m the
roo m and from the arena of possible success
by the inexorable N icholas Julia n felt a .

certa in pity for him a n d a regret for the late

occurrence .

“ ”
If I hadn t take n t h e book to the forest
’
,
“
he whispered to Sedgwick th is would never ,

have happened .

“ ”
T h e book b e blowed ! answered Se dg
“
wick . It wasn t t h at alone : it was e very
’

thing He s t h e m eanest h o u nd—that Jake

’

—the most cowardly beggar I ever came

.
,

”
across .

Here M r M orti mer i m posed silence u pon

.
 B EFO RE TH E T HI RD T ES T . 2 09

the m by be gi nning to con sider the case of

Wat .

“ ” “
Walter Wort h ington he said has not
, ,

discovered t h e caver n as yet i t is true ; n or

,

has he shown conspicuously those qualities

3
which tend toward success But , i f he so
.

desires , and by consent of the other com

pe ti tor s, he may undertake the third test ,
even though the chance O f success is di m in
i sh ed , as we are infor med by his failure to
,

discover the cavern i n the forest ”

.

Walter w as beginning to protest that it was

n o use , that he had n ot stren gt h enough for
any more ordeals ; but Julia n n udged h im to
be silent and wait e v ents ; and M r M orti m er.

likewise advised him to hear what the third

test might be be fore finally deciding .

The old gentle m an then bega n to read from

that formidable doc u ment yellow with age
, ,

the final test which was to decide whether or

,

n o any of t h e co m petitors sho u ld discover

the hidden room and the lost jewel of the

M ortimers .

“
B u t one fortune seeker has ever got so far
-

” “
i n the qu est ,
declared the old m an as to ,

discover the whereabo u ts of the ca v ern He .

belonged to a generatio n far removed from

210 T HE LO S T J EW EL OF T HE M ORTI M ER S .

o u rs and his after fate is not recorded save

,
-
,

that he failed i n the t h ird test It is one of .

great di ffi cult y requ iring courage , endurance

, ,
”
and ingenuity .

T h e boys waited breathlessl y for a n ex

pl anation of this third trial w h ich was finall y
to tr y their mettle T h ey were awed and
.

s u bd u ed by t h e e x pulsion O f Jake from

a m ongst them — h o u gh Sedgwick at least
,
*
, ,

was con v inced of its j ustice ; and Julian s ’

mind began to wander O ff to the succession of

brilliant episodes with w h ich the soldierly
fig ure on t h e wall was now associated He .

was recalled by the voice of M r M orti m er .

explaining t h e nat u re of the test and detail ,

ing i n a very precise m anner what was ex

p ec te d of the co m petitors .

E ach boy was to be i m pri son ed for a nigh t

m a species of dark hole or u ndergro u nd pas
sage i n the earth Thence he was free to
.

make his way out i f he could ; an d a tradition

,

had alwa y s e x isted that that way led to t h e

fi nding of the room and th e treasure But no .

one had e v er found the m Those even who .

had persevered i n re m a ining the n igh t—for

to this an altern ative was given by Nicholas
appearing before midnight and asking if they
2 1 2 T HE LOS T J E W EL OF T HE M OR TI M E RS .

c e stor were re m o ve d a n d t h at this old a n d

,

d isillusion e d m a n b e g a n to feel t h e sa m e bond

of union whic h linked Julian s glowing yo u th ’

with t h e past .

“
N o w, m y boys concl u d e d M r M orti m er
, .
,

I will not pre tend to ad v i se y o u as to

w h et h er or no y o u s h o u l d relinquis h all hope
O f f u rt h er succe ss or enter upon an ordeal
,

which f e w wo u ld h ave c a red to undergo It .

is f u ll n o do u bt of diffi c u lties hardships and

, , ,
”
te a a s real or i m a g inary
, .

J u lian as t h e war h orse at the sound of

,

battle pricked up h i s e a rs figu rativel y ; and

, , ,

throwing back h is h ead declared that he ,

wo u ld like to m ake th is final trial .

“
If we fail you se e grand father we s h all
, , ,

ha v e tri e d e v eryt h ing ; and don t y ou th ink ’

”
that s b etter ?
’

T h e grand fat h er bowed h is h ead as i n a

sort of deference ; a n d S edgwick in his bl u nt ,

wa y declared t h at he would stand b y Julian

, .

B ut Wat most e m phaticall y dec ided to gi v e up

an y chance of success rather t h an go down
in any dark hole .

“ ”
If I were strong it would be different
, ,
“
he said ; bu t I might r u in my h e alt h and ,

m y father and m other told m e that I m ustn t ’

do an y t h i n g of t h at kind .
 B EFO R E T H E T HI RD T ES T . 21 3

This being settled Walter Worthi ngt o n was

,

ruled out of t h e com petition ; a n d he a ccepted

t h at res u lt quite cheerf u lly glad to be t e
,

l i e v e d of t h e nec e ssity for any furt h er effort .

H e was al m ost certa i n t h at he could not have

s ucceeded i n a n y case and h ad persuaded ;
,

hi mself that there was i n realit y neit h er room

n or jewel but only so m e kind of fable to tr y
,

t h e mettle of t h e bo y s ; and with hi m his

health a n d personal comfort had always bee n
of first i m portance .

K So Sedg w ick and Julian being

, t h e only
ones left in t h e arena grew m ore and more
,

e xcited as t h ey paced the lawn together in

,

eager talk Julian was fu ll of bright hope

.

f ulness which i nfected S edgwick w h o was

, ,

i n t h e m ain a sturdy and courageous lad

Suddenly the y came upo n Jake lying f u ll
lengt h a m ongst t h e brushwood o n the cliff ,

i n very much t h e same spot where he had

poked a m ongst t h e leaves on the morn ing
following t h e arrival of t h e you n g adventure r s
at the man sio n of Pine Bluff Then he had .

been boastful , arrogant , co n fident of success ;

n o w he was fairly gn as h ing his teeth and

clutchi n g at t h e weeds growing about him ,

i n a very agony O f i m potent rage and despair .

21 4 T HE LOST J E W EL O F T HE MO RT I M E RS .

Julian pulled Sedgwick by the sleeve and

endeavored , out of respect for the miserable
boy s feelings to steal away unnoticed ; but
’
,

Jake chan cing to catch sight of them b urst

, ,

into a torrent of abuse against all concerned

and especiall y against J u lian T he language .

was such that J u lian clapped his hands to his

ears and ra n a wa y ; w h ile only conte m ptuous
pit y for his cousi n s wretched plight deterred
’

Sedgwick from ad m inistering personal chas

ti se m e n t .

Jake s disappoint ment , which his natural

’

avarice and greed of gai n would have re n

dered su ffi ciently keen was intensi fied by the
,

kno wledge of what awaited him at home .

His mot h er had long been dead His father .

was a need y ad venturer who had failed i n ,

the first effort to discover the M ortimer jewel ,

had bee n embittered deeply by the failure ,

and had endeavored to eke out a scanty i n

co m e by the exercise O f his wits While .

building on the chance of his so n s success ’

,

he had failed to i m plant in him one of those

sterling principles which alone could aid hi m
i n the great co m petition Yet n o n e t h e less
.

bitter would be his disappointment and no n e ,

the less enve nomed h is fury against his u n

fortunate son .
21 6 T H E LO S T J E W E L OF TH E M O R TI MER S .

Sedgwick is al m ost as near , and deserves it

next be st I m afraid though t h at grand
.
’
, ,

father is right and that there is n t any for

,
’

tune at all .

So Wat s la st greeting was a n effusive wav

’

i ng of his hand f ro m t h e c arriage window to

the t wo u pon the lawn and t h e renewed hope ,

that he wo u ld see them soo n again , whe n the

test was over .

“ ”
Oh , I wish it were well over ! said Sedg
“
wick staring after t h e carriage
, Bu t I m .
’

like you Julian : I want to stick fast to the

,

e nd I f you can do it so can I ; and I know

.
,

my people wo u ld rath e r I held out to the e n d ,

eve n i f I failed at last M y father said he .

always regretted not having gone i n for t h e

third test A n y wa y I wouldn t want to leave
.
,
’

”
you c u rl y pate lose or win
, , .

“ ”
I hope we ll both wi n ! cried Julian , ’

heartily A nd then I suppose t h ey ll l e t us

.
’

divide t h e fortune ; a n d perhaps we can give

some to poor old Wat , a n d unlucky J ake
”
too .

“
I wouldn t give t h at Jake a brass far
’

”
th ing responded Sedgwick f u ll of honest
, ,

i ndignation .

“
Well we may n ot get anything to keep
,
 B E F OR E TH E T Ha L ES T . zr7

“
or give a way , said J u lian ; so we n eedn t ’

bot h er yet Co m e o u —I ll race you to the

.
,
’

”
woods ov e r there .

! O ff they went as if n either of them had a

care on h i s mind or a though t of th a t trying

,

ordeal which a waited h i m F resh air , sun .

shine high spirits a clea n conscience were

, ,

all with the m a nd the y were richer tha n any

,

pri nce B u t when the c h ill of the early

.

a u tu m n evening ca m e i nto the air and mists ,

stole into the glowing sunset of the wester n

sky their spirits beca m e subd u ed and they
, ,

bega n to consider m ore gravely the curious

experi ence before them Sedgwick by right .
,

o f age , was to precede his cousin , as o n for

mer occasions Should he succeed , J ulian

.

was to undergo a similar ordeal , without hav

i n g communicated with the other , a nd so ru n
a n equal chance of securing the great prize .

“
S uppose we say the Beads together ?
suggeste d Julian We always said them at
.

college and I read i n the book that A nsel m

,

Benedict carried his rosary with him all the

time and said it o n t h e eve of battle or whe n
,
”
e ver he was exposed to any danger .

Sedgwick readily agreed to joi n i n the

pray ers For he h ad plenty of faith , though
.
 T HE L O ST J EW EL OF TH E M O R T rH ERS .

in his u pbringing it had bee n kept i n t h e

backgro u nd ; a n d until he met J ul ian , he h ad
fanci e d t h at it was something of which a boy
was m ore or less ashamed Sedgwick had .

remarke d t h is to Wat o ne day

“
O f all the fellows I have ever met Julian s ,
’

abo u t the onl y o ne who doesn t see m as h a m ed

’

of being good—o f saying prayers or anything

”
like that.

A nd this be i n g repeated to Julian , he had

set his hea d o n one side , as was h is habit
whe n thi nking a nd wondered why any fello w
,

sho u ld be asha m ed of saying his prayers or

trying to be good .

So t h e t wo bo y s paced the la wn , i n th e
shad sw o f the tall trees which for generations
had shaded t h e mansio n at Pine Bluff , and
mingled t h e ir yo u ng voices with the sigh of
the wind i n t h e pines and the v e sper song of
the birds ; repe ating that old ti m e pra y er -

which prelate a n d prince t h e sage and illit

,

crate t h e rich and the poor the gr eat and

, ,

the lowl y ha v e said through the ages i n the

,

Ch u rch o f God .

M r M orti m er , pausing at the window ,

.

he ard t h e sound of t h eir voices , and listened

an i nstant to w h at the y were saying For the .
 C hapter X V .

T HE FINA L T ES T .

It mu st be o wned t h at , as ni g h t drew near ,

Julian felt a creepi ness in all his nerves ;

tho u gh it was Se dg wick and n ot he w h o had
, ,

first to face t h e dread ordeal The shadow .

of e vening deepe ned suddenly as i n a u t um n ,

is a pt to be t h e case ; p u rple clouds enshrouded

the departing sun as a pall of that royal h u e
,

en v elops t h e bier of a conqueror ; and a gra y

ne ss stole o v er the land scape bringing with ,

i t a dee p hu sh . T h e birds were still i n t h e

bo u gh s of t h e trees t h e insect cla m or sub
,

s i ded
, a n d a star or two appeared in t h e

heavens as t h e bo y s ca m e out from their

,

s ub stantial evening meal .

Nicholas gri m and fantastic as the shadows

,

of the trees on t h e lawn stood so m e wh at s u d

,

de n l y be side t h e bo y s He h ad co m e to l e ad
.

S edgwick into d urance vile T h e co u sins

.

wrung eac h ot h e r s hand as i f they were

’
,

ne v er more to m eet u pon t h e gree n eart h s ’

( 2 20 )
 T HE F INA L T ES T .

surfa ce The n Sedgwick passed through a

.

porte n tous looking trap door , which N icholas

- -

had o pe u d i n the very heart of t h e brush

r

woc l u po n the cli ff N either of the boys had

.

discovered this en tran ce be fore despite their ,

co n stan t researches .

Julia n left a lone , cast a swift gla n ce up

,

wards at a sta r which sho n e , glowing and

bright , i n the gatheri n g darkness ; and it
seem e d to h i m like a beacon of hope He .

went to bed early that n ight and lay a wake ,

wondering how it fared with Sedgwick in

those fearful subterra nea n depths to which , ,

i m agi natio n suggested , he must have gone .

He recalled as he tossed a bout restless and

, ,

sleepless that first n ight whe n he h ad awaited

,

t h e summon s to appe ar i n presence of their

formidable ancestor and to be g i n the quest
whic h was n ow so n early ended .

He was up betimes in the morn ing ; i n fact ,

it was scarcely da y light whe n he appeared

upo n th e lawn and there was onl y a faint
,

streak of daw n i n the eastern sky He wan .

dered about ai m lessly , listening with curious

i m patience to the cheerful c h irping of the
birds i n the n ests far overhead A n d prese n tly
.

there was N icholas a n d there was Sedgwi ck

222 TH E LO S T J EW EL OF TH E M O R TI M ER S .

beside hi m J u lian looked for a n u n c u t rn to

.
:

h is cousin s face Its rud dy color wa s go n e

’
.

S edgwick was deadly pale and { h e re we re,

-

traces of exhaustion i n h is whole appearan ce .

Julian did not like to a sk a q u estion b u t ,

Sedgwick cried out :

“
O h it was awfu l , Julian ! And I h ave
,
”
failed !
“ ”
Failed ! said Julian agh ast , .

B u t N icholas h u rried S edgwick awa y n or ,

did he allow any communicatio n be tween the

bo y s d u ring t h e whole of that day .

Vb
I t was o n e of the longest and nrost de pr es
sing J u lian had e v er known He took his
.

lunc h eon alone with h is grandfather , who

see m ed i n a silent mood buried i n thought
, ,

and scarcely heeding the presence of his

grandson . J u lian act u ally welcomed the
co m ing of the d u sk though it brough t hi m
,

face to face with that dreaded ordeal which ,

he feared so much the m ore since his momen

tary gli m pse of Se dgwick Wh atever it might
.

be it was better to have i t over He should

, .

at least go back to h rs mother who m h e was ,

longing to see ; and Sedgwick an d he would

meet and have som e pleasant ti m es together .

Eve n if both cousins were unsuccessful i n

2 2 4 T HE LO S T J EwE L O F T H E MO RT I M E RS .

he er coile d fe e l in g as i f h e h ad to u c h ed so m e
,

li v i n g thing .

For the ti m e being his senses see m ed b e

n u rn b ed as it were ; and a curiou s fancy came
,

over hi m that h e had di ed and that t h is was

,

t h e dark passage fro m L i fe to De ath Oddl y .

eno u gh t h is w h i m sical idea m a de him t e

,

me m ber to ligh t h i s t aper w h i c h see m l

,

sym bolical of t h e ligh t of fait h w h ich alone ,

can ill um ine t h at last dreary p at h way H e .

struck m atch after m atc h but it was som e,

ti m e before o n e re m ained lit so dam p a nd ,

rn o u l dy was t h e at m osp h ere At last h o w

.
,

ever he s u ccee ded i n securing a clear ligh t

, ,

wh ic h thoug h s m all see m ed to pierce t h e

, ,

snrr o u rrdi n g gloom giving him courage to

,

go on .

S o m eti m es he was disco u raged to fi nd h im

self u p against a blind wall wit h n o app a r ,

ent m eans of o u tlet until at l ast he discovere d

,

a crevice and finally a narro w passage thro u gh ,

which he crept on all fours startling toads ,

a n d lizards fro m their accustom ed q u iet u de .

Occasionally t h e noi se of t h e sea so u nded so

loud and so close to h im that he was filled
,

with s u dden terror and stood still tre m bling ,

and clinging to the rock W h at i f an i n .

 T HE F INA L T ES T . 22 5

ca u tious m ove m ent s h o u ld t h row hi m h e a d

long into t h e fatho m less dept h s t h e wa v e s
,

swallowing him up i n an abyss of blac kness !

Again , imagi nary terrors crowded i nto h is
m ind strange Spectres fli tted before h is e y e s
, ,

fantastic i m ages crowded h is overtaxed brain ,

l u rid lights see m ed to gleam o u t of the dark

ness A fear of the u nseen filled h im wit h
.

horror .But perhaps the m ost terrify ing

t h ought of all was that he m igh t have to t e
m ain there forever : that there m ig h t be no
ot h er exit save that b y w h ich he had entered ,

a n d that he mig h t n ever be able to fi n d his

way t h ither again .

A n intensity of longing ca m e over hi m for

a glimpse of t h e sk y st u dded with stars of ,

t h e green grass or the wa v ing trees or of t h e ,

s u nlight on t h e surface of the sea He felt .

t h at if only t h is migh t be he wo u ld sacrifice

,

cheerfully all t h e fort u nes of the world ; for

“ ”
t h e wealth O f O rmu z and of Ind t h en
appeared to hi m s m all and pi ty ful Bu t h is .

resolute spirit at last asserted itself a n d he ,

reminded hi m self t h at he m u st take heart and

press on either to t h at goal of success whic h
,

now see m ed to him so s h adowy and unreal ,

or at least to regain that outside world with ,

its life and war m th and brigh tness .

22 6 T HE L O S T J EW EL :
or TH E M O RTI M ERS .

H e b e g a n to recite his Rosary , at first

m ec h anically t h en wit h fervor until his fears
, ,

grad uall y were allayed and so m ething of his

n at u ral b u oyancy bega n to return He fancied .

h i m self leading forlorn hopes or facing fearfu l

odds as Ansel m B e nedict had done ; or
, ,

again , as being i m mure d i n so m e fearfu l dun

geon for t h e o ne h oly Catholic and Apostolic
Fait h , and making a dash for freedom T h u s .

passed t h e ti m e ; thou gh he had i n real ity , ,

not h ing wherewit h to contend e x cept silence

and darkness H e be gan to re m e mber h o w
.

Sedgwick and he had got lost apparentl y i n , ,

a labyrinth of passages , which finally led to

t h e cavern ; a n d h e s h rewdly conjectured t h at

t h e se windings led there or so m ewhere el se
,

m ore ad v antageous B u t even to reach th e

.

ligh t and warm th a nd rest of the cavern

see m ed n o w most desirable .

B e sides h e began to ask h i m self i f there

,

co u ld be an y tru th i n t h e s u pposition w h ic h
S edgwick h ad once set fort h—that the cavern
i n so m e way held the sec ret and was closel y
connected with the discover y of the lost je we l
and t h e hidde n room I n any case h e was
.
,

deter m ined to tr y to reach t h e cave ; and i f he ,

co u ld not get any farther , there at least to

2 28 T H E LO S T J EW EL OF T H E MOR TI M ER S .

piled be side it read y to be burned ; t h ere were

,

the Skins upon t h e walls and the rug upon t h e

floor , and the table a n d t h e candlesticks and
the eas y chairs But was t h is ca v ern the end ?
-
.

Were the lost jewel and th e hidde n room b u t

p h antoms of the brain as t h e grandfather had
,

suggested ; and th e trials which the four a d

venturers had co m e through but tests of m an
hood w h ich should be ar their o wn reward ?
,

Somehow he could not believe this H e felt

, .

that A nsel m Benedic t wou ld n ever have de

ce i v e d them and so graphica lly described

what had n o real existence Yet here he

. ,

and he alone h ad co m e th u s far in the third

,

ordeal and had disco v ered nothing n ew .

He sprang from his c h air with a sudden

strong i m pulse of hope and co u rage T h e .

cavern was n ot t h e end b u t only the m eans

,

to the end h e felt assured of t h at He would

,
-
.

explore every n ook and cranny of it A nd .

j u st as he had com e to this deter m i n ation he ,

heard the grating so und i n the Wall , and there

was the Shelf with sandwiches plu m cake ,
-
,

and a hot posset of m ilk Surely he was the

.

favorite of N ic h olas , or whoever provided this

mysterious refresh m en t He partook of it
.

eagerly ; and as though it had been the fabled

,
 TH E F INA L T EST . 2 29

n ectar of t h e gods it seemed to fi ll him with

,

n e w strength and energy .

It occ u r r d to h i m still m ore forcibly that ,

since t h e dark lab y rinth s of winding passages

all see m ed to lead to this habitable portion O f
the cavern the clue m u st be therein a n d that
, ,

so m e other passage mig ht lead to that goal so

long desired and so e ag f l y sought by genera
'

tions of t h e M ortimers He remembered the

.

opening whic h he had seen on the m orn ing

when he had h eard Sedg wick s voice above ’

his head and h e co u ld have sworn that it

,

was u nder t h at particular leopard Skin from ,

which green eyes n o w glared at h i m malevo

l e n tl y
. And yet it was behind that precise
coveri ng that a rocky wall had appeared ,

hopeless and i m penetrable .

Nevertheless , he approached it once more ,

undeterred b y the gleam , baleful i n t h e fir e
light , which shone in t h e eyes of the beast .

They were only eyes of glass which had re ,

placed the n atural orbs o f the once fi erce

beast of the j u ngle ; but t h ey caught the flame
and held i t as if with s u ppressed fury Julian .

raised the skin and pe ered at the gr ay rock ,

which seemed to stare h im in the face As .

he was about to drop the skin i n discourage

2 30 T H E LOS T J E W EL or T H E MO RTI ME RS .

me nt he S uddenly pe rceived a curi ously

,

carved knob placed within a deep i nde n tatio n

i n the stone He seized this and it yield ed :
.

a door fle w open a n d there were the st a irs

,

going upward two or three r t a time , as he

,

h d see n t h e m on that other m orning

a
I rr .

stan tl y he be g an to mount ; but turning back

,

ward by a happy instinct , took his waxe n

ta per and the matches fro m the table T he n .

he went on , with so m ething of the feeling

that the fa m ous youth must have had , who
“ ”
heard above hi m the m agi c word E xcelsior !
Whe n he h ad mounted to a considerable
distance , th e stairs m ade a sudde n turn and ,

there was a passageway similar , as he could

n o t doubt ,to those i n which he had twice
be fore stumbled blindl y only that this seemed
,

smoother , and that t h e hand of ma n had

clearly re m oved obstructions and fashio n ed a
species of t u nnel T he light fro m below still
.

aided the glow of his taper , and h e could see

his way c learly ; b u t after a ti m e he had to
depend entirely u pon the gli mm er of the wax
light and to purs u e his wa y without the r e
,

mote st idea as to w h ith er he was going .

When he had gone on thus for some time ,

he be g an to hear occasional sounds , such as
2 32 T H E LO S T J E W EL O F T HE MORT I ME RS .

from the ground at his fee t B ut all remai d

.
" x

sile n t , save those w h isperings of n ature from

above ; and the bo y sang uine a nd glowing
,

with re newed ho pe urged o n by the kee n est

,

curiosit y sa w before h i m only the gray rocky

,

sides of the passagewa y and the cold brown

earth at his feet At last he was brought to
.

a full stop and nearly stumbled over the first

of a flight of steps .

“ ”
M ore steps ! he muttered to hi m self i n ,

discouragement ; for they alwa y s seemed to

bring him into more winding passages H o w .

ever he h ad n o alternative b u t to mou n t the

,

stairs or go back t h e wa y he had come He .

looked all abo u t him carefully This was .

obviousl y the way out ; and if that way led

into the m ansion at Pine B l u ff as he believed ,
,

he wo r n aturall y ha v e to go upward fro m

beneath t he eart h H e set his foot upo n the

.

lowest step I t was made of wood mouldy

.
,

and al mo st rotten : i t creaked whe n he walked ,

and set n u mberl e ss strange i nsects i n motion .

There was a r u de sort of banister and he ,

seized upon t h is—t h o ugh it did n ot feel secure

in his grasp—and resolutely bega n the ascent .

Presently a step broke with his weight and ,

he was very near ly throw n dow n i nto strange

depths .
 T H E FI NA L T ES T . 2 33

But the boy was not to be deterred now by

a n y obstacles Pride ambition hope cour
.
, , ,

age ,—were all strong withi n him ; the ad v e n

turo ns spirit of his a n cestor was alive and ,

success lured h im on as the syre n s of old

,

lured the fabl e d mariners He felt that

.

n othing could h a ve made h i m tur n back till

he reached the top of those stairs Y e t the .

sta irs seemed ver y long and it occurred to

,

him i n h is mad excitement , that surely the y

,

were ta king h i m to the very roof of his grand

father s dwelling
’
.

He paused ever y once and a while to take

breath tre m bling and panting with the
,

thought of what might lie hidde n at the top

of t h at da m p and mildewed stairwa y He .

had left rocky passag e s a n d ca v erns behind

him —o f that he was certain ; and the boom
,

of the sea sou n ded mellowed and softened to

his e a rs .

All at once he t ood still a n d listened

s
.

What sound was th e strangely familiar , but

weirdly unreal i n t h is stillness and altogether,

u nexpected i n this scene —metallic and v ib

,

rant grating at first t h e n softened i nto

, ,

m elody ? He knew at l ast what it was and ,

held his bre a th Wh at di d it portend a nd

.
,
2 34 T II E LO S T J EW EL O F T HE M O RT I M ERS .

were all his wanderings to have the commo n

place o utl e t of the principal stair wa y in the
ma nsio n at Pine Bl u ff ? Should he see the
servan ts there going n oiselessly a bout their
,

work ; or his grandfa ther go i ng down for h is

morning w a lk ; or Nic h ola s wh o n ever see med
,

to have a ny settled place of abode ?

A pass ionate i mpatience seized upon the
boy I f he sudde n ly fo u nd hi m self upon that
.

well k now n sta irwa y N icholas would be there

-
,

an d would lead h i m away and a wl his dream

forever , a nd tell hi m pe rh aps that the treas
, ,

ure he had sought did not e x ist and that his ,

adventures had been i n v a in By a n odd .

freak of memory he recall e d all the abusive

,

n ames which Jake use d to bestow upo n the

old servitor and for a m oment he felt tem pted
,

to pour the m all o u t upon that uno ffe rrdi ng

head Then he told h imself t h at i f a fte r all
.
, ,

the treasure that he so u ght proved mythical ,

it would be a good t h ing to get back to

ordinary life a n d to be done with all these
wild and strange ad ve nt u res .

He stood t hu s a n d reasoned with hi m self

lon g afte r t h e v ibrant metallic so u nd had
,

cease d ; for t h e ancient clock u pon t h e sta irs

had fini sh ed s tr iking t h e h o u r of fiv e .
2 36 T H E L OST J E WEL O F T H E MO RT I M E RS .

breaking over the surface of the sea ; and for

the voice of Nicholas or a n y other huma n
creature to disturb this monotonous still ness .

T he boy felt utterly discouraged as well as

disappoi n ted ; for m ost likely he had chanced
upo n a secret passage from the cavern to the
house , which had once bee n u sed a n d was
now out of date He stretched o ut his h and
.

an d it grasped t h e handle of a door ; and ,

bringi ng his taper nearer there was a rusty

,

key This jangled h arshly as he attempted to

.

turn i t i n the lock ; but finally it yielded .

He was indeed a t the bac k of the clock i n a

kind of niche ; a nd , givi ng way a t o nce to
weariness and desponde ncy , he lean ed heavily
against the wall As he did so he felt a
.

gradual yielding , and the next mome n t found

hi m self falling i n ward .

He was terribly frightened at fi rst , be l i ev

ing that he was falling into some abyss ; and
the n as he stared and bli n ked , it occurred to
h i m that he was upo n a soft rug and that the
,

air abo u t h i m w as c u riously stale and close ,

as of a roo m long shut fr om the light He .

lay still a fe w moments pondering daz ed and

, ,

uncertain ; then he sat up a nd looked about

him , and finally rose to his feet He wan .
 S UCCESS AT LA S T . 2 37

dered about ai m lessly until interest and

,

c u riosity began to be ex cited by what h e saw .

It was an oddl y S h aped roo m and so curio u s ,

l y contri ved t h at it was evident n o trace of it

appeared from t h e o u tside It was not dark
.
,

b u t t h e light see m ed to be the reflection of

other lights and ca m e glowing—n ow fiery
,

red now opalesce nt gree n n ow ro y al purple

, ,

—from stained windows w h ich gave n ot upon

t h e landscape witho u t b u t upon a kind of cir
c u lat corridor illumined by so m e outside
windows .

A faint ar o m atic perfum e pervaded the at

m osph e re recalling to Julian s mind so m e of
,
’

t h ose quaint India n legends he had heard ;

and the stillness was so great that he could
a l m ost hear his heart beat T he f u rn iture
.

was antiqu e , of a style which he had never

seen before , except i n so far as it rese m bled
t h at apart m ent below , where t h e pictured
fi g ure of t h e g allant cavalier held its solitary
sway . Julia felt oppressed by a se nse of
strangeness and of mystery , which seemed to
transport hi m back into the past from which ,

he co u ld never co m e forth again and be j u st

an ordinary twen tieth century bo y going to
-
,

school and being bu ffeted about by his class

mates .
2 38 TH E LO S T J EW EL OF TH E MO RTI ME RS .

H e scarce dared touch the beautiful and

costly objects which la y strewn around and ,

he did not know the names of any of t h e m .

They m ight have been the work of so m e

stran ge e n chanter , who would lay a spel l
u po n hi m , were he so much as to fix his ey e s

too intently u pon t h e rare collection A cur

.

ious terror stole o v er h im and see m ed to b e

u n ru h his se n ses till all at once h i s wandering
,

eyes encountered a picture of the V irgi n

Mother and C hild quaint with the shadows
,

of antiq u ity , but fair and soft i n its tints ,

mild and benign ant i n its expression Before.

it was a costly vessel of S ilver , i n which

burn ed some perfumed oil Julia n afterward
.

learned t h at the light h ad never been e x ti n

g u i sh e d while two centuries and more had
run their c ourse , and the old world had see n
its innu m erable vicissitudes of joy and sorrow ,
and war and fa m ine and pestilence I t was .

one of those li h ts which Anselm Be nedict ,

‘

like many pi h o l i cs of the ge nerations

gone had or,
by his will should burn
i n perpetuit y fore a represe n tatio n of
“ ”
S t M ary
. .

Clo se by the picture upon a spindle legged

,
-

table of satinwood stood a curiously wrought

,
2 40 TH E LO S T J EWEL OF TH E M O R TI M ER S .

there was N ic h olas H e rose and con fronted

.

t h e old ser v itor w h o se e m ed borne o u t o f

,

hi m self by so m e o v erpowering e m otion : t h e

gri m e y es sparkled the woode n face fairl y
,

beam ed with joy and excite m ent and rai sing , ,

his h and , he m ade a military salute to the

young hero of t h e ho u r .

T h en for t h e first ti m e Julian realized the

meaning of all t h ese marvels T h e ordeal .

was ended . H e h ad com e through al l h is

trials triumphantl y and h ere were t h e hidden
,

roo m and the lost jewel of t h e M orti m ers .

T h e knowledge ca m e to him by a sudden

flash of int u ition N ic h olas had said nothing
.
,

and for the mo m ent it see m ed to the boy as

if his heart wo u ld break wit h the wonder and
the jo y of it . T h e tho u gh t of h is mot h er
r u shed into his h e art Like a torrent released
.

b y t h e sprin g t i m e s u n h e co u ld go back to
,

her n o w with t h e glad tidings ; and Sh e wo u ld

be ric h and n e v er kno w t h e pressure of strait
ened circ um stances a n y more .

”
“
He will be glad ! cried Nic h olas i n ,

tru m pet like tones that were startling in t h e

-

stillness .

“
Wh o ? Grandfather ? asked J u lian
”
.

Grandfat h er ! No repl ied Nicholas .

“ ”
He t h e m aste r d o wn be low !
, ,
 S UCC ESS AT L A S T . 2 41

Then J u lian knew that he m eant A nsel m

Be n edict of who m t h e servant spoke as t h ough
,

he still lived and m o v ed and were capab le of

hu m a n feelings A nd the boy experienced a
.

sudden glow at the thought that h e—h e

at least—h ad proved hi m self worthy and had
finally conqu ered i n the great race Th i s .

brought h i m to t h e re m em brance of Sedgwick ,

and J u lian s genero u s heart was filled with

’

so m ething like re m orse Sedgwick had strive n

.

bravely and had failed He had come so far

.

on the jo u rney and had bee n compelled to

turn backward unrewarded J u lia n felt trul y.

sorry , and dre aded the m ee ting whe n he

S ho u ld have to say to t h e co u sin to who m h e ,

was no w deeply at tached I have wo n w h ere

“
,
”
y o u have failed .

N ichol as , h owever , was troubled by n o such

regrets He stood gazing at t h e r uby lost
.
, ,

as it see m ed i n a kind of reverential awe

, .

T h e n h e rai se d i t from its sati n bed a n d laid

i t i n J u lian s hand
’
.

“
T hin k of it he cried i n the sarrre
,

clario n like tone

-
After hundreds of years
.

”
it is yours !
A t h rill passed through the bo y as t h oug h ,

the ruby had be e n so m e sentient thing which ,

 0
42 T HE L O ST J E W EL O F T HE MO R TI M ERS .

suddenl y resurrected had responded to his

,

touc h S till he was glad w h e n Nicholas re

.
,

l i e v e d hi m of it and restored i t to the c ush ion ,

whence it se n t forth its wonder f u l flash es of

“ ”
fire i n t h e flicker O f S t M ary s fla m e .
’
.

For hum a n h e arts are so constit u ted th at

tri um p h s u ccess the s udden r ealizatio n of
, ,

good fort u ne or of great h appiness leaves

, ,

the m i n a meas u re u nresponsive .

\ N ic h olas closed t h e d oor of the cabinet ,

and taking J u lian by t h e hand i n a strong

, ,

war m clasp w h ic h told of s ym pat h y and of

,

gladness led t h e boy out of the roo m B u t

,
.
,

instead o f going down t h e d u sty and wor m

eaten steps b y w h ich J u lia n had ascended ,

they went o u t from be h ind t h e case of the

g reat cloc k and do wn t h e principal stairs of
the m ansio n at Pine Bl u ff of which J u lia n ,

wa s h encefort h practicall y the m aster Th e .

staircase and t h e hall looked different to hi m ,

as tho u gh t h ey were touc h ed with the q u iet

and peace of Sabba th s u nshine ; a n d so t h e

bov , attended by the grim old ser v itor passed ,

down into t h e li b rary where sat M r M orti m er

, .

a m ong his books H e too had a different

.
, ,

aspect abo u t h i m as if h e belonged to anoth er

,

world He was b u ried i n a ponderous vol

.
2 44 T H E LO S T J EW EL O F T HE M O R TI M ER S .

does it matter w h eth er I found t h e t h ings

”
or not ?
The n tears , the slow tears of age bega n to ,

steal dow n the old man s wrinkled c h eeks

’
,

a n d through the mist wh ich the moisture

m ade he saw hi m self and t h e long ago ; but

s
aw, too , t h e si m plicity honesty , truth and
,

e ne rosi ty which shone i n the face of the boy

before hi m and he acknowledged that for this

,

ti m e at least good fortune was deserved He .

bowed his h ead upo n his hands ; a n d J u lian ,

obeying a n impe rative S ign from Nicholas ,

went softl y o u t .

Wh en he reached the law n , the birds were

singing a very pa an ; they seem ed to greet
h i m with acclamation It was thei r morn ing
.

chorus of praise and joy And the li v ing

.

green of the grass see m ed fairer than ever to

his e yes and t h e trees were all burnis h ed
,

gold by the earl y s u n , while the voice of the

sea in a gentle m u rm ur spoke of gladness .

Sedgwic k cam e running in great h aste to

m eet h is co m rade .

“ ”
I know you have found it l he cried .

“
You mus t have found it curl y pate ! It ,

wouldn t be right i f y ou didn t T he story

’ ’
.

would end al l wro n g .

 S UCCE SS A T L A ST . 2 45

Julian hesitated The sight of Sedgwick s

.
’

hon est ruddy face fi lled h i m with r egret and

,

somet h i n g like co n fusion His cousi n had

.

bee n so ki n d an d so faithfu l i n al l their ad

ventures and had done h im so many good
,

turns ! It see m ed al m ost cruel to tell him of

the success which had befalle n hims elf , and
of that wondrous r oo m hidde n away behi nd
the clock case , at the top of those creaki n g
-

an d worm eate n stai rs

-
.

But Nicholas , who had set his hear t upo n

Julian s ultimate triumph , and had early see n
’

the promise of success i n the boy , was troubled

with n o regrets whatever He straightened
.

himself to a ttention—a grotesque fi gure , an

an ac l rron i sm i n that j oyous su n light —h e ,

waved his hand as i f i n viting al l the landscape

to share i n his j oy , a nd to proclai m , as he was
abo ut to proclaim , Jul i a n s triu m ph He took
’
.

o ff his hat a n d bowed cere m o n iously to his

young hero who no w shared i n h is heart the

,

place long occupied by t h e traditional Ansel m

Be nedict alone The n he spoke out i n tones
.

clear and vibrating , which caught ever y echo

and mingled with the hoa rse voice of the
waves :
“
K now ye all , and be i t known to you .
2 46 T H E LOS T J E W EL or THE H o a T rH ERs .

t hat the victor stands before you , the worthy

descen dant of the g reat and famous A n selm
Benedict ; and t h at he h as found and shall
fore ver hold i n his possessio n that which was
concealed i n the hidde n room—n amel y the ,
”
lost jewel of the M ortimers !
T he n Sedgwick s cap we n t up into the air ,
’

a nd for very joy he turned a somersa u lt or

t wo w h ich was i n marked contrast to t h e old

,

ser v itor s po mpo us procla m ation , but w h ich

’

was f u lly as si ncere and honest ; after which

he also straightened h i m self to his full height ,

a nd sent all t h e ec h oes ringi ng into the forest

with a grea t Shout of

“
H ip , hip h u rrah for Julian for A n sel m
, ,

Benedict the hidde n r oo nr and the lost jewel

,
”
found !
Nic h olas joined him with right good will
in three ti m es t h ree And the grandfather
ca ure to the windo w and sa w J u lian s s m all ’

figure and shining hair glistening in t h e su n ,

his pale face aglo w with happiness ; while

again and yet agai n went up that cr y of
“
Hip hip hurrah for Julian for Ansel m
, , ,

Be nedict the hidden room and th e lo t j zwe l

,
s

”
found !
2 41) T H E L O S T I EW l CL U
'

l l l i M O RT I M ER S .

wh a t ha v e b ee n t h e W i s h
W o ul d of 1 lm es x
’ ’

Be n e d i ct i n i ts d i sposa l T hm l i t . ra t e s . .

I:
wo u l d h a v e be e n de siro u s o f b e ne fi ti n g h i s
d c e nda n ts i n e v e ry b r a n c h
u f t he f a n i l O .
~

f adva n c i n l re i n te r e s t
i
and a i r o
g
of li m e s

wh o l i w ‘ i n t h e n e g h b o r ! o d o f
i .
i me 3 lu d n

a s we ll a s i n t h e s u r r nd co u t o . n .
’

M r \I o r t 1 ure r wh o wa s n w i n t h f u l
'
o _
.

s m
y p a th y a n d u p n t h H Ro t cor d i l t r e e

wi t h h i s da u gh te r i n l a w te r e d h
- -
t . t .
‘ '

i n to a l l t h e se Sche m e s m 1 g r you ,
ag an . .

i n his new e n th usi a m s dc l t i t: a <

J u lian wh o i n his, ,
d h i “ a nd e

fa th e r wi th the g re a tr eated

h i m wi th a R fe re nce a n d C O H r atio n
e
.

b e a u i f u l t o see
t l l e a rn c i pate d
. s wants .

l is te n e d wi th i n t< t 3 a pr e c i
l - S n to all i . i

h i s sa y i n g s k n e w h 0 fin " fa v o rite
"
.
e .

b o o k s a n d w h e n to c a v e h i r r v di s .

t ur b e d e n w r me n t J u lian . d a th e , , s

re m a i e d t ne br i ht n
g .
,
” r e s t e d i n a l l a out
re b c

r sa l l e and sym
-
. .

pi o u s a nd re gular
r h i e x a zzrpl e was a s s

C O I I to
A urd a n d had i ts
‘

e ve n o n ch a racter
t
 Jo v ALL RO U N D .

of his grandfather wh o g r rdu a l l y t u rned fro m

,

t h e things that are pa ss i n w to t h ose that are

etern al .

E very year , upo n t h e anni v ersar o f the '

finding of the jewel—W hich b y the way was , ,

to re m ain i n its shi m mering cushion of satin ,

“
withi n the little cabin t beside S t M ary s
e .
’

”
pict ure until J u lian sho u ld be of age
, ,

tl re re was a g atheri ng of t h e M orti m ers sen ,

i o r s and j un iors a nd a solem n visit to the

,

o n ce h idde n room where t h e ruby was dis

,

pla y ed and passe d around a m on g them B e .

fore departing the y asse mbled also around

the pict u re of A nse l m Benedict ; and this
be r n e a traditional custom a ceremonial of
r ,

great we i gh t i n the famil y Even the most

.

ob scure me m ber felt that i t in some way e n

h anced his importance to be one of the gro u p
aro un d t h e portrait of their brilliant and
pic tu resqu e ancestor ; t h e more so as through ,

Ju lian s i nfl uence the chief i ncidents of his

’
,

life and t h e most conspic u ous traits i n h i s

ch a ra cte r beca m e familiarly known to the m
all.

Fro m t h ese fanri l y gat h erings however , ,

J a ke a n d h is father were absent Ne v er once .

did th e y cro ss t h e threshold of tl a n sio u

~
2 50 T H E L O S T J EW E L O F T HE M O R TI M E RS .

at Pine Bluff though they were annually i n

,

v i te d to do so Julian had made over to Jake

.

a handsome a n nuity , which the latter freely

accepted , while ope n ly expressing his hatred
of the donor He w as heard of as a n u n
.

scr u pulous and over sharp spe ulator i n stocks

- c

and bid fair , as his grandfather declared to ,

b ec o nre a frequenter of bucket shops and other

shady S peculative resorts Julia n always
.

thought with a kind of regretfu l pity of his

cousin a n d J u lian s mot h er was f u ll of s y m
,
’

pathy for the erring lad and o f te n de p lored

that t h ey could do nothing whatever to
help him .

Sedgwic k received from the estate a very

considerable s u m i ndeed , as had been arranged
by A nsel m Benedict for any co m petitor who
should have passed through many of the tests
a nd acq u itted hi m self honorably upo n all
occasions And Wat was n ot forgotten ; for
.
,

though he had not distinguished hi m self i n

a n y wa y , he had done n othing to forfeit t h e

good opinion of those about him ; and so he

received a su fli ci e nt share of the fortun e to
‘

delight him and his parents .

T h e two cousi ns spent n early al l their holi

da y s winter and summer at the ma nsio n of
, ,
2 52 T H E LO S T J EWE L O F T HE MOR TI M E RS .

and being unable to account for his

sti ti o n ; ,

m y sterious co m ings and goings , had been i n

c li ned to ascribe them to magi c , or at least to

some inexplicable cause whi ch i t was i m

possible to disco ver .

As for the old ma n himself , he had bee n so

long the guardia n spirit of the place and the ,

repository of all its secr ets that he almost ,

fan cied himself to have always existed and to ,

have bee n at Pin e Bluff whe n the ma nsion

was e rected i n the pioneer days of Anselm
Benedict He was seldom distant fro m J u lian
.
,

save whe n the latter was abse n t at college ;

°

and he loved him with a lov e which grad u ally

blended , as Nicholas gr ew extremely aged
and his powers beg un to fail , wit h the wor
shiping tendern ess with which he regarded
A nse l m Benedict To hear his fr a gme n ts of
.

talk it almost see med as if , i n some myste r

,

ious way , J ulia n the you n g and mer ry hearted -

had chan ged pl aces with that brillian t soldier

of other days , who had long si nce mouldered
i nto dust i n the fam il y vault of the M ortimers .

This peculiar ity of N ichol as gave Julian him

self a n u ncann y sensation , which he once
co nfided to Sedgwick .

“
He makes me fe her like a bo y in a
e
. 7 . .
 Jo v A LL ROU N D .

”
fairy book , J u lian declared with a wry face , .

“
Well , you did go through adventures that
”
beat the Wild West tales all hollow , Sedg
‘ ’

wick respo nded .

“
So did y ou , sa id J ulian .

That s so , but I did n t come up to you

’ ’

I did n t climb r ickety stairs nor hear t h e big

’

c l o ck strike and suddenly fi nd myself i n a

wonderfu l roo m Why it s a good deal like

.
,
’

th e A rabia n Nights and I don t wonder the

’
,

old ma n fee l s like h and n y o u bouque ts ever

”
S ince.

“
B ut he n eedn t mix me with Ansel m
’

” “
Benedict replied Julian ; though of co u rse
, , ,

it s a compliment because any fellow would

’
,

be proud to be like h i m I m really fond of

.
’

”
Nicholas , he added h asti ly lest Sed gwick ,

might infer from his remarks anything de

rog atory to that faithful servant .

“
So a m I . He s a first rate old chap ,
’ -

“
agreed Sedgwick cord i ally ; an d he gives us
,
”
n o e n d of a g ood time when we come here .

“
Do you r eme mbe r al l th e names J ake use d
”
to call hi m ? asked J ulian .

”
“
You h a I do ! a n swered Sedg wi ck A n d“
.

I someti m es felt l ike j oini ng i n m y self .

“
We we e all rathe r afraid of him
.
”
.
2 54 T H E LO S T J E W EL OF T HE M O R TI M ER S .

”
No won der curly p ate exclaimed Se dg
, ,
“
wick whe n he co u ld go t h ro u gh t h ick wall s
,

and hear what we said ever y where , a nd th e n

speak at our very elbow ! We had a glorious
ti m e tho u gh Julian ; and I would n t have
, ,
’

”
mi ssed it for an y t h ing .

“ ”
Neither wo u ld I agreed J u li a n , e n th usi
,
“
asti cal l y ,
e v en i f I h ad never fou nd the b id
den room no r t h e los t je wel I don t t h ink .
’

any boys in our ti m e e ver h ad such queer

ex periences .

And they had a g ood ma n y more , a n d very

pleasant ones too T h e y encam ped every
.

s um mer for a few da y s i n the forest N icholas ,

re m aining with t h em and supplying their

e very want T h ey made frequent vi sits to
.

the old wo m an i n th e h u t , who made fres h

scones for the m a n y day the y wis h ed a nd ,

ga v e the m fresh m ilk from her co w T h ey .

became q u ite fa m iliar with the supposed wi l d

ani m al which was indeed wild a n d fie rce
enou gh —an e n or m ous wolf hound of a breed
,

-
, ,

that had bee n kept there fro m fat h er and so n

to terrify lawless intruders Someti m es th e y .

went to t h e b ut of the M ad Hermit whic h ,

was h asten n to deca y with all its c uri ous

,

co nte n ts They heard many quai n t tales of

.
2 56 T H E L O S T J EW EL o n T HE mo a r m ua s
'
.

the a ppe a rance o f Julian or had i n some other

,

way bee n led to suppose that the cavern was

no longer a safe h iding place , it was cer tai n
-

that t h ey n ever v isited thei r former resort ,

whe n ce they had removed all traces of their

presence .

N ichol as however showed the boys his

, ,

way of produci n g w h at the uncout h seafarers

h ad mistake n for the fire of St E l m o ; a nd .
,

with their assistance he set o ff many rockets

, ,

which were see n afar by the country people

and gave rise to a variety of conj ectures .

T he n he ofte n took t h e boys i n h is bo at

,

q u aint and old fa shion ed , but most seaworth y

-
,

and they m ad e many expeditions to places

i n the n eighbor h ood .

So that all th ings con sidered th e mansio n

, ,

at Pine Bluff was a centre of gre a t interest

and happi ness to three young lives at least ;
w h ilst old M r M ortimer learn ed , as it were ,
.

to li v e his life over agai n i n them ; and M rs .

R obert watch ed with pride , but with a never

rel a xing solicitude , the growth a nd de velop
me n t of her idol ized J u lian .

“ ”
I am so a fra id s h e obser ve d to the gr an d
,

father as they sat tog ether i n the library

,
“
before a glowing fire , that my boy s head ’
 10\ A LL ROU N D . 2 57

may be turn ed by success as well as by the

m o wl ed g e that he i s the possessor of a
”
1
rtu ne .

I do n t thi n k an y tr ai n of c irc umstance s

‘ ’

”
will turn his head , answered the grandfat h er ,
“
e m ph atically ; a n d I am sure he would have
bee n just as fine a fellow even i f he had be en
defeated i n t h e q u est He wo u ld have borne
.

his failure like a hero We must ad m it that

.

he at least has earned his good luc k ; b u t y o u

and I kno w, by looking backward , it is far
fro m being t h e best people who most f tc
quently s u cceed .

“ ”
Very far , indeed , sa id M rs R obert .
,
“
thoughtfully B u t I suppose every one gets
.

what is best for him ; and the ideal character

is t h at which suppor ts good and evi l fortune
with equal countenan c e Julia n is I thi n k ,
.

of fi ne metal and n ot easily spoil ed .

Here the two elders were i n terrupted by a

shout fro m without , and J ul ia n cam e r ushing
in , r osy from the n ipping of the frosty air ;
“ ”
and after him came th e oth e r fellows
Se d g wick a n d W at —th e veteran s of many a
,

sham battle i n the n e w falle n snow o n the -

lawn Then , as they dre w n ear to warm

.

themselves i n the blaz e , M rs Robert looke d .

 2 58 T i m LO S T J EW EL on TH E M O RTI M E RS .

at her boy s bright face and hair shining i n

’

t h e fire l i g ht , a n d thought , by a sudde n tur n

of memory , o f the day whe n t h ey were sta rt
ing from their shabby home i n tow n to accept
the grandfather s fi r st i n vitation , and how
’

J u lia n had expressed the hope that there

“ ”
would b e so m e other fellows there to enjoy
the h ospitality of Pine Bluff with hi m Well .
,

here we re the ot h er fellows sta ndi n g side b y

,

side with Julian , swor n friends and g ood

s
comrades of h is for evermore .

It all seemed dreamlike n ow as some of ,

those vision s of the early morn ing touched

with a roseate hue ; a n d the ma n sion at Pine
Blu ff the old gentlema n amon g his books
, ,

were as u nreal as the wonderful thought of

the fortu n e and the ruby , the quest upo n
which these bo y s had entered , a nd i n which
Julia n ca m e forth a victor by the findi n g of
the hidde n room a n d the lost jewel of the
M orti m ers .

T H E EN D .