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•»-4^^

THE LOST JEWEL

OF THS

MORTIMERS.

ANNA T. SADLIER.

ST. LOUIS. MO. 1904.
PablUhed by B. HSBDSK.

17 South Broadway.

I ' I i * *

COFVRIGHT 1904

JOSBPH GUMMBRSBACB.

-BECKTOLD —

PRINTINa AND BCX3K MFC CO.
ST. LOWS, MCW . . .

• • * •
• . ■

CONTENTS.

Chapter. Page.

I. The Mansion at Pine Bluff. ... 5

li. The Reading of the Document. . 19

III. Julian tells his Mother 33

IV. Anselm Benedict 45

V. The First Test and its Results . . 58

VI. A Camp in the Forest 73

VII. The Adv ntures of a Night ... 92

VIII. The Mad Hermit 107

IX. An Afternoon's Adventures . , . 121
yd The Cavern in the Forest .... 138

XI. Among Smugglers 153

XII. To the Rescue 169

XIII. Julian meetJ with Misfortune . . 181

XIV. Before the Third Test ...... aoo

XV. The Final Test 220

XVI. Success at last 235

XVII. Joy all round 247

N^^NuN

"THE LOST JEWEL OP THE MORTIMERS"
IS REPRINTED FROM THE "AVE MARIA"
IN WHICH IT APPEARED AS A SERIAL.

The Lost Jewel of the Mortimers.

Chapter i.

The Mansion at Pine Bluff.

When Julian Mortimer received the invita-
tion to visit his grandfather at Pine Bluff,
near the sea, it was, indeed, an event in his
life; though he by no means understood its
import. He supposed, in his careless boy-
fashion, that the old gentleman had suddenly
grown w ^ry of solitude and had bethought
himself city relatives, who seldom got a
wiiiff of .dit-air or a glimpse of the country.
Hit* •mother, who was better informed, looked
sc ^e-vhat pale and anxious, standing thought-
fully at the window commanding the street,
on the morning fixed for the departure. She
heard Julian announcing the good tidings to
sundry of his boy friends who had not already
heard them:

(5)

6 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"I'm going down to Pine Bluff to my
grandfather's, and I guess I'm going to have
a pretty good time, — I'm sure of it. There's
lets of boating there, and a pony to ride and
a. gun to shoot with."

"Shoot what?" inquired one of his hearers,
with a touch of mockery.

Julian replied, rather vaguely:

"Oh, rabbits, birds, anything! Bother
that carriage! Why doesn't it come? We'll
be late for the train,"

"There's time enough," observed his
mother from the window. "It wants nearly
an hour of train time."

Julian, by way of passing the time, began
to hop up and down the block on one leg,
and presently engaged in a friendly tussle
with his next-door neighbor. Anything was
preferable to keeping still. Meanwhile his
mother at her post of observation was re-
flecting.

"He may find his grandfather rather stern,
and I'm afraid of that matter of the jewel.
I'm sure those tests are dangerous, and — "

Julian interrupted her by a great shout.
The carriage was in sight. Mrs. Mortimer
quietly put on her widow's bonnet and but-

THE MANSION AT PINE BLUFF. 7

toned her coat. She knelt a moment, as was
her habit, to ask for protection on the journey.
Then she gathered up the various small
articles of luggage — the trunks having already
gone, — and preceded her restless son into the
waiting vehicle.

The journey was an uneventful one, and to
Julian rather wearisome; though he flattened
his nose against the pane in the effort to see
everything. But he felt as if he should never
arrive at that mysterious, wonderful end of
the journey, which seemed like a leap into
the future; for he pictured to himself all sorts
of glories in connection therewith. He talked
incessantly — that is, in the intervals of regal-
ing himself with "peppermint chew" or
sucking an orange, — and asked his mother
all manner of questions.

It was afternoon when the first, strong,
pungent whiff of salt-air reached them and
delighted the city boy's nostrils. But it was
dusk when the train drew up with a jerk,
and mother and son found themselves at a
country station, where many others were
alighting too. Vehicles of various kinds stood
waiting, and greetings were shouted to arriv-
ing passengers from groups of loungers on the

8 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

platform. A tall figure in dark green livery
presently stepped up to where Mrs. Mortimer
stood, looking around her uncertainly.

"Mrs. Robert Mortimer?" inquired the
man.

On being answered in the affirmative, he
seized the lady's satchels and led the way to
a handsome family carriage, of somewhat
old-fashioned make. Julian felt quite in awe
of this equipage, as well as of the solemn
coachman, who shut them in as if he were
imprisoning them for life. But when the
splendid pair of horses were once in motion,
going at a rapid pace over a smooth r ad, the
boy could not contain his delight. He thrust
his head out of the window and fairly hur-
rahed to the ocean, as he caught sight of it,
foaming and wave-crested, booming on the
rocky shore, at the foot of the bluff along
which they were driving. His mother had to
restrain him several times, having a whole-
some respect for the grave official on the box.

At last the carriage came to a stone wall,
severely plain and spiked on top with iron
spikes, and drove through a huge iron gatt ;
which with a touch of his whip the coachniau
caused to clang behind them. This gave the

THE MANSION AT PINE BLUFF. 9

mother an uncanny feeling of the closing of
prison gates upon her, but Julian cried:

"Isn't this jolly, mother? It's exactly like
a storybook. I hope there'll be some other
fellows round, though; and then we'll have
a tiptop time."

"There is certainly no 'fellow' at your
grandfather's," replied Mrs. Mortimer, "un-
less he has invited some of the others."

"What others?" inquired Julian, wonder-

ingly.

His mother was silent. The "others"
vaguely referred to the various branches of
her husband's family, with whom, however,
she had no acquaintance. Fortunately, Julian's
attention was distracted by the scarlet berries
of the sumach, and by the squirrels darting
about and curiously eying the equipage as it
swept round the curves of the avenue. On
either side were glorious trees, promising
many a game of hide-and-seek. Julian, with
the eye of a connoisseur, had already selected
certain of the tallest trees, which he meant to
climb on the morrow.

t. His interest was finally absorbed, however,
by the house when it appeared in sight, —
long, low and of colonial fashion, with so

lO THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

many windows, a veranda tunning all about
it, thick ivy concealing its outer walls, and
with a general air of well-being which pleased
and impressed the travellers. As they alighted,
a tall, somewhat florid gentleman, very care-
fully dressed and with the evidences of pros-
perity in his whole appearance, advanced to
the head of the steps, greeting the new ar-
rivals courteously. Immediately in his wake
appeared a trim housemaid, who seized satch-
els and umbrellas and vanished as if she had
been an automaton.

•'Welcome, my dear Mrs. Robert!" ex-
claimed the old gentleman. "And welcome,
Julian!"
»His keen eyes surveyed the fine, manly
figure of his grandson standing before him,
cap in hand, with bright, upturned face, and
fearless eyes of brown, and chestnut curls
clustering close-cut about the head.

"He has an air of being — adventurous,"
commented the grandfather. "Well, we shall
give scope to that sort of thing here; and
really he is very like, very like him/^

Mrs. Mortimer smiled nervously, knowing
the other's meaning.

"He doesn't resemble his father at all,"

THE MANSION AT PINE BLUFF.

went on Mr. Mortimer, — "not in the least."
"No, not in the least," agreed Mrs. Mortimer.
"Hi is exactly the opposite in every respect."

"The better for this quest," remarked the
grandfather, somewhat dryly. "But I am
keeping you sta' ing here. How very
thoughtless! Pray enter!"

He ushered l-otli visitors into an apartment
which tv) Julian appeared the very synonym
for luxury: the lozenged windows, with vivid
yellow panes ; the hard wood floor rug-strewn ;
the piano, the pictures, the easy-cnairs and
divans.

"Rest for a few moments in the morning
room," said the old gentleman. "The maid
will bring you tea aid show you to your
apartments. We shall meet at dinner at half
past seven. We are very punctual here,
Master Julian. "

He shook his finger playfully at the boy,
as if he suspt.'cted him of the opposite quality
of unpunctuality ; but Julian was quite un-
aisturbed by the suggestion, though it brought
a contraction to his mother's smooth brow.

The grandfather havi «5[one, Julian's eyes
grew big and round as stared hard at all
the costly objects about him, walking with

12 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

hands deep in his pockets, and occasionally
giving an involuntary whistle.

"Mother", he said at length, in a somewhat
subdued tone, "it's just like one of those
castles I used to read about 'vhen I was
a kid."

"It is acastie of mystery," said thf: mother,
absently.

"Of mystery?" cried Julian, eagerly catch-
ing at the word.

"I mean that I know so little about it,"
explained the mother evasively. "It always
puzzles me, and so does its master."

"Grandfather?" cried Julian. "Oh, he's
fine, mother! And he has such grand clothes,
and I saw him take out such a watch! I wish
it was dinner-time, so as to see him again,
and hear what he's got to say."

The maid entering with tea cut short
Julian's discourse; and presently she led them
up to a delightful suit of apartments, cheerful
and sunny in daytime, but which just then
were brilliantly lighted with electric lamps.
A great linden thrust its branches in at the
sitting-room window; and on the huge hearth
blazed a fire, for the evenings were chill.
Julian stretched himself full-length on the

TnE MANSION AT PINE BLUFF.

rug, and gave way to quite unusual inaction
as he gazed into ^lie fire. He was lost in
thought, for his mind was already full of
dreams and plans.

His mother, having completed her toilet,
sat lost in thought, till a great gong, resonant
but silvery sweet and clear, rang through the
house, and at the same moment a tall clock,
which Julian had remarked upon the stair-
case, sounded half past cMeven.

"Dinner!" cried Julian, adding that he was
"as hungry as a hunter", and rushing to open
the door and precede his mother downstairs.
When the two approached the drawing-room,
the door was thrown open by a servant, and
they found themselves in presence of the mas-
ter of the house and of three boys, all stand-
ing silently and somewhat uncomfortably
about the stately and gorgeously appointed
apartment.

"Oh, goody!" said Julian to himself.
"There are some fellows here. I wonder who
they are? I guess they must be the 'others'."
For he remembered his mother's phrase. He
gazed at them cheerfully and with interest,
while his grandfather spoke as follows:

"Mrs. Robert and Master Julian, these are

14 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

Masters William Sedgwick, John Jacob, and
Walter Worthington, belonging respectively
to the families of Sedgwick Mortimer, Jacob
Mortimer, and Worthington Mortimer."

They were, indeed, the "others". Mrs.
Robert Mortimer inclined her head and srr^led
at each boy in turn. Julian greeted them all
with easy and cordial good-fellowship, to
which each lad responded according to his
nature. They were all very different, the one ^
from the other, in manners and appearance;
the first named being short, thickset and
freckled; the second, tall, dark and hatchet- V,
faced; the third, blue-eyed, pale and with
nondescript hair.

Mr. Mortimer, taking out the handsome
gold repeater which had so attracted his
grandson's fancy, tapped it significantly,
saying:

**In consequence of this ceremony of intro-
duction, we are exactly five minutes late for
dinner,— quite an unusual occurrence."

He gave his arm to his daughter-in-law,
and the boys all passed in together, in a some-
what sheepish silence, which even Julian did
not feel inclined to break.

Mrs. Mortimer was placed at her father-in-

THE MANSION AT PINE BLUFF.

law's right hand; Sedgwick, the thickset lad,
in virtue of age, sat opposite.

"Julian, I believe, is the youngest," ob-
served the grandfather, eying the boy as he
spoke.

'•I'm fifteen my next birthday," declared
Julian promptly,— at which the other boys
stared; for they stood in awe of the florid old
gentleman and would by no means have
addressed him uninvited.

"Fifteen is quite an advanced age," said
the grandfather, in a tone which somehow
left a slightly disagreeable impression on the
mother's mind. "But it still leaves you,
Master Julian, in the position of the youngest.
Sedgwick is, I am informed, seventeen, John
Jacob sixteen, and Walter Worthington a
month or two younger. But you are still old
enough to take your share of what may be
demanded of you, and to enjoy adventure;
otherwise you should not be here."

As none of the boys understood the mean-
ing of this mysterious speech, they made no
attempt to answer, and silently devoted them-
selves, with an appetite which even the old
gentleman's presence could not subdue, to the
excellent dinner — soup, roast fowls, tender
vegetables, puddings, cakes and fruit.

l6 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

*'To-inorrow morning I will see you all in
the library," said the grandfather, dis rissing
the boys from his presence and courteously
leading his daughter-in-law to the morning
room, where he invited her to seek recreation
in the magazines and light literature strewn
about, or to try some of the new music which
stood temptingly in a stand by the grand
piano. This promised a treat to Mrs. Robert,
who was an excellent musician; but she felt
inexplicably anxious and heavy-hearted, and
could not bring herself to disturb the silence
of the room by any music of hers.

"You will excuse me, I know, — for to-
night at least," said the host. **My evenings
are usually devoted to my books. In my lib-
rary I always find perfectly congenial society,
and so have got into unsocial habits."

His daughter-in-law begged of him to make
no change in his custom on her account, and
felt a very sensible relief when he left her to
her own thoughts.

Meanwhile the boys were out on the lawn,
looking about and talking busily. Julian,
within a few minutes, had inquired of his
cousins what school they went to, what clas-
ses they were in, whether they had got to the

THE MANSION AT PINE BLUFF.

asses' bridge" in geometry, where they
lived, and who were their chums. Sedgwick
was disposed to treat him with good-natured
contempt as a •'kid'' ; John Jacob was reserved
and somewhat moody ; but to Walter Worth-
ington Julian was soon displaying a valued
pocketknife which had got mixed up with the
rosary given to the boy by his teacher, and
on which he faithfully said his beads once a
day. Walter responded with similar marks
of confidence, displaying a hard-wood top,
a fishing line, and d bit of punk, relic of past
fireworks.

•*Rum placv this," grumbled John Jacob.

♦♦Oh, I think it's fine!"

♦♦You do, curly pate,— do you?" laughed
Sedgwick. ♦♦So do I. Wouldn't mind own-
ing it."

♦'lyook here, why do you think it's rum,
John Jacob?" inquired Julian.

♦♦Say, cut that!" retorted the hatchet- faced
one. ♦'Call me Jake. And I think it's rum
because it is."

Though they thus disagreed on one im-
portant point, they very soon joined the others
in a game of leapfrog, till a bell sounded and
a peremptory message came from their grand-

l8 THE LOST JKWKL OF THE MORTIMERS.

father that this was the signal for bed. There
was much grumbling, especially ou the part
of John Jacob. Julian acquiesced with cheer-
ful philosophy; Walter — or, as he had re-
quested to be called, "Wat" — s. i little; and
Sedgwick's growling was toleiauly good-
natured. So night and darkness found Julian
and the ''others" at Pine Bluff with but little
realization of how momentous was the oc-
casion.

Chapter II.
The Reading of the Document.

The following morning brought a summon^
for each boy to the library; and even Juliau
despite his natural fearlessness, felt
timid when he passed within the porti. of
that vast room, sacred to the privacy of old
Mr. Mortimer. That gentleman sat at a table
with a parchment spread out before him.
The document was yellow with age and sealed
with quaint seals. The grandfather looked
paler than his wont, and there was a stem,
hard expression upon his face as he fixed his
eyes intf tly upon each boy in turn. Julian
alone never quailed before him; yet the look
seemed to pierce him through and through,
and an odd feeling came over the lad that
each had been brought there to be tried and
condemned to some unknown sentence.

**I have brought you here," said Mr. Mor-
timer, leaning back in his chair and speaking
with deliberation, "to make known to you

(19)

20 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

a quest, or competition, which the mad
eccentricity of an ancestor has imposed upon
his race."

There was a world of bitterness in the old
man's voice; however, he went on:

"It is true you are not obliged to accept
these conditions. Any one of you may arise,
when he has heard what I have to say, and
Have this room and this house, never to re-
turn. And who knows but that su^h might
not be the wisest course?"

The curiosity of the boys was by this time
at fever heat, but none of them dared to put
a question.

"Nevertheless", he added, "you will prob-
ably decide otherwise; for youth, generally
speaking, is rash, adventurous, full of con-
fidence in its own raw metal, and has little to
do with wisdom."

He paused again, and strange expressions
crossed his face, which an older observer
might have interpreted as anger, self-contempt ,
bitterness and regret; but the listeners were
anxious only to hear the end of this wondrous
narrative.

"I may as well warn you," resumed Mr.
Mortimer, "that I attempted to fulfil these

THE READING OF THE DOCUMENT. 21

conditions and failed; that each of your fathers
failed, — some miserably."

The old man's eyes rested on Julian as he
spoke the last words.

"My father before me failed, his father
failed, and so goes back this absurd tradition
to the fountain-head. And what has this
quixotic whim of our forbear done for his
descendants? It has put enmity between
father and son, set brother against brother.
It has left them all discontented and has pre-
vented legitimate effort in any other direction.
It has occurred to my mind, moreover, that it
may be a myth, a pure invention, an allegory.
The lost jewel of which I am about to read to
you may have no existence. There may be
no hidden room. Now I shall read you the
document, and I must modernize the language
somehow or it will be impossible for you to
follow the visionary's words."

He unfolded the document with a hand
which trembled somewhat; for he vividly re-
called the day upon which he in his youth
had heard that reading, and, with beating
heart and glowing cheek, had vowed never to
rest till he had found the lost jewel of the
Mortimers. Well, he had grown weary soon.

■A

22 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

and had found inglorious ease instead. All
the rest had been beyond him. Adjusting his
gold-rimmed glasses, he began to read, with-
out further comment :

"I, Anselm Benedict Mortimer, being an
exile from my country for the profession of
the Catholic and Roman Faith, and having
for that reason, with my father, crossed the
seas, am desirous that my descendants she aid
be imbued with those qualities of truth, valor,
purity and honor which have been theirs since
the days of chivalry. I do hereby bequeathe
to that one amongst them who shall discover
what shall henceforth be known as the lost
jewel of the Mortimers — it is a ruby of ex-
ceeding great price, of unusual size and col-
oring, — the finder of the stone shall come into
possession of large sums of money variously
invested, with all accumulations thereupon;
and, after the death of the occupant then in
possession, shall become the owner of the
mansion of Pine Bluff, built by my father on
first coming to these colonies.

"But the discovery of this jewel, which is
concealed in a hidden room, can not be made
without much diligence and courage; and the
seeker must undergo ordeals which shall

THE READING OF THE DOCUMENT. 2$

develop manliness, fortitude, endurance, with
a habit of truthfulness. For being discovered
in a single falsehood shall disqualify him for
the quest; and his conduct must be in imita-
tion of those knights who were enrolled in the
Order of Chivalry.

"Till the jewel be discovered, the aforesaid
mansion shall remain in possession of the
eldest son of the eldest branch. But even if
he have heirs direct, he must relinquish it to
him who finds the jewel. Meanwhile he shall
have sufficient monies to maintain him in
comfort, and, if he will, in the luxury befit-
ting his station.

"The eldest son of each branch may alone
enter the competition; nor may any younger
brother be substituted in his place; nor shall
it take place until the youngest competitor
has attained his fifteenth year. The list of
ordtais through which the seekers must pass
are here subjoined, but need not be told to
them in detail until they shall have entered
upon the qu-st. Let them but understand
that their courage, fortitude and manliness
shall be put to severest tests."

Here ended the reading of the document,
and the boys looked at one another. To

24 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

Julian, at least, it seemed as if the twentieth
century had faded away, and as if the grim,
wainscoted library were a chamber in some
enchanted castle. The books themselves
seemed spectral, and the grandfath-r a power-
ful enchanter. The possession of the ruby or
of the wealth which accompanied it did not
appeal very much to Julian: it was the prom-
ised adventures which fairly turned his head;
the thought of seeking for a lost jewel and a
hidden room through unknot. ii dangers and
thrilling experiences. True he began to re-
member how frequently his mother had been
in sore straits for money to meet all expenses,
to pay for his education and to keep him
clothed and fed. It would be a fine thing to
have a lot of money to give her, and the
jewel too, and to let her live in this beautiful
house forever.

He looked about him: the other boys were
plainly excited. The hatchet-faced boy was
leaning forward, his eager gaze fixed upon the
parchment. Sedgwick tapped his foot ner-
vously upon the floor, as though he were eager
to start that moment upon the quest. Wat's
pale face glowed with excitement.

"You will have till to-morrow morning,"

THE READING OF THE DOCUMENT.

said Mr. Mortimei, "to decide whether you
will accept or not."

"Of course we'll accept, sir!" cried Julian,
enthusiastically.

"What! Can it be you are a mammon-
worshiper already. Master Julian?" asked the
grandfather, with that peculiar intonation in
his voice which always brought a contraction
to the smooth brow of Julian's mother.

"Oh, it will be such splendid fun, sir!"
Julian answered.

The old gentleman elevated his eye-brows.

"It is the chance of a lifetime," broke in
John Jacob, excitedly, "to get rich in an
instant!"

His voice rang through the room, clear and
metallic, with a vibrant eagerness in it strange
in one so young.

"You, John Jacob, are oblivious to the fun,
I perceive," said the grandfather. "What are
.</o«r views, Sedgwick?"

"Oh, I say, sir," replied the oldest of the
]\Iortimers, "no one in his senses would give
up such a chance. And, then, the adven-
tures!"

"You seem ' > unite the practical and the
romantic. How about Walter Worthington?"

26 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

**I only wish I were bigger and stronger, —
that's all!" cried the pale boy. "But, anyway,
I'll try even if it kills me."

"It has killed some before now," warned

the grandfather. "But youth must take its

own wild way, I suppose. However, you have

till to-morrow morning to think it over. If

after the night's reflection you are still of the

same mind, you will be enrolled in the band

of fortune-seekers, and will very shortly begin

your hunt for the hidden room and the lost

jewel, as they are somewhat incorrectly called.

I should be inclined to reverse the title and

speak of the lost room and the hidden jewel

— if, indeed, either one or the other exists."

I The coldly doubting cynicism with which

he spoke of the possible non-existence of the

room and the treasure, had no effect on the

sanguine spirits of the boys. They were

presently out upon the lawn, talking at the

top of their voices, arguing, speculating;

already examining the fagade of the mansion

for traces of the hidden room; and prepared,

had the word been given, to enter upon any

ordeal or inaugurate in any way whatever

that wonderful series of adventures.

"Of course if I ^et it," said Julian, "I'll
divide with the rest of you."

ill

THE READING OF THE DOCUMENT.

"No, no," answered John Jacob, who had
convinced himself that he, and he alone,
must find the jewel, "there's to be no di-
vision." >

"Find the ruby first, and then we'll see
about the rest," observed Sedgwick, dryly.

"I know I won't get it," said Walter, des-
pondingly; "but I mean to try."

"Cheer up, sonny!" urged goodnatured
Sedgwick. "You'll gain nothing by being
downhearted."

"Even if none of us find anything," put in
Julian, "we'll have lots of fun."

"And cor ; in for some hard knocks, curly
pate," said Sedgwick, who commended the
lad's spirit in taking an easy and cheerful
view of the situation.

"Who cares!" cried Julian. "But I wish
it were to-morrow. It seems a week off."

"And so we all began," commented the
grandfather. He was leaning against the
library window, which commanded a view of
the lawn. Beside him stood his daughter-in-
law, who had come to ask him what it all
meant, and if her son were to be permitted to
tell her of his share in the famous Mortimer
secret. He reassured her upon this point.

28 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"I shall certainly advise Julian to give you
every detail."

"He is sure to tell me," the mother
answered, "unless he were forbidden to do so.
He has never concealed a thought from me
in his life."

The old gentleman regarded her with his
inscrutable smile.

"He is unlike his father," he observed.

"The very opposite in every way," agreed
Mrs. Mortimer. "His father often, with a
view to spare me, withheld confidences,
which it would have been better had he
given me "

"Are you in favor of your boy undertaking
this quest?"

"That I can answer better when I know
more. Of course I have the general know-
ledge that in each generation there is some
test or ordeal, which the oldest son in the
various branches undertakes; but further than
that I know little."

"It has been a sad business altogether,"
declared the grandfather. "Some, as you
know, went down to the grave sadly dis-
appointed, ever yearning for that unattained
treasure. Others, again, wandered away into

THE READING OF THE DOCUMENT. 29

the by-paths of life, embittered and discon-
tented; while others did as I have done, and
I suppose were not much the worse for it.
After an attempt to fulfil a few of the con-
ditions, I dropped out of the contest, and
simply put the matter '>ut of my mind.
Never has any one succeeded, and for my
part I do not believe that success is possible,
for the simple reason that the prizes offered
do not exist at all, in my opinion."

"As far as I am concerned, I would rather
he had nothing to do with it," said Mrs.
Mortimer. "I would keep him far, far in-
deed, from all danger. But it might not be
the best thing for the boy. Effort is a great
thing; endurance — "

Here she was interrupted by the voice of
Julian crying:

♦'Mother, mother, where are you?"

Excusing herself to Mr. Mortimer, the
mother hurried to where Julian stood waiting,
breathless.

*'I have been upstairs and downstairs look-
ing for you," he said. "I want to tell you
all about everything. It's the queerest story
you ever heard. There's a lot of money and
a jewel shut up in a hidden room, and we'll
have all sorts of adventures looking for them . ' '

t.'

30 THE LOST JEWFX OF THE MORTIMERS.

"Let US go up to our rooms, dear," replied
his mother in her cahr. way; "and then you
can tell me quietly without jumbling your
words."

"All right, mother!" agreed Julian, and
together they mounted the broad stairs, past
the tall clock which ticked away the hours so
solemnly. "I wish it would go faster!" Julian
exclaimed, staring at the timepiece as he
passed. "I want it to be to-morrow, till we
get enrolled and begin the adventures."

"You will begin soon enough," sighed Mrs.
Mortimer.

"It will be such splendid fun!" cried Julian.
"All the other fellows are wild about it too.
I'm going to get up at dawn."

"You're very brave oversight," smiled his
mother.

Just as they entered their apartments,
Julian, carrjing out a train of thought in his
own mind, observed:

"John Jacob cares most about the jewel and
the money, but I guess all the others want
the adventures even more."

Mrs. Mortimer's face contracted as, with
sudden pain, she thought of another besides
John Jacob to whom those mysterious prizes

THE REAniNO OF TIIK DOCIMKNT. 31

had become as an absorbing dream, haunting
him day and night.

"Of course it would be aW right to get the
money; wouldn't it, mother?" Julian in-
quired.

His mother regarded him with a new
anxiety. What if avarice should seize upon
that noble soul to blight and wither it? But
no: the face, open, sunny, fearless, reassured
her. She drew a chair to the hearth, and
motioned Julian to come near her.

"Money, dear boy, is a great power for
good and can never be despised. But, O my
son, the passion for it has wrought more harm
than all else in this weary world!"

"I don't care much for it myself," said
careless Julian, — "as long as a fe'low has
enough to eat and some clothes to wvar. But
you can do a lot of things with it, I suppose.
O mother, I wish it were to-morrow! And I
do wonder what adventure we shall have
first?"

Julian threw himself down upon the rug as
he spoke, and rested his curly head against
his mother's knee; and there were a few
moments of deep silence, during which the
boom of the sea was heard beating fiercely
against the rocks.

3a TIIK LOST JI-WKL OF TIIK MORTIMERS.

Presently the mother's voice broke the still-
ness of the room;

"Well, now, Julian, tell me all about it."

Chapter IL.

Julian Tells His Mother.

••First, mother," began the boy, ''there's
some old man— I think he's old, anyway—
and he said he was an exile from his countr}-
for the Faith. Now, that's fine, mother.
I'd rather like to be an exile fcr my religion.
But he left a jewel— a great, big ruby— and a
lot of money to any fellow that can find the
stone. For it's lost in a hidden room, and—"
"Did you say any fellow?"
"Oh, any of us— the oldest boy in each
branch of the Mortimers! And we've all got
to look for it— Sedgwick, Jake, Wat and I.
Won't it be fun? There's to be lots of ad-
ventures, and the old chap wants us to do all
kinds of things that are hard and pretty dan-
gerous."

Mrs. Mortimer's face paled and she sat very
still and rigid, her eyes fixed upon the fire;
while Julian, who had knelt up beside her in
his excitement, watched her with glowing
cheeks and eager gaze.

34 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"Did he say what his reason was for mak-
ing all these conditions?" she asked presently.

*'Oh, yes! He said he wanted his descen-
dants to have truth and honor and fortitude
and a lot of other things; and he thought
having to work so hard for the jewel and the
money would be good for us."

"Ah!" said Mrs. Mortimer. "That puts it
in a new light. I thought it was, perhaps,
some evil genius who had resolved to put a
curse upon his descendants,"

"Jake says he's a bloke, but I think he's
fine, mother. I liked his letter ever so
much."

"Since his intentions are good, it alters
things," said Mrs. Mortimer. "And it seems
to me that the descendants themselves have
only to keep in the right path to succeed, by
the blessing of God. But they'll need that."

"Yes. Father Wallace at the college used
to say: 'Get God's blessing on what you're
going to do, and then go ahead'."

"Yes, that is the true spirit. And I would
wish you to go into this contest as St. George
went to conquer the dragon. We love to read
of glorious ones like him. Think of his splen-
did courage, and how he went, lance in rest,
straight for that horrible foe."

JULIAN TELLS HIS MOTHER.

The mother, pausing, cast a loving look at
the bright, brave face before her, and the
chestnut curls glistening in the dancing fire-
light.

"But", she continued, "there are other
heroes — many of them — who have never
mounted a steed nor ridden over any plain
nor worn shining armor nor carried burnished
spear; and it is the very qualities they pos-
sessed that your ancestor wishes you to
acquire."

Mrs. Mortimer was excited, carried out of
herself by this new crisis in her son's life.
Supposing the jewel and the fortune to be
real — and, despite her father-in-law's coldly
doubting words, she believed in them, — suc-'^
cess in the quest would open out a noble_
prospect for her Julian. And while her
mother's heart qiiaik^ at thought of the
dangers through v/hich her darling would
have to pass, she reflected that nothing worth
liaving wn.s ever obtained without effort, and
that danger was everywhere around. The
adventures would be a tonic and a stimulant
to future effort. If, in the eagerness of the
moment, she remembered the boy's father,
who had wrecked hiviifa on what he lived to

I
r

36 THE LOST JKWb:L OK THE MORTIMERS.

call a fool's quest, it w^s to console herself
with the assurance that Julian was of another
mould, and, moreover, completely under her
influence.

"If you go into this contest, then, Julian,
it must be with a noble motive. The merely
commercial spirit by which you tell me John
Jacob is possessed will never carry you through
such an undertaking, nor will your own mere
love of fun be any better. By catching the
spirit of your ancestor and striving to carry
out his wishes, you will gain much even if
you fail."

The boy's face grew earnest as he listened.
Under all his careless gayety of manner he
was full of fine feeling, and whatever was
high and noble always appealed to him.

"You must be like the knights of old, my
dear. I have often read to you about them."

"Yes, they were splendid fellows. I guess,
mother, it would be pretty hard for us boys
to be like them."

"Not so hard as you think. You have only
to try. Think it well over before you give
your answer to-morrow, and try to feel as the
knights used to fee] .wheu they were entering
the Order of Chivalij» 4*hen if you choose
to accept the conditions— r' ' . . .

JULIAN TELLS HIS MOTHER.

"Of course I'll accept, mother!"

"To be sure you will, rash boy!" laughed

his mother. "But try, at least, to look upon

the affair as something more than a frolic."
After that there was silence. The mother

did not believe in too much preaching.

When she spoke again, it was to inquire of

Julian :

"Which of your new companions do you
like best?"

"Well, let me see! Sedgwick has the best
muscle: we were trying out there, and he's a
good fellow. Little Wat hasn't much muscle,
but I like him even if he is a bit girlie and
always wishing to be big and strong."

"What about John Jacob?" asked the
mother.

Julian hesitated. Something in the last-
named boy jarred upon Julian's perfect honesty
and openness of character.

"Jake's all right, I guess," he answered,
doubtfully. "But— well, he laughs at fellows,
and he likes to be very smart, and he says he
knows more than his father by a heap. He's
cocksure of finding the jewel, because he'll
play some tricks and get out of adventures
that are too hard. I told him I didn't think

38 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

ill
1 i

that was quite .straight, and he snatched off
my cap and ran away with it, calling me
•Julia!' "

Now, this was an offence which Julian
could ill brook — but he suddenly remembered
that he was telling tales.

"I didn't mean to talk about it. Of course
he was only in fun. But I was just trying to
describe what he's like."

"He is very like one who will overreach
himself with his cunning," said Mrs. Mor-
timer. "But all yon have to do is to go
straight yourself, and not heed what others
do."

"That's so," agreed Julian. "Every fellow's
got to stand on his own feet. And I told
Jake he'd better let my cajj alone in future,
and myself too, or I'd make him."

His mother was amused at the boy's pug-
nacity.

"Keep y^ur energies for the quest," she
said smilingly. Then, as she regarded Julian's
handsome face, her mother-love awoke and
with it a very passion of fear. "O my dar-
ling," she cried, "what if this quest should
take you from me, or blight your beautiful
life?"

JULIAN TELLS HIS MOTHER.

She seized him iu her arms and held him
close pressed to her, great lad as he was; and
he returned her embrace with his boyish
bpar's hug.

"Dearest little mother," he cried, "'nothing
will ever take me away from you; and I'll
always love you anyhow, and do what you
want!"

The firelight shut in mother and son as in
a charmed circle, ruddy and burnished. The
sea boomed outside at the foot of Pine Bluff,
and on the stairs the great clock tolled mid-
night.

"Hurrah!" exclaimed Julian. "It's to-
morrow ! ' '

"Dear me, yes; and here you've never been
to bed! Hurry off at once; aaid, O my boy,
my boy, whatever happens, be true to your-
self and to God!"

"I will!" answered the lad solemnly,
standing still a moment, the ruddy firelight
glowing upon his face, his head thrown back
and his mouth smiling.

"My brave young knight, I believe you
will," said the mother. "And now to sleep,
darling! And try not to dream of dangers."

"Perhaps I'll dream where the ruby is,"

40 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

said Julian, as he vanished through the door.
"I read a story like that once."

He was gone, and the mother heard his
feet pacing up and down in the adjoining
room, while his mind was full of dreams and
hopes, and of that wonderful morning which
seemed so far away. His head was scarcely
on the pillow, though, when he fell asleep,
and never dreamed at all, but woke to see the
sun shining in, a broad ribbon across the
floor, and heard the shrill voice of John Jacob
already upon the lawn. Julian was out of bed
in a moment, and hurried through his toilet,
rushing down at last with bounding step and
beating heart, the very picture of a healthy,
happy boy.

•'Halloo, Jake!" he cried from the door,
putting his hand trumpet-wise to his mouth
to give a lusty shout.

"Halloo!" answered Jake, who was busy
poking amongst the weeds on the Bluff, as if
he had begun the search on his own account.
"I thought you were to be up at dawn."

•'I never woke," laughed Julian; "and of
course mother didn't call me. How did you
get up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep," Jake answered, shortly.

JULIAN TELLS HIS MOTHER.

"And it isn't so very early. It's near eight."

"Near eight? Where are the others?"

"Snoozing, I suppose, as you were," said
Jake. "I gue.'S I'll beat you all easy enough,
if you go on at that pace."

"Don't crow too loud!" exclaimed Sedg-
wick's i)Ieasant voice from the brushwood.
"I was up a good sight before you, Jakey."

Jake, .somewhat taken aback, growled out
an inarticulate word or two, and went at the
weeds with greater energy than ever.

"Looking for an underground cave?" in-
quired Sedgwick.

"No, I'm not!" retorted Jake, — getting very
red, however. "I'm trying to pass the time
till breakfast's ready."

"I've a bit of an appetite myself," said
Sedgwick. "I've been down to the shore.
I could eat yoii^ curly pate, boots and all."

"Try on Wat!" laughed Julian, as Walter
appeared, looking paler and more sallow than
ever.

"He's not such a tempting morsel as you
are," answered Sedgwick.

"Don't try to be too funny," put in Jake.
"But I .say there's the gong!"

"Goody!" cried Julian, beginning to run.

i ,i

42 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

while the silvery notes of tiie summons to
breakfast still floated out over the lawn. * 'I'm
starving too."

So in they all trooped to a substantial break-
fast; their grandfather, who sat stately at the
head of the table, sayinp not a word of the
events of the day before nor of the days to
come; but helping everyone to cold ham or
bacon and egg, to radishes, toast or tea, as if
such momentous questions as the search for
a fortune had never been under consideration.
He joked with each boy in turn after his
peculiar fashion; and it was only when he
stood up from table that he requested all to
be in attendance in the library half an hour
later.

"As if we've thought of anything else!"
whispered Jake.

'Except breakfast!" added Sedgwick.

'Half an hour seems a good while to wait,"
observed julian. "Let's do something to pass
the time. Let's play tag."

Now, this proposal seemed rather beneath
the elder boys' dig.iity; but presently they
relaxed and went at it hard and fast, their
voices borne upward nito the tall trees, and
downward to mingle with the hoarse voice of
the waves.

(('

t»i

JULIAN TELLS HIS MOTHER.

A few moments before the time appointed
Mrs. Mortimer called Julian to her and bade
him kneel for that space in the solitude of his
room, to ask for the blessing he desired, and
to resolve that he would be brave and strong
and full of endurance. So that he entered
the library with a feeling different from any
of the rest — assured that he had put the mat-
ter on a solid basis and was relying on a
strength greater than his own.

The library looked much less sombre than
on the preceding day. A long window open-
ing to the floor let in floods of sunshine, which
lay on the green carpet as though on a sward.
The books seemed to wear a bright and
friendly aspect, and even the grandfather was
smiling cheerily. He sat back in his chair
and greeted each boy with a nod and a laugh-
ing word. But it was not in the library that
the final agreement was to be made, or the
conditions to be laid down for the contest.
So presently Mr. Mortimer, arising, said:

"I will now lead the way to the west wing,
that you may enter the competition and be
enrolled in the adventurous band of fortune-
seekers in the presence of Anselm Benedict
himself."

t-.

44 THK LOST JEWKL OF THE MORTIMERS.

The boys were startled at the idea of being
admitted into the presence of a man dead for
about two hundred years. But they made no
sign, and obediently followed their stately
relative through long corridors, hitherto un-
visited, toward the west wing, a part of the
house which was never used.

At last the grandfather turned abruptly into
what he called the west wing and paused
before an oaken door, curiously carved in
many a quaint device. The old man's voice
trembled as he threw wide the heavy portal
and motioned across the threshold.

"Now, lads, who enters here has entered
upon the quest."

With one accord the boys followed him
into the room.

Chapter IV.
Ansklm Bknedict.

The boys, having crossed the threshold,
found theniselve;; in a spacious chamber,
wainscoted and h.ng with gorgeous tapestry.
Its furniture was of most ancient fashion.
The chairs, stra'jht and high-backed, had
carved legs, representing the claws of ani-
mals. There was no carpet upon the floor,
which was of highly polished oak. In the
center of the room stood a massive table, so
heavy and substantial that it might have been
made from some monarch of the forest; it was
piled with all manner of curious objects. The
windows were stained and mullioned. Ovei
the whole place hung an indescribable air of
mysteiy — the enchantment of the past. It
was precisely like a page out of Scott, while
some romance of the Middle Ages seemed to
lurk in every one of its corners.

The grandfather stood still a moment, look-
ing round him; then he said:

(45)

46 THK LOST JKWF.T, OK TJIK MOilTIMKRS.

"I am now about to ititrodtjcc you to An-
selni Benedict himself."

Advancing to the very end of the room, he
touched a spring in one of the tapestried pan-
els. Instantly a door flew open, displaying
an alcove richly liung with tapestry of velours,
and displaying a figure which caused every
boy to start. So cleverly was the portrait ar-
ranged that it seemed as if the personage
represented were really alive and might at
any instant begin to speak.

Julian's first startled feeling gave place to
one of profound astonishment.

"Why, I thought he was old," he ex-
claimed, involuntarily; "and instead he's
young and handsome!"

The boyish voice sounded oddly out of
place in that apartment, heavy with the shad-
ows of the past, and it gave Julian himself
a creepy feeling.

Handsome that mysterious ancestor un-
doubtedly was; straight and tall as an arrow;
with a sensitive face, full of fire and passion;
eyes whose strange depths thrilled even the
least impressionable of the boys ; curling
locks falling loose over the shoulders; and a
mouth that expressed courage and tenderness.

: k

ANSKLM nnNF.DKT

as well as scorn for what was mean or base or
cowardly.

"He's just splendid!" said Jnlian.

John Jacob was busy appraising the severe-
ly plain but rich habiliments, the fall of costly
lace at neck and wrists; while Sedgwick was
most occupied with the sword, so richly
jewelled at the hilt.

Walter whispered to Julian:

•'He has awful eyes! They scare nie like
v> "'thing!"

. mtime the grandfather stood regarding
the portrait with a cynical smile, as if he were
an enchanter who had brought this splendid
figure from out the past, and was scornful of
hih own power. After a moment or two of
silence, Mr. Mortimc. began to address his
ancestor as follows:

"So, Anselm Benedict, your face is once
more uncovered to the light, pnd a new gen-
eration—shall I say *of vjur victims'?— are
arrayed before you. These like the others,
are full of mad daring, e^ger to fulfil your
commands and certain of success. You best
know if success is possible."

It seemed as if the proud dark eyes of the
pictured youth answered the old man's taunts

^ .:'.tf.'iK

48 THE LOST JEVVKL OF THE MORTn.ERS.

with defiance, whereas in the voice of the
living man there was a deep bitterness against
the dead.

"Yes, there you are, after two hundred
years or more; and your influence is still
ui^on us. There, you are about to enroll in
your service these four young lives. What
will you make of them, Anselm Benedict ?
What has your mad whim made of your
descendants?"

The speaker seemed to have forgotten for
the moment the presence of his four young
listeners, who looked from him to the portrait
with interest and curiosity.

"I shall, however, do my part, since you
have imposed upon each occupant of this
mansion the duty of seeing yonr commands
enforced and your wishes made known to all
who seek to enter upon the competition."

Having thus addressed the portrait, he
turned to the boys.

"To-night you will fulfil the first con-
dition. Each one of you in turn must spend
an uour after midnight here, alone, with
Anselm Benedict. Face to face with him,
you shall look into the very depths of your
own nature, and discover if you have thr*

■M

ANSELM BENEDICT.

qualities necessary for success in tins quest,
and if you are determined to pursue it."

Now, this was not precisely the sort of ad-
venture upon which any of the boys had
counted, and not one amongst them relished
it. Walter Worthington grew pale to the
very lips. Sedgwick shifted uneasily from
one foot to another and thrust his hands deep
into his pockets. John Jacob looked per-
turbed and a frown darkened his hatchet face;
while Julian revived his own courage by
promising himself to get his mother to say
her beads for him. His sagacious mind began
to reflect:

"He was a good man, this Anselm Bene-
dict, or he wouldn't have been exiled for the
Faith; and he wants us to be good, because
he said so in his letter. So he won't do us
any harm. Besides, courage is one of the
things that he thinks his descendants should
have."

Meantime the grandfather was watcaig
the boys, and smiling with deep and some-
what contemptuous amusement. He saw,
after all their eagerness to begin and their
defiance of difficulties and dangers, how little
this first test was to their liking.

50 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"The service of this Anselm Benedict is
not precisely a summer frolic, my lads," he
observed; "and you will have to obey his
commands very exactly indeed, or give up all
chance of finding the ruby and the fortune.
Therefore. Sedgwick, as soon as the clock in
the hall tolls midnight, you will be brought
to this place by a messenger, and here remain
till one o'clock At that hour John Jacob
will take your place. At two it will be the
turn of Walter Worthington; and last of all
Master Julian will be led here by one specially
appointed for the task."

A thrill ran through his auditors as each
one was cited thus to appear in the silence
and ghostliness of night. It was like a sum-
mons to a secret tribui-M, where the thoughts
and feelings of each one should be made
manifest.

"Am I right, Anselm Benedict?" inquired

the grandfather.

And it seemed as if t .king eyes of

the portrait made answer.

"Yes."

"Now, go out, all of you, down to the
shore," said the grandfather. "Keep your
nerves steady for to-night. You, Julian, need

ANSELM BENEDICT.

not be anxious about your mother, as I shall
take her out to drive with me. And you will
be notified in due time to assemble here to
learn the second test."

He waved his hand in dismissal, and they
all trooped off, rather a silent and preoccupied
band of boys at first. It seemed as if the
shadow of that fatal competition had already
shut them in. However, they rallied a good
deal when they reached the shore. The salt
air brought color to their cheeks and a sparkle
to their eyes, as they grouped themselves
upon a huge rock, looking out seaward and
discussing the situation. John Jacob had
very little to say. He was busy revolving in
his own mind if it would be possible to shirk
this ordeal, which he particularly dreaded,
and to cover up the deception successfully.

Julian was the first to recover his cheerful-
ness. He began to roll about in the sand,
to gather pebbles and send them splashing
out to scare the sea gulls; then he took off
his shoes and stockings, so that he might
walk close to the water and let the incoming
waves roll over his feet. After a while Sedg-
wick joined him, and the pair had a royal
time, racing over the sand, dabbling in the

t! i-

52 THE LOST JKWKL OF THK MORTIMERS.

water, and indulging in impromptu wrestling
matches. John Jacob meanwhile lay back
upon the sand, staring up at the sky, full of
his own plans; and Walter wandered dispir-
itedly up and down, kicking at the sand with

his toe.*

"Halloo you fellows!" cried Sedgwick.
"If you knock under at the very first blow,
you'd better chuck the whole busines-."

"The letter told us at once we'd have to
be brave," added Julian. "Of course we
didn't exactly think of that kind of bravery,
but I guess we'll get through somehow, and
it's no use worrying beforehand. The next
thing we have to do m£.y be easier."

"Confound him for an old bloke!" cried
John Jacob. "What does he want to keep us
up all night for?"

"I'm afraid Til never get through the
hour," lamented Walter.

"Well, you sec, fellows, it's got to be
done," remarked practical Sedgwick, "or you
may as well bid good-bye to the stone and the
fortune."

"I'll never do that," said John Jacob,
springing up and pacing restlessly about, —
"not if I die for it."

ANSELM BENEDICT.

"So say we all!" chimed in Julian, taking
off his cap and waving it in the air. "Hurrah
for the jewel and the hidden room!"

A strange and startling thing followed; for
his wo/ds seemed to be repeated clearly and
distinctly from within the solid rock beside
which the boys were gathered. They all
turned and stared as if the rough granite
would reveal the secret. But no: it stood
stern and gray in its mighty strength, jutting
away out into the water, where the waves
churned themselves into white froth around
its base.

"I guess it's an echo of some sort," sug-
gested Sedgwick. "But it sounded mighty
queer."

"Mighty queer, indeed!" muttered John
Jacob. "I don't half like how things go
around this place."

There were tears of positive alarm in Wal-
ter's eyes. He could not trust his voice to
speak.

"Of course it was an echo!" cried Julian,
rallying his courage. "Hurrah, I say, for
Anselm Benedict and the lost jewel of the
Mortimers!"

Again the words came back clearly and

54 THE LObl JKtVEI. OF THE MORTIMERS.

distinctly, though with a hollow and sepul-
chral sound.

"Well! I won't try it again," said Julian.
"We've had enough of that. I vote that we
go back to the house."

The vote was carried. Bright as was the
sunshine, wholesome and pure the air, the
boys seemed to have lost their taste for the
shore; and they went back to the house, sit-
ting upon the veranda, very gravely and
quietly for them, discussing the one absorbing
topic of the night-watch.

"I wonder what we'll think of it to-morrow
morning'" said Julian. "It's bound to be
ghostly and all that. But it's rather thrilling,
the sort of thing the hero does in tales of ad-
venture; and he always comes out all right."
"If we could go all together!" put in
Walter.

"It wouldn't be much of a test it we could
do that, sonny!" Sedgwick exclaimed, some-
what contemptuously

John Jacob was silently pondering in his
own mind on the possibility of slipping
through the servant's hands and not going
into the room at all.

"What do servants care about tests?" he

ANSELM BENEDICT.

thought. ♦'! can slip down again at two
o'clock, and when he unlocks the door get in
behind him."

John Jacob was so elated with this plan
that he quite recovered his good humor, and
chuckled to himself till Julian asked:
"Halloo, Jake, what's the joke?"
"I'm laughing at the idea of us fellows
being in such a pickle about nothing. What
IS it to stay in an empty room for an hour!"
Julian's opinion of his cousin's courage rose
considerably. Je was quite impressed by his
boldness, and frankly said so. But Sedgwick
remarked, rather dryly:

"I hope you're laughing hardest at your-
self; for you were the most scared of all when
you heard what we had to do, and when that
echo came out of the rock."

"I wasn't either," contradicted Jake. "Wat
was scared nearly out of his wits."

"We were all pretty badly frightened this
afternoon," said Julian. "I feel creepy about
it yet and about to-night. You must have a
lot of pluck, Jake."

•'I have a level head," said that worthy,
enigmatically; "and I guess we'd better try
to put the whole business out of our minds
till the time comes."

56 Tine LOST JEWEL OF THE JfORTLMERS.

This l^eing good advice, all four tried hard
to follow it and to forget the evil hour which
awaited them.

Mr. Mortimer and his daughter-in-law had
been absent all day, having driven over to a
neighboring villa. ?. It was quite dark when
they returned, a. d Julian's mother went
straight to her ro

When nine o'clock came, the grandfather
despatched the boys to bed. Julian, going
upstairs, found his mother very pale, with
traces of tears on her face, and dressed for
out of doors.

"What is the matter, mother dearest?
Wliere are you going in the dark?"

"Julian, dear lad, I have to leave you.
Your grandfather declares that my continued
presence here would give you an advantage
over the other boys. John Jacob has no
mother, and the others cannot be spared from
home. I think he is right, Julian. You must
stand on an equal footing with the rest."

"I will go with you, mother, and give up
the whole job. What do I care for rubies or
money ! ' '

"No," said his mother. "Having under-
taken this quest, it is best for you to pursue

ANSELM BKNEDICT.

it to the end, if possible. You must not begin
life with a failure."

"If only you could stay!"

"Since I can not, I commit you to the care
of our Mother in heaven; and I leave you
prayer as your best weapon. In it you will
find strength and all else you need."

As she spoke there was a sound of wheels
without.

"The carriage come forme!" she declared;
and the mother held her boy in a close em-
brace, letting her tears mingle with his.

When Julian was left alone, he knelt and
prayed with all the fervor of his boy's heart.
It reminded him of the time when he was
planning to steal away to be a martyr in China
or Japan, and of the struggle it cost him to
thmk of leaving his mother. She had, hap-
pily, discovered his intentions, and advised
him to wait till he was growii up.

He got into bed, very lonely and miserable.
But he soon fell asleep, and was awakened by
the clock tolling twelve. He remembered
that Sedgwick was just then being led into
the west wing, and for a time he tossed about
excitedly. Presently, however, he dozed off
again; and was aroused this time by the
strangest figure he had ever seen.

Chapter V.

Thk First Tkst and its Results.

The strange figure standing beside Jnlian's
bed when he awoke was that of a tall man,
who seemed in the dim light to be quite
gigantic. His face was pale and withered
and covered with a close network of wrinkles;
his hair was powdered in the fashion of a
bygone age, and tied in a queue at the back;
and his dress was a costly but out-of-date
livery, with knee-breeches id shoe-buckles.
This personage stood intently regarding the
bov, through whose mind flashed the question:

'Can this be Anselm Benedict himself
grown old, or magically preserved these two
hundred odd years?"

Presently a harsh, metallic voice, which
sounded weird and unnatural at that hour of
the night, broke the stillness.

'•Arise: your time has come. The time-
piece without strikes three."

Julian obeyed as in a dream, the old man
(58)

THE FIRST TEST AND ITS RESULTS. 59

leaving him while he dressed; and as they
went down the .road staircase, the boy caught
a brief glimpse of a wild: haggard face star-
ing out at him from a doorway. Julian
shuddered.

"If Jake, who was so brave in the after-
noon, looked like that, the test must be
awful."

But he cl-isped his rosary close and prayed
to our Heavenly Mother to help him; and, so
praying, passed through the dread portal,
being firmly impelled across the threshold
with surprising strength of arm by his ancient
guide. He found himself in darkness, save
where the brigtt rays of electric light shone
full upon the alcove and brought out with
startling effect the face and figure of his an-
cestor. Surely that was the countenance of
a living man! Those eyes, looking into his
with fire and tenderness, belonged to a real
man; that half-scornful, half-tender smile
al'^at the lips would broaden into a laugh, or
harden into sternness. Some such bewildered
thoughts were passing through Julian's miud,
as he watched willi boyish gaze, startled, yet
full of eagerness.

He was afraid with that strange, creepy,

6o THE LOST JKVVKL OK THE MORI IMKRS.

shtKldcriujj horror waicli llie hour and p. ice
inspired. But he t'icd to think how tiiose
kii'ghts of old, aboi whom his mother had
so often read to ' ini, uotil'l ' ive actid undi
siinihir cMrcunuslances. \' N ■ with tn '. j ,ii
honor, was one of their fii ^t (jti litit He
realized suddt . . . iiow this 'tr.iv anci ioi
himself would ivt d^^spisod a co ud. H-
brtathedhis litie pi, er for coum . tli w
')ack his head uid marched straight id to tht
portrait, lookin<r full into that nol)i fr :.
Th» n he sat d<>vvn, of his own accord, that
massive i iiair, which had stood where as,
as tr; dition said, for nii re than t' o hi ted
years; wliile its great ;i is, liL^- cla . seeiut d
to seize ...A hold him.

He h oked quite a small boy, ht )!cs- i
iiisignifv mt, in his twentieth- ntn vc )Stu ..e
oi jackei and knickerbof %er Bin th re was
a fine courage about him, d tlie strength
that comes from a u -lb oble (iispc )n

A'liich has Ix ncareii

y traine

., . ' vigiL

Iv watched ov r by

;OVli

•d •'!t^'lli,i nt

mother. Little Uy

!o 1

f 1

him- he forgot the

or i of

^ • '.lei .vest

wiii^ , the dark i ^ou

with it

tli c ai''^

appomtmeuls whi h

id surviv

.»any geu-

THE 1 ;ST TliST AND ITS RJvSI LTS. 6r

erations of " rti' v. ., and the terrifying still-
n< .s of the night. lie became conscious of
a '■owin>>- admiration for that brave gentle-
liuiii ] >ing on canvas, for his beauty and
inliiiess, for the he-oic things he had done,
and for his cross! ig seas an exile for the
. aith. ""
uid i<

He forgot

•iiself and even his faults
lies, whic. s grandfather had iu-
him should e laid bare to the scare Ii-
• of those 1 crcing eyes. He felt ;..s
! kno'vn this Auselm Benedict, and
a desir grew in h -; mind to learn more o. his
ancesti r's lift an. character. He knev.- he

and a favorite of .some
•n Irivea into exile and
persecution; hut he de-
to learn his history,
usiasm that he, too,
elife; and l;e fancied
, tured lips grew more
tender, and that the eyes looked into his with
kindurss, as if he had found a friend.

So quickly passed the hour that he was
.'5 fonished when the qunint servit: r put his
Jiund upon his shoulder a; d toll him his
time wos up. Julian sprang to his feet, cry-
iug out in quite a natural and friendlv wn :

if he

had been a soldie:
king, that he IkuI
had endured
tennined, if ^
He cried out in i
should like to lead
that the smile on t-

62 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"Oh, isn't he splendid! But it can't be an
hour yet! It seemed so short! I had a heap
of things to think of !"

The man stared at him in genuine surprise,
muttering under his breath, "A miracle!" as
he bent his head before the portrait with
something of genuine respect and affection,
put out the lights, and thrust Julian from the
room; after which he locked the door, and in
silence followed him through the winding
corridors, the lantern he carried casting wav-
vering gleams on wall and ceiling. He con-
ducted Julian to his apartment, and the boy
said:

"Good night! — I don't know your name."

"Nic'nolas", said the guttural voice.

"Goodnight, Nicholas!" repeated Julian.

The man, in reply, straightened himself —
for he had been a soldier in his youth, — and
for the first time in his career of service with
the Mortimers made a military salute to one
of the fortune-seekers.

When Nicholas had retired, Julian's first
care was to kneel and offer a fervent act of
thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin; though
indeed he scarcely realized that the first ordeal
was over. It was then four o'clock; but,

THE FIRST TEST AND ITS RESULTS. 63

despite his fatigue, he wished it were time
)e astir, tha
"fellows" and

for the house

t he might meet
hear their ex-

the other
periences.

**Jake looked pretty well scared," he
thought. "Something different must have
happened to him."

Julian nestled comfortably amongst his
pillows, wishing tliat his mother were there,
so that he could tell her all about it.

"There's no one understands a fellow as
she does," he reflected; "knows just what
you want to tell her."

When at last Julian woke and saw the sun,
like ail old familiar friend, looking in at the
windows, he hurried downstairs, where he
found Sedgwick upon the lawn. The latter
looked very pale and tired, but he h:;a a new
something of manliness and '"gnity about
him which even careless Tuian noted. The
two stood and looked at eac u other.

"Well, curly pate?" began Sedgwick.

"Well, old fellow?" responded Julian.

"It was a hard pull."

"Net nearly so hard as I thought. And the
time passed so quickly!"

Sedgwick stared.

6.| THK LOST JKWKL OK THK MORTIMF.RS.

"It didn't ac very quick with iiic," he
said, gloomily.

"What did you do first?" Julian inquired.

"Oh, I suppose we all did about the same!
That rum-looking; old chap came for me — "

"Nicholas", put in Julian.

"How on earth did you learn his name?"

"I asked him," Julian replied, simply.

"Cricky, but you're a cool one! Anyway,
old Nick — if that's his name— came for me at
twelve sharp. The tolling of the hall clock
sounded like the Doomsday trumpet, or some-
thing or other. He jMished me in; the room
was all dark, except the lights round the pic-
ture; then he locked the door."

Julian nodded. "It was exactly the same
for me," he assented.

"I never was in such a pickle iu my life,"
Sedgwick avowed frankly. "I felt as if there
were a thousand spooks hanging about the
corners, I was afraid to look around, and I
didn't care much about staring into Anselm's
face. After a bit, though, I felt as if I must
look; so I stared at him as hard as I could.
Then I began to shiver and shake, as if he
was searching me through and th- 'orh and
finding out everything I ever c Qreat

THE FIRST TEST AND ITS RESULTS, 65

Scott, but he's a corker for turning you inside
out and making you ashamed of yourself!
I quaked, I can tell you. I got through the
hour somehow, and you bet I never was so
glad to see anyone in my life as old pigtail."
John Jacob came up while Sedgwick was
still speaking, and a more haggard and mis-
erable object in the light c i die summer mor-
ning it would be hard to imagine. The great
drops of perspiration stood on his forehead,
and he was shivering as if with cold.

"What on earth is the master with you,
Jake?" asked Sedgwick, suddenly catching
sight of his ashen face and staring eyes.

"It feels like ague," Jake said, with a laugh
so wild and forced that his companions were
startled. «'I guess there's malaria or some-
thing here, and if this goes on I'll have to try
change of air."

"Look here, Jake," answered Sedgwick in
his downright fashion, "you're in a blue funk
since last night. Out with it, man! I was
myself. Tell us what happened. You'l feel
all thebetter for it."

Thus adjured, Jake began,— taking care to
keep back certain portions of the revelation
relative to his little scheme of yesterday.

66 THK i.osr ji;\vi:t. nv thk mortimkrs.

"When we got to tliat infernal door I just
turned round for a minute to look baek, and
that old blackguard in livery — "

•'What's the good of calling names?" pro-
tested Julian.

•'He caught me by the back of the neck
and gave me such a shove into the room, that
I very nearly landed foremost against the
table. Then he planted me in that con-
founded chair and went out. The room
danced ronud me. I was scared, — I'll admit
that. It seemed as if demons or something
were hopping about, and grinning faces look-
ing out of corners, and voices chattering.
The place is haunted, or the Old Boy himself
is there. Airyhow, I wanted to get out of
staring at that old bloke upon the wall, and
I thought I'd try another chair. The moment
I tried to get up, the arms stretched out and
held me fast."

While he spoke, Jake's terror in the mem-
ory of that moment became uncontrollable,
:nid he had to wipe the beads of sweat from
his forehead.

"It was horrible! I thought they were the
arms of something that had ruight me."

The other boys uttered horrified exclama-
tions.

THE FIRST TEST AND ITS RESULTS. 67

"I fomul out that they were just iron clamps
to hold a fellow if he tried to get cut," went
ou Jake. "And I heard a voice— it was the
same one that came out of the rock, I'll swear
to it— saying: 'Coward! traitor!' Just because
I wanted to take another chair, I suppose.
So there I was forced to stare at that odious
picture, while that horrid Anselm seemed to
read off a list of everj-thing a fellow ever did.
He's a wizard, that's what he is; and I'm not
at all sure that he hasn't kept himself alive
by some black art."

In his excitement Jake blurted out what
he would at another time have carefully
hidden.

"I was nearly wild b> cue time the old
monster came and unfastened the arms
chuckling to himself like a fiend. As soon
as we reached the hall I got away from him
and never stopped running till I got into my
room. Oh, if there are any more tests like
that, I guess I'll take grandfather's advice
and quit!"

When Julian asked for Wat, he was told
that he was not yet out of bed; though later
in the day he heard all details. Wat frankly
admitted that when first put into the chair he

68 THE LOST JFAVKL OF THE MORTIMERS.

must have been unconscious, for he remem-
bered nothing. After he woke up again, he
got on better than he had expected.

All the boys were surprised to hear Julian's
account of his own night's adventure.

"I was so busy looking at Anselm Benedict
and thinking about him, that the dark room
didn't bother me a bit," explained Julian.
*'I tried to remember the few things I had
heard about him and to piece them together.
I didn't find the time long at all. Nicholas
was good enough to me. He came up to my
room with me and gave me a salute like
that."

As Julian raised his hand to his forehead to
imitate the sign, Jake cast a sour, envious
look at his cousin. From that moment he
began to dislike him.

Sedgwick, on the other hand, cried out
admiringly:

♦'You're a brick, Julian! I guess you've got
more grit in you than any of us."

"Oh, well — I said my prayers before going
down, and all that," Julian added, lest the
others might suppose he was boasting of his
own strength.

Sedgwick fidgeted and looked uncomfort-

THE FIRST TEST AND ITS RESULTS. 69

able. He had forgotten all about his prayers
in the excitement of the ent.

Jake gave a wild lau^ 'I guess if I said

prayers, I'd be ashamed to lell any one," he
sneered.

'•Why should I be ashamed of saying my
prayers?" Julian asked, in all simplicity.

"Because prayers are good enough for girls,
but what boys say them?"

•'All the fellows at the college said them
every day," Julian declared stoutly. •'And
some of the squarest fellows there used to go
oftenest to the chapel."

••A rum lot they must have been," grum-
bled Jake.

••Prayers helped me a good deal, I know,"
Julian went on, addressing Sedgwick. "But
anyway, I'm glad that test is over. I was
horribly afraid when old Nicholas came to
get me — "

••In spite of your prayers!" interposed Jake.
••I began to say them then,'' Julian ex-
plained.

'•You ought to have been a girl, Julian
Mortimer!" Jake retorted.

Julian's face flamed.

"I tell you what, Jake," he cried, "if you
dare to say such things to me!"

70 THK LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

I< i

I f

i "

"Don't heed him, sonny!" put in Sedg-
wick. "You were the best man of the lot
last night, and so you can afford to let Jake
spout. He's pretty well bowled out this
morning."

"I ought to Have remembered that," ad-
mitted Julian, "and have known how to take
a joke."

While he was saying so breakfast was an-
nounced, and the grandfather received them.
His keen eye noticed that Julian's face was as
brave and bright as ever, and his appetite
midisturbed. He also observed the signs of
past conflict in the other lads, and all but
laughed outright at Jacob's broken-down ap-
pearance. He made no allusion to the matter,
however, till breakfast was over. Then he
observed, with his cynical smile:

"Of the four little Indians, one has fallen
down, leaving but three. I hear, however,
that Walter Worthington means to rise up
again. This afternoon, if he be sufficiently
recovered, I will announce to you the second
test. Meantime go out and play footbail or
something of the sort. Outdoor exercise,
John Jacob, is an exc:))ent tonic for ague.''

John Jacob flushed s. rlet but said nothing,

THIC riRST TEST AKD ITS RESULTS. 71

and off they all trooped. But they liad not
the energy to attempt .so strenuous a game as
football; and their grandfather, looking out
of the window at them, .said to himself :

"The poison begins to work. One is
knocked under, two have no heart for play;
and the other has escaped marvellously so far,'
but he is depressed by his comrades."

Walter Worth ington presently appeared,
looking very pale, with great circles under
his eyes; but his spirit was less subdued than
Jake's. He was determined to continue the
quest, if, as he said, -his strength only held
out.

"I wonder what the ne.xt test will be?"
Julian observed, meditatively.

And the boys all wondered in turn and tried
to guess, but it was of no use. Not an idea
suggested itself, and they could only wait for
the afternoon, when their grandfather should
make known to them the second test. He
did not keep tham long in suspense. Immed-
iately after luncheon he summoned all four
to meet him in the library, thence to proceed
to the presence of /Vnselm Benedict, where all
tests were announced.

"I think," said Mr. Mortimer, "that w.is

•-H

i^
iP

73 THE LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

second trial will commend itself mech more
to you than the last. But I must remind you
that diligence, activity, endurance will all be
brought into play."

Julian regarded his grandfather with eager
eyes, which began to sparkle with interest
and excitement; while even the haggard Jake,
the weary and dispirited Wat, and the sobered
and saddened Sedgwick plucked up heart a
little. Their grandfather regarded them with
a tantalizing expression out of half-shut eyes.
He enjoyed pla> ing with their curiosity and
delaying the answer to the question which
hung on every lip:

"What can be this second test?"

Chapter VI.
A Camp in the Forest.

Before announcing the second test, the
grandfath jr arose from his chair and signed
for the boys to follow him. All of them ex-
cept Julian did so with visible trepidation;
for they knew that he was leading them into
the presence of Anselm Benedict. Julian felt
an eager desire to see once again that portrait
which had so completely fascinated him, and
he remarked to his grandfather as they passed
along the corridor:

•'I feel as if he were a friend, sir."

"Eh!— what?" inquired the old man in
surprise, and he stood a moment and looked
down at the eager face. "Whom do you
mean ?"

"I mean Anselm Benedict, sir."

**0h!" exclaimed Mr. Mortimer.

•♦Is there any book about him in the lib-
rary?" Julian asked.

"There is a book," answered the grand-
father slowly.

(7i)

74 TIIK LOST JKWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

' Aay I see it, sir?"

"I .stij)po.se so. No one has ever made the
request Kfore. The midnight hour in that
gentleuiau's society was generally found to be
sufficient." He ended with a short huigh.

"There's another thing I wanted to ask
you, sir," said Julinn, as the long corridor
they were pursuing turned ii.to the west wing.
•'Where does Nicholas keep himself ?"

The grandfather cast upon the boy so
strange a glance that it startled even the fear-
less Julian.

"What do you know about Nicholas,— how
did you find out his name?"

"I asked him," Julian answered simply.

"When?"

"When he brought me back to r v room
last night."

Mr. Mortimer stared. "Well, you are n
wonderful boy!" he exclaimed. "Fen-, ex-
cept in the message he had to deliver, have
ever heard the sound of his voice."

"He told me his name was Nicholas, and
then he did this,"— and Julian imitated the
military .salute.

"He did that, did he?" queried the grand-
father, in astonishment. "Then, let me tell

A CAMP IN 1 flK FOREST.

you, he saw in you, my >oy, something wiiich
he never saw in any of your race."

They were now at the mysterious door.

"Grandfather", asked Julian, stopping be-
fore it, "who is Nicholas?"

"He is the evil genius, he is the avenger,"
exclaimed Mr. Mortimer in a strained, hur-
ried voice.

Without giving time for any further ex-
planation, he opened the door and entered.
Julian followed close; the other boys c-me on
slowly, passing over the threshold with re-
hictant steps, and remaining in that portion
of the room farthest fron^ the portrait. But
Mr. .\ioi'.;mer, having touched the spring of
th'^ panel iiotioned them with a quick, im-
. "ent J, ,cure to advance. He was plainly
V ru ted and in a nervous mood.

Svdgwick looked pa!e; but he confronted
iiie portrait brave'., v i'?< that manliness
which Julian had beu ;*= admired. Jake's face
was positively V ugdog; and Wat's lip quiv-
ered as, white < he lin- and with trembling
L ids, he placed himself beside his cousins.
But Julian's countenance was bright and
cheerful, and he smiled at his handsome kins-
man of ' jng ago, who seemed to flash a friend-
ly greetir^; f^^in his dark eycb.

t f ■--

Wf,

76 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"I shall announce your second decree, An-
selm Benedict," Mr. Mortimer declared curtly,
"and Nicholas can do *he rest. Your ancestor
here portrayed before you," the old man went
on, addressing the boys, "directs that you
shall go forth into the forest which lies to the
right hand of this dw-lling, extending inward
from the bluff, and there encamp for a period
of two weeks. During this time you shall
perform all menial offices foi yourselves, pro-
curing the chief part of your own food, and
main^aining durin;? the day, and on certain
nights when the aioonlight shall permit, a
search for the cavern in the forest, undeterred
by whatsoever obstacles may offer."

Even the most dejected of the boys began
to kindle into pc .tive enthusiasm. Here, at
least, was a test af^er their own hearts. Why,
it would be capital fun!

•«If during that period of two weeks no
trace of the cavern is found, the competitors
are free to abandon this test and continue to
pursue the search in other ways, or they may
obtain an extension of the original time and
remain longer in the forest. I know of a
person who has spent the greater part of his
life in that way. / should be inclined to be-

A CAMP IN THE FOREST.

lieve that the cavern is a fabulous one, so
many having failed in the search. But there
is a tradition from way back, that one did
find that cavern and thus fulfilled the second
test."

*'Did only one find it out of all who have
ever been looking for it?" asked Julian, awe-
stricken.

*'Only one," answered Mr. Mortimer.

And Julian looked inquiringly from his
grandfather to the young face in the portrait,
where the same smile seemed to greet him,
and whence a feeling of hope and encourage-
ment entered his heart.

♦'If out has found it," said the boy, with
sudden enthusiasm, "another may, and per-
haps it will be some cf us."

"Perhaps", agreed the grandfather coldly.

••Anyway, it will be fine fun camping in
the woods and looking for a cave."

♦'You are a very sanguine young person,"
said Mr. Mortimer. "But let that pass. You
will aH leave for the camp at four o'clock,
and return two weeks hence, victor or van-
quished. It will be to ycur interest to give
as much time as possible to the search dur-
ing the day and on ths appointed nights.

78 THE LOST ji: \vi.;t, oi- tifk Mortimers.

Loiteiiiio l)y the wayside will never find the
cavern. You are now dismissed, and I would
advise you all to proceed to your rooms
-;nd make preparations for approaching de-
jiartnre."

The boys could hardly control themselves
in the old gentleman's presence, following
him in silence along the corridor; and he had
scarcely disappeared into the library when
they broke into an eager buzz of talk, each
voice rising above the other. Even Jake was
jubilant as any one. He believed that his
own peculiar methods of action and his ferret-
like disposition wouhl avail nntch in such a
search; and he was boy enough to enjoy the
idea of a two weeks' frolic in the open air.

The little band assembled on the lawn pre-
cisely at four o'clock, and set off in the direc-
tion of the forest. As Julian looked back, the
great mansion of Pine Binff seemed to .stare
darkly at them. But a ray of sunlight fell
across the vcianda, stretching down upon the
kiwn; and a bird with a flute-like note flew
joyously up into the blue. Both seemed like
fric ndly mess;iges to the lads, telling them of
hope and gladness.

The forest, as they approached it, looked
somewhat daik and forI)iddin<r

A CAMP IN THE FORltST.

"It is like the forests in the fairy-tales i
used to read when I was little," observed
Julian; and there on the outskirts was Nich-
olas, precisely Iikc the goblin or the dwarf or
the genius who used to lead adventurous mor-
tals into the gloomy depths. He was stand-
ing under a tree, spectral in its shadow; and
he solemnly came forth to . ..siet them.

••Good day, Nicholas," cried Julian
cheerily.

The ghost of a grim smile crossed the old
man's lips as he slightly noddod his head,
precisely like a wooden image, and marshalled ,
the boys into the forest before him. He tra-
versed each leaf-strewn path with quick, mar-
tial strides.

Jtilian promptly began to sniff the odors of
the woods,

•'I like that piny smell," he said gleefully.
•♦And mixed up with it there's sassafras and
wild flowers and lots of things. The forest is
just full of smells,"

Wat darted off into the underbrush after a
squirrel, and came back laughing from the
chase, with a faint color on his pink cheeks.
Sedgwick cut himself a fine stout cudgel and
decapitated several bushes. Jake plucked

80 THE LOST JKVVKr. OP THE MORTIMERS.

absently at the leaves as lie passed, .niut stuffed
a handful of slimy ones, picked up from a
marshy pool, down Julian's back. Julian
gave a wild yell, supposing that a snake had
touched him; while Jake doubled up with
malicious laughter.

At last they reached a clearing in a dense
grove of ancient trees; and here stood, with
spectral solemnity, four tents, awaiting their
occupants. Nicholas, having tlmist each boy
into that lodging designed for him, dis-
appeared as silently as he had come. There
was something weird about these canvas
dwellings, snow-white in the summer sun-
shine, standing out in relief from the dark
wood and background; and their interiors
seemed, at first, unreal and mysterious. A
basket of eatables stood inside each entrance;
some clean straw was thrown into a corner,
with a rug folded upon it. There was fishing
tackle, a crab net, and a gun, which with one
accord each boy set himself to examine, call-
ing from tent to tent in the excitement of the
discovery. Wlieu they had spent a short time
unpacking, and setting their new houses in
order, the boys came forth, fully of one mind
with regard to supper. Their first thought

A CAMP IN THK FOREST.

was of a stream and how they should procure
water.

*'I suppose the old lunatic didn't set up the
tents where there was no water," said Jake,
looking all about him.

♦'There's water down there," replied Sedg-
wick, pointing over the bluff to where the
dull boom of the sea was heard. But Jake
took no notice of the witticism, and all began
seriously to reflect upon the means of getting
water for present and future wants.

"We'd better explore," suggested Julian.
And explore they did, hurrying off in dif-
ferent directions. Over an hour had elapsed
and Sedgwick, Jake and Wat had returned,
weary and disappointed, to the camp.

♦'It's one of that old dotard's tricks," said
Jake, in bitter spite; and the others thought
so too, and wondered what they were going
to do about it. All at once they heard a faint
shout, which grew gradually nearer; and soon
Julian appeared, very red in the face and
dragging a heavy pail.

♦'That fellow always succeeds," said Sedg-
wick. ♦'! believe he'll get the ruby."

Which remark made Jake turn almost black
with envy. He set his teeth hard, while

8a ** .? LOST JEWFX OP THK MORTIMERS.

*, '•

S; 'gwick and Wat rau forward to help their
comrade.

"Good for you, youngster!" cried Sedgwick
when he saw the pail of clear, sparkling
water. "But where's the stream?"

"Oh, it's about a mile away!" laughed
Julian. "Nicholas is bound to give us plenty
of work; and, of course, grandfather warned
us that we'd have lots to do while we're out
camping."

"Well, we'll have to take turns in going
for the water,— that's all," observed Sedg-
wick, philosophically.

Jake muttered darkly to himself; and Wat,
as usual, deplored his want of strength.

"If you're not able to drag water, Wat,"
"I can take your turn and you can do some-
thing else instead. But now we had better
get wood together for a fire."

All hands set to work collecting sticks, and
presently there was a huge, roaring fire, built
well to the centre of the clearing. The kettle,
which Nicholas had left near at hand, was
filled with water. It soon began to sing away
as merrily as though it were on a hearth in-
stead of in the heart of a wood surrounded by
tall trees, through which the yellow glow of

; I

A CAMP IN THE FOREST,

sunset began to appear, while the birds in
their leafy uests sang their vesper song.

Each boy now unpacked his basket.

"I say," exclaimed Sedgwick, ♦'here'ssome
raw potatoes!"

•'Let's put them in the hot ashes," shouted
the other three in chonis.

This was no sooner said than done.

"There are some hard-boiled eggs here
too," added Sedgwick, diving again into his
basket.

'•I've got some sandwiches in mine!" yelled
Julian. "Hurrah!" And the cheer was taken
up and echoed through the forest.

"There's some jam in mine, — not too
much," declared Jake, who had already, in
the secrecy of his tent, hidden two pots for
private consumption. (It may as well be
mentioned here that this secret hoard was
taken from the hiding-place and restored to
the basket during the following day, much to
Jake's dismay and disgust.)

"There are some fine peaches and biscuits
in my kit," said Wat. "But I guess we'd
better not use everj'thing to-night; for it's
my belief we won't get much more from the
house."

84 THE LOST JKWKL OF THE MORTIMERS.

t •'You're right there," assented Jake.

"It won't matter very much," said careless
Julian, who was indeed a little too much dis-
posed to neglect all thought of the morrow.
•'We can take what we want and leave the
rest. But I know I'm just stafving."

••Ditto!" cried Sedgwick.

Julian dived into his basket again and
brought out a tablecloth, and in a few mo-
ments a very luxurious meal was spread, to
which was added a pot of coffee and the pota-
toes plucked from the hot ashes. That was
a royal supper, and everything else was for-
gotten but the enjoyment of the uioment.

•'He's given us a fine spread for the first
night," remarked Sedgwick; "and the frag-
ments may do for to-morrow. But I gue.s.s
after that we'll have to look out pretty much
for ourselves."

•Til try to shoot things," volunteered
Julian.

• ' I might pick up some clams on the beach , ' '
Wat added.

•'We can all catch fish, of course," Jake
declared.

•'And there must be a place to go crab-
bing," SeJ.gwick concluded, ••or he wouldn't
have left the nets."

A CAMP IN THE FOREST.

"Hurrah for life in camp!" shouted Julian,
getting up and dancing alx)Ut in pure joyous-
ness.

Supper being finished, the boys settled
themselves round the fire; for the cool, fresh
air, rcdoleut at once of forest and sea, which
sprang up with the going down of the sun,
made the blaze delightful. And as the stars
came out cue by one in the heavens above,
the four, banded together in this strange
quest, sat around the fire and told stories of
adventure and of ro'jbers and of ghosts; as
they talked in lowered tones of the strange
history of the Mortimers, and the mansion at
Pine Bluff with its niysteries known or sus-
pected. At last thev began to feel drowsy
and went to bed, to sleep soundly till the
morning light and the songs of the birds woke
them again.

Julian was first up, and could hardly re-
member where he was when he heard the
rustling of the leaves and the singing of the
birds. He looked about at the white walls of
the tent, and sniffed at the fragrant branches
with which he had overlaid his bundle of
straw. Then he sprang up, drawing deep
breaths of the air, while he donned his gar-

86 TilK LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

meats and rushed to Sedgwick's tent, to ask
him to I me to the heach for a pUiuge into
the salt waves. It was quite a climb down
over the edj^e of the bhiff, but the two active
fellows caicU little for that. They were soon
swiniiniiit^ around, diving under water or
splashing up and down like a pair of por-
yy poises. Now they let an enormous wave seize
them, to carry them into shore; again they
stood where great breakers broke, to be thrown
down and completely swamped.

But even such delights as these had to come
to an end, and the two were i 'esently scram-
bling up the bluff, hallooing and shouting.
Wat had lit the fire; and Jake had gone off,
unwillingly enough, for water. The sand-
wiches left from the night before were rather
stale; but, then, there was homemade bread,
with fresh butter. The coffee warmed over
from supper was not free from the charge of
muddincss; but the hungry boys cared little
for such drawbacks as these, particularly
those two amongst them who had spent a half
hour ill the brine.

•'It's all very well for you fellows to sneak
off l)y yourselves for a bath," grumbled Jake,
•'and leave me to go and get water."

A CAMP IN THE FOREST.

"Oh, shut up!" retorted Sedgwick. '•You're
a born grumbler. Julian went for it last
night and I'll go next time. As for the bath,
the sea's big enough for everyone, if you
hadn't preferred to snooze."

Jake darted an evil look at the speaker,
but thought it better to be silent. After a
pause, however, he announced:

••I'm going fishing after breakfast."

••Not until sunset," said a voice near at
hand.

The boys stared; but, look around as they
might, they could see nothing.

•'That cursed voice again!" muttered Jake.

•'And no echo this time," observed Sedg-
wick, "because it didn't repeat the same
words."

•'It sounded like Nicholas' voice," re-
marked Julian, thoughtfully.

"As if any one ever heard that old dummy
speak!" sneered Jake.

"/ did," said Julian, "just once."

•'Oh, I suppose we all heard him say a
word or two!" snapped Jake. "Besides,
where is Nicholas? He can't make himself
invisible, I suppose,"

"I don't know," said Julian gravely.

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88 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

^ He remembered the strange look Mr. Mor-
timer had bestowed upon him when he had
inquired about the old servitor. It occurred
to him (for boys brought up as Julian had
been, often have a strong dash of poetry in
their composition) that Nicholas might have
some kind of occult power. Of course he did
not say so, for he had a boy's horror of
ridicule.

Sedgwick was meanwhile looking all about.

"There's no Nicholas here," he declared
decidedly, as he sat down upon the stump of
a tree, chewing a bit of Sassafras root.

*[I hope they're not going to begin any
antics to make this place unendurable,"
growled Jake, who was a coward at heart and
did not like these mysteries.

Before long Nicholas himself appeared
They could see him very far off along the
path, advancing from the very edge of the
forest.

"There! You see he wasn't 'round here at
all! cried Jake; and Julian did not contra-
dict him.

Nicholas had come to start the boys upon
the search. They agreed that for that day
at least, they should separate, each boy tak-
ing a certain portion of the forest.

A CAMP IN THE FOREST.

♦'It's not so very big," said Sedgwick.
"I don't see how it can be so hard to find the
cavern."

•'Did Nicholas laugh? No : his face was
imperturbably grave, as he stood waiting for
the boys to set out.

"In what direction shall we go?" asked
Walter.

'♦Suppose we do like the boys in the fairy-
tales starting to seek their fortune?" said
Julian. ''I^t us each blow a piece of paper
into the air, and whichever way it comes down
follow that."

They had a good deal of fun over this sug-
gestion, because sometimes the paper did not
come down at all, or two or three fell precise-
ly at the same spot. At last each piece took
a contrary direction, and the boys prepared to
start accordingly. Nicholas had brought some
crackers and cheese from the house, and each
boy strapped a neat package of this to his
shoulder.

And now the explorers lost no time in set-
ting out, providing themselves with stout
cudgels and plunging into the respective
wooded paths which opened before them.
Sedgwick and Jake met with no adventures

i i-

90 THE LOS- JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

at all, though they prosecuted the search with
the utmost diligence. It might almost be
said that Jake literally poked his nose into
every crevice and cranny; for he was full of
the ardor of the hunt, and the glow of the
ruby and the glint of gold seemed fairly to
dazzle his eyes. If Sedgwick did not poke
with his nose, he did with his stick, and got
a lot of solid enjoyment out of his morning in
the woods; so that his honest face was fairly
aglow with good humor and the high spirits
engendered by the glorious air and the forest
life.

Julian, whose path had led into the heart
of the wood, likewise prosecuted the search
very diligently. He even rlimbed to the top
of tall trees, which was surely an unnecessary
performance, as it would have been rather
difficult to discover a cavern from the height
of a tree. But it was a rest to sit up among
the cool branches, swinging idly upon a
bough, the leaves fanning his hot face as they
stirred in the breeze. It was up there that he
munched his crackers and cheese. But he
did not linger too long. The thought of the
cavern spurred him on. He slid down again
to earth and pursued his way. At last he

A CAMP IN THK FOREST.

heard Walter calling; and, hastening in that
dii action, found him with one foot stuck in a
marshy piece of ground. He had to pull it
out with some trouble, after which they went
on together. Julian kept wishing for his gun,
that he might have a shot at some of the rab-
bits or wild pigeons or other birds, which
would have given them a fine supper.

**I hope we shall get good things to eat,"
said Walter, "because I want to keep up my
strength."

Julian looked at him curiously. He had
never heard any boy talking about his healt^
But he liked Walter: he thought him a square
little chap, anxious to be brave and to do his
best.

"It must be a bother to feel weak," he
said. "I have always been as strong as a
horse, except when I had measles."

"I wish I were strong!" sighed Walter.
"But, I say, what's that over there?"

Chapter VII.

The Adventures of a NicxHT.

Julian turned hastily in the direction in-
dicated by Walter's staring eyes, but saw
nothing.

"I could almost swear I saw a big dog or
something standing over there!" whispered
Walter, tremblingly.

"Perhaps it was a bear?" suggested Julian.

Both boys stood still with a tl'rill of mingled
fear and gratification.

"If I had my gun I'a have a shot at it from
behind a tree," continued Julian.

"Better not," said Walter, almost under his
breath. "It might— it might be something
else. Do you know, Julian (I don't mind
saying this to you, for you won't laugh at a
fellow), I really think this forest is haunted?"
Julian stared, but he did not "pooh-pooh"
the assertion, as Sedgwick would have done.
He remembered his own thoughts about
Nicholas and the queer voice they had heard
more than once. There certainly seemed to
be something mysterious about this place.

(92)

THE ADVENTURKS OK A NIGHT.

•'I don't believe in spooks," lie said at last.

"J don't either," replied Walter; "but

everything's queer about here, — those voices

and things. And I'mafraidof that Nicholas."

•'Nicholas isn't a bad sort of fellow," ob-
served Julian; but there was doubt in his tone.
Nicholas certainly was mysterious.

The two boys, with one accord, turned away
from that ill-starred spot. It being then after
five by Julian's silver watch, of which he was
so proud, they turned homeward, intent on
supper; for their long day of exercise had
made them hungry.

Though they were tired when they reached
camp, Julian declared that he would go down
to the shore, as it was low water, and try to
get some fish. He took his line and started,
Sedgwick trMging off in an opposite direction
for water, and Jake and Wat undertaking to
look after the fire.

"I hate that cub!" said Jake spitefully,
gazing after Julian's retreating figure.

"What cub?'» asked Wat, innocently.

"Why, the Grand Pasha, the Czar of all
the Russians, the Grand Mogul, my I^rd
Juli-n de Mortimer!" hissed Jake.

"Julian?" inquired Walter, in surprise.

94 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

'•Why, what is there to hate about him?
He's always jolly and ready to help. But,
theu, he's strong and well."

"Yes: he's made of cast-iron, nerves and
all," agreed Jake. ''And I tell you, \W,
I hate the whole kit and boodle of them —
man Mortimer, that crazy loon of a Nichr .^,
Sedgwick; but most of all I hate Julian and
his 'friend', Anselm Benedict."

Walter had been brought up at home,
away from other boys; he had never heard
just that sort of talk before, and it made him
uncomfortable. Moreover, both boys heard
distinctly a laugh— scornful, amused— pro-
ceeding from they knew not where. Walter
started to his feet in alarm, and Jake's flow of
eloquence was suddenly checked.

"It's some trick of that old dotard!" he
muttered to himself.

But there was little more said and the two
lads kept pretty close together till Julian's
cheerful whistle was heard coming up the
cliff. He had been absent a comparatively
short time; and there he was with a string of
silvery, shining fish, quite sufficient for the
supper,

"I didn't wait for any more," he observed

THE ADVKNTrRES OF A MGHT.

apologetically, "because I knew we wanted
our supper. I guess we can do with these."

They then set to work to light their fire, so
as to be ready on the return of Sedgwick, who
had evidently tarried by the way.

"Hurrah! hurrah! here he is!" cried Julian;
and Wat waved his cap wildly, while Jake sat
darkly brooding.

The next day was spent somewhat aimless-
ly. A night's search by the light of the
moon was to begin after sunset. Their sup-
per was very early and consisted of a brace or
two of wild pigeons, which Sedgwick, who
was an excellent shot, had succeeded in bring-
ing down ; and of some red plums which
Julian had discovered growing wild some-
The boys set out immediately after,
■'ifferent directions, but agreeing to
^t "moonrise" and enjoy the hunt
r.

Nothing could be more beautiful than those
first cool sunset hours, with the rosy lights in
the western sky reddening all the landscape.
The moon was rising, a silvery arc, above the
marsh lands where they had agreed to meet,
and which was the identical spot where Julian
and Wat had seen, or fancied they saw, some

where.

g ::

cogt. .,

96 THK LOST JIvWKI. or THK MORTIMERS.

Strange animal. Now a curious awe fell upon
the boys; they stared at the moon, which was
just showing its face above the treelops.
Julian had an odd feeling that it looked pale,
and that its light upon the marsh was cold
and flickering, making weird, uncertain
shadows.

"Not a blessed sign of a cavern!" cried
Sedgwick.

"Ten to one, grandfather's tight and the
horrid old bloke is fooling us," growled Jake.

"Well," said Julian, "even if he were, it's
worth while, if all the tests are going to ])e
like this two weeks' camping in the woods."

"Yes," agreed Wat, "I feel a heap better
and stronger since I've been out here. But
where are we going now?"

"Let us go to the other side of this marsh,"
suggested Sedgwick. "None of us have gone
that far yet."

There was just a moment's hesitation on
Julian's part, which was fully shared by Wat;
but the former reminded himself that courao^e
was amongst the qualities in which Anselni
Benedict had been pre-eminent, and which he
desired to be reproduced in them. He there-
fore prepared to set forth with a cheery
"all right!"

THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. 97

Walter visibly hung backward; but he did
not care to voice his feelings, and he did not
dare to stay alone anywhere within the pre-
cincts of the forest, which he had come to
regard with almost superstitious awe. Jake
was quite prepared to penetrate anywhere on
the remote chance of finding the cavern,
which he felt convinced was the first clue to
the other and more important objects. More-
over, like Sedgwick, he was unaware of any
special reason for avoiding the marsh.

So the boys were presently feeling their
way gingerly, so as not to get their feet stuck
in the mud. They stopped abruptly, how-
ever, as a great, striped snake, hissing, thrust
its scaly length across the path. Sedgwick
at once aimed a blow at the reptile with the
heavy stick which he carried, and struck it
full in the head. John Jacob entered into the
struggle and struck furious and repeated blows
at the still hissing and spitting snake. As it
at last lay motionless, Julian looked down
upon it with a strong feeling of repulsion in-
deed, but at the same time with an odd sort
of pity. Foul and venomous as was the
creature, it had been going its own way, glid-
ing about in the d rk depths of the forest.

98 THK LOST JKWEL OF THK MORTIMKRS.

where it was rarely disturbed by human feet.

John Jacob continued to hammer away, to
the tune of *'Tally-heigh-ho, the grinder!"

WTien this amusement palled, and Sedgwick
shouted to them all to come on, Jake raised
the dead snake on the point of a stick and
carried it with him, for the sole purpose of
playing tricks upon Julian whom he hated,
and Wat whom he knew to be nervous. As
they passed through a dark clump of trees,
into the blackness of which the moon scarce
sent a ray, Jake suddenly brought the slimy
skin of the reptile into contact with Julian's
cheek. Julian, forgetting the snake and be-
lieving himself attacked by some unknown
adversary, promptly struck out with his stick;
so that Jake received, as he said himself, such
a "crack" upon his head as kept him at a
safe distance from Julian for the remainder of
that expedition.

"I didn't know it was you, Jake," Julian
explained.

•'You lie there!" cried Jake, luriously.

The hot blood mounted to Julian's face, and
it was by a strong effort that he controlled
himself. He made a short ejaculation to our
Blessed Mother, as his professor had taught

THE AD\ KNTrRES OF A NIGHT.

liim to do; and tliought of Ansclin Benedict,
whowf uldcertaijily have advised the mastery
over self, and have taught that it was no part
of courage to ruyh into every vulgar qmrrel.
Then he said, quietly:

"Look here, Jake, you're out there! I don't
tell lies, and I say again that I didn't know
it was you. But, anyway, what right had
you to hit me with that .'isgusting snake?"

"Curly pate is right there!" put in Sedg-
wick. "And 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."

Now, Jake was rather afraid of Sedgwick,
who was big and strong, so he did not argxie
the point; and they all went on in silence,
till suddenly they were startled by a rushing
sound in the brushwood. Presently a huge
beast rushed toward them with flaming eye;
and panting jaws. What sort of animal i;
was they could not very well tell; ' - the un
certain light of the moon gave ii.v..£]y the
outline of its form and the gleam of its fiery
eyes.

Jake turned deadly pale and fled without a
moment's warning. The beast, seeing him
detached from the rest, darted forward in

lOO THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

'■♦■

pursuit, gaining rapidly upon the fugitive,
lu his haste and fear, Jake's foot caught in
the tangled undergrowth, and he fell heavily
to the ground. In another moment the iar^s
of the beast would have been in the prostiace
boy, but Julian, hastily making the Sign of
the Cross, flew after the furious animal and
brought the full weight of the stick which he
carried down upon its flanks.

The monster turned upon this new assail-
ant, forsaking Jake, who got up and continued
his flight. Julian, thus left alone, succeeded
in getting behind a tree; after which ensued
a conflict, not so much of strength as of
agility, between these strange adversaries.
Sedgwick tried his best to make a diversion
in the rear, harassing the flank of the enemy;
but the animal seemed unwilling to be di-
verted from its pursuit of Julian. How it
might have ended would be hard to say, but
Julian had an inspiration.

"Try to keep his attention for a miniite,"
he called out to Sedgwick, "till I light a
match."

This Sedgwick did by dealing a tremendous

blow on the animal's hide,
turn quickly in his direction.

which made it
The next mo-

THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT.

lOI

rnent Julian held a blazing torch of news-
papers in either hand, and these he resolutely
thrust into the animal's face. The effect was
instantaneous. The angry brute stood still
a second, then deliberately turned tail and
trotted off into the brushwood.

"The sooner we can go in the opposite
direction the better," whispered Sedgwick to
Julian, who stood, panting and breathless,
leaning against the tree. "He may return to
the charge at any time."

So, as soon as Julian could draw breath,
the two lads started off as fast as their legs
could carry them. Walter Worthington had
long before followed Jake; and they encoun-
tered him at a good distance from the scene
of the conflict, with actual tears in his eyes at
his own want of pluck. He quickly apolo-
gized for it on the usual plea of feeble
strength.

"That's all right, sonny," said Sedgwick,
good-naturedly. "You couldn't have done
anything, anyway; and we can't all be like
Julian. He's as brave as a lion. I guess
he'd take the cake with Anselm Benedict."

He looked with honest admiration at his
cousin, while Julian cried:

• I

102 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"Don't 1J0U talk, Sedgwick! You stood
by me and helped nie like a hero. Only for
you I'm sure the beast would have had me.
And," Julian added, his 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 not strong, and you couldn't
have done a thing."

"The one I blame is that hound of a Jake,"
said Sedgwick, wrathfully. "Running away
and leaving you in the lurch after you had
saved his life!"

Jake, who was lurking near by and had
heard this conversation, was filled with greater
rage than ever against Julian, which he poured
out afterward to Wat, who told him in return
that he was just like one of the ungrateful
dwarfs in the fairy-tales.

"If there are any more of these beasts
roaming about here, we shall have our work
cutout," reflected Sedgwick, gloomily. "Even
as it is, we may meet that same ugly customer
again."

^-Julian could not help a shudder. He re-
membered those fiery eyes, and the hot breath
which had all but touched him. Jake was
shaking, and shook all that night, with au-

THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT.

103

Other of those attacks resembling ague. Wat
was plainly despondent, and Sedgwick had
lost his hopefulness.

"I'm afraid, after all," he said, as the four
trudged along, pursuing the search in a more
or less perfunctory manner, "that there's no
such thing as a cavern. We're just being
kept here two weeks to try our mettle; and
unless some of us get eaten up in the mean-
time, we'll all go back to the mansion at
Pine Bluff like a parcel of whipped hounds —

queried Jake eagerly,

say, what's that?"

"What's what?"
sli.vering all over.

Sedgwick strained his eyes, peering into
the darkness; and everyone stood still — while
suddenly on the stillness broke a long, low,
wailing sound.

"Great Scott!" exclaimed Sedgwick.—
"What can it be?"

Julian breathed a prayer, Wat stopped his
ears, and Jake said in a stifled voice:

"I'll leave this confounded old place to-
morrow. It's full of spooks and wild beasts. ' '

There >vas silence for a moment, save for
the booming of the water on the shore. But
as the listeners waited, the sound came again

104 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

through the air, rising as it were out of the
ground and soaring upward to the treetops.

"It's like the Banshee my old Irish nurse
used to tell about," whispered Julian, as the
four boys looked at one another in genuine
fear and drew closer together. At last Julian
spoke again: "Fellows, I guess we had better
go forward to meet it, whatever it is. That's
what Ansclm Benedict would have done."

Jake broke into such a torrent of abuse
against the dead-and-gone ancestor that the
other boys were startled, and Julian at last
protested.

"Look here, Jake," said he, "I don't call
it the square thing to talk .ike that. None of
us were forced to come into this contest at all,
and we can get out as soon as we like; but
while we are in, let us try to behave like
gentlemen."

"Bravo!" said a voice, apparen.y close
beside them, — a voice so deep, so hoarse that
it was like the waves against the rock.

The boys started apart and began to look
in all directions; but look as they might there
was nothing to be seen. And while they
sought, the wail rose again, louder, more
piercing than before. Jake and Wat both

THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT.

105

took to their heels, the former saying that he
was going back to camp and would clinch the
whole thing.

"Hi, you fellows, don't do that!" cried
Julian. "You may lose the contest. Don't
give up like that!"

"WTio'U know?" Jake called back: halting,
however, in his flight.

' 'Well, we can't tell that," Julian answered.
"But, anyhow, we'd better see the thing out
fairly."

Reluctantly the two turned back; and then
Julian and Sedgwick advanced slowly and
cautiously. They had not gone very far,
when they saw a figure which seemed to them
gigantic in the pallor of the moonlight; and
the figure waved its arms wildly and fearfully.

"Sweet Mother," cried Julian, "pray
for us ! "

Jake was thoroughly frightened and uttered
an unearthly yell, while eveu stout-hearted
Sedgwick quailed.

"What in the name of heaven is it?" he
asked.

Presently they heard, mingled with the
noise of the sea and the weird murmurs of the
forest, nr.'.tterings which at first were indis-

'i-

I06 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

tinguishable. Then, after a few seconds,
came a long, hissing whisper, which fairly
froze the blood in the boys' veins:

"I seek— I seek the lost jewel of the Mor-
timers! Woe — woe is me!"

It was some time before any one rallied
from the terrible dread into which this appa-
rition had cast the little band of explorers.
Then Julian said:

*'I think I know who it is. It's that ter-
rible man grandfather spoke of one day— 'the
Mad Hermit of the Forest'."

i
w

Chapter VIII.
The Mad Hermit.

Julian spoke in a thrilling whisper, which
seemed to be repeated in ghostly fashion from
aisle to aisle of the forest. Involuntarily, the
little group grew closer together; and in the
silence that followed Sedgwick asked:

«'Who was he?"

••It's a queer story. Grandfathci.- told me
just a little of it one day. He didn't say that
he lived in these woods, but only that one of
the Mortimers lost his wits looking lor the
cavern, and he's still seeking it-, and every-
one calls him the Mad Hermit. ' '

••Here he comes!" cried Walter, turning to
run in the opposite direction; while Jake
climbed a tree, and even Sedgwick began to
edge away from the spot. Julian alone stood
his ground.

•'I guess he's harmless," he said to him-
self, ••or he would have been shut up." And
so, trying to keep up his courage, he waited

(107)

108 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

the swift approach of that spectral, emaciated
figure.

v_ It was clad in a tattered gown, with a cloak
thrown over the shoulders and waving wildly
in the wind. The hair and beard likewise
streamed in the night blast, and a withered
hand grasped convulsively at a tall staff. The
face was ashen pale, the eyes wild and staring,
and the restless steps were of one who could
never be still.

At first the spectre appeared to see nothing,
but talked and muttered incessantly. Sud-
denly, however, catching sight of Julian, the
Mac* Hermit stopped.

"na! ha!" he cried, a kind of surprise
lighting up the haggard face. "You're the
ghost of Bob Mortimer, I suppose. Don't
you remember. Bob, when we started to seek
the cavern? Ha! ha! we didn't find it quite
so quickly as we thought But listen hither.
Bob!"

He came close till his hot breath touched
Julian's cheek; but the little fellow stood his
ground, gazing up at the apparition with
frightened yet resolute eyes.

"You're little. Bob,— you're very little,"
the Hermit went on.

THE MAD HERMIT.

109

**You see you didn't grow. There is a
cavern, Bob," he added in a piercing whisper.
"It's where the marsh moves; it's where the
wild beasts are. Hal ha! but I couldn't get
in. Ha! ha! I must be going, Bob!"

T' en his face took on a look of cunning.

"There's no cavern. Bob,— of course not!
You'll never fiud it. Go back to town. Bob,
— go back to town!"

Wildly waving his anns, he flew on and
was lost in the forest.

Julian stood still. Were those words the
raving of a lunatic, or had the Mad Hermit
in reality given him a clue to the location of
the cavern? It was an inspiring thought.
Next time the quest began, he should venture
once more into that ill-starred neighborhood
of the marsh, and seek, in spite of all ob-
stacles, for the cavern. What if he were to
find it? His heart beat fast, his pulses
throbbed.

One thing was certain: he must tell the
others. He had acquired this knowledge ac-
cidentally: all must know and have an equal
chance. His boyish idea of honor so carefully
cultivated at home and at school pointed out
his duty here with unerring precision. It also

I ,.

•1,^'

IIO THE LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

seemed to him that his grandfather ought to
be told, so that he might be the judge as to
whether or not this foreknowledge interfered
with the honest finding of the cavern. When
the last trace of the Hermit had disappeared,
Julian raised his voice.

'•Hie, Sedgwick!" he called.

And that boy, who was at no great dis-
tance, advanced in a somewhat shamefaced
way, saying frankly that the appearance of
the Hermit had put him in a "blue funk",
though he was not afraid of most things!
Jake, too, came down from the tree; while
Walter presently emerged from a thick grove
near by, full of apologies for his own want of
courage.

"Never mind that now," said Julian. "He
didn't do me any harm, and he wasn't so very
awful. He mistook me, I gue= for my
father. But, fellows, he said something
important. ' =

"What! the Wandering Jew there?" asked
Sedgwick. "I'm blest if this Hermit isn't
exact./ like the picture of him."

"Oh, he's daft!" cried Jake, contemptuous-
ly. "It doesn't matt-t what he says. He's
as mad as a March hare." V

THE MAD HERMIT.

Ill

"Well, anyway," declared Julian, "I'm
going to ma„e you all as wise as myself; and
if it's a madman's ravings, why, we're no
worse off than before."

The curiosity of the others bw^an to be
excited.

"Out with it, curly pate, whatever it is!"
cried Sedgwick.

"Is it — is it anything about the contest ?"
Jake inquired.

"Don't keep us in suspense," put in Wat.

"Well, he said there was a cavern, and that
the entrance was at the moving marsh, where
the wild beasts are."

Sedgwick whistled.

"There may be something in it, Julian,"
he decided. "We've been pretty well through
the rest of the wood; and probably no one has
ever gone far in exploring the marsh, es-
pecially with that animal— whatever it is—
there." And after a moment or two of re-
flection, he added: "Look here, Julian, it was
very square of you to tell the rest of us fellows
and give us all a chance."

Julian fidgeted and turned red. The praise
confused him.

"That's all right, Sedgwick," he said,

rs&i

■■''.

III THE LOST JKWKI, OF TIIK MORTIMERS.

awkwardly. "Hearing it in the way I did,
it wouldn't have been fair to keep it from
you. Of course if I had found it out for my-
self, it would have been different."
^"You're always on the square, Julian,"
spoke up Walter.

But Jake said not a word, and his face w;is
disfigured by an ugly sneer.

"Before we do anything about it, though,"
declared Julian, "I think we ought to tell
grandfather, and ask him if it makes any dif-
ference having found a clue in that way."

"All rot," cried Jake, angrily; and even
Sedgwick was disposed to think that it was
fair enough,— one of the chances of that mys-
terious wood.

"I think £o myself," agreed Julian. "But,
still, I would rather tell grandfather and feel
sure about it."

Then followed a somewhat heated discus-
sion, in which their voices rose higher and
higher, one above the other, after the manner
of the most ordinary boys. Finally Sedgwick
and Walter came round to their cousin's view,
and it was decided that on the morrow he
should go to the mansion at Pine Bluff and
acquaint Mr. Mortimer with all that had

THK MAD IIKRMIT.

JI3

occurred. Jake, too, veered round and ac-
quiesced in this arrangement with a sudden-
ness which would have aroused the suspicion
of less honorable and less unsuspecting lads.
They were glad, in fact, that harmony was
It-stored^ especially as it was now time to re-
turn to camp.

The moon had long since set, casting a
wild, lurid light over the forest, and the
whiteness of the dawn began to brighten the
eastern sky. So the boys turned their steps
toward the tents, beginning to feel drowsy
and very weary after the excitement.

Suddenly upon their paih appeared the
wild figure of the Mad Hermit, going at full
speed and waving his arms as if in a frantic
appeal to the heavens above. The boys,
with scared faces, stood by to let him pass.
He did not notice them at all, and pursued
his way, rushing along the forest paths, and
finally disappearing in a clump of trees. He
was a weird phantom in the faint morning
light, and the boys one and all felt a shiver
run through them. Somehow, this solitary
being, forever intent on that quest which had
robl:)ed him of his reason, seemed a prophecy
and a warning; and even the most careless of

I Si

114 THH LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

boys, no less than their elders, have at times
their premonitions and their fears of com-
ing ill.

But when they reached camp, a very com-
iiioiiplace incident drove all these unwhole-
some fancies from their mind. There was a
cat — a common, everyday Tabby— busily en-
gaged in eating the string of fish which Sedg-
wick had caught and hung up on a tree for
their breakfast. At first they believed it a
wild cat, and were for approaching it with
precaution and with carefully levelled guns.
At last, however, with a hearty burst of
laughter, they discovered that it was only a
lean, half-starved pussy. It is very undigni-
fied to relate, and quite a descent from the
sublime to the ridiculous, that these four ex-
plorers, engaged in so momentous a quest,
now indulged heartily in a cat hunt. They
pursued the animal with wild yells, with
bursts of laughter and occasional throwing of
missiles. But Mistress Tabitha was sly and
finally escaped into a tree, far above their
malicious pursuit; taking with her the rem-
nants of a fish, which she enjoyed in their
actual sight, as they lay resting at the foot of
that giant oak. Each one threw a parting

The mad hermit.

pebble at her, in good-lunnored defiance.
None of them touched her, and Tabby con-
tinued her meal, watching with gleaming
eyes of green her late adversaries depart
toward the camp.

Each boy, having munched a piece of
bread, threw himself down in his tent to sleep
off the fatigues of the long night's chase.
Julian lay wakeful for a time, watching the
stars as they peeped in between the flaps of
his tent, and revolving in his mind the en-
counter with the wild beast, and the still
more terrifying, though less perilous, meeting
with the Mad Hermit. Once or twice he
fancied that he saw the weird figure hovering
about the tents; then he tried to remember
what his grandfather, in a few brief, cynical
sentences, had striven to tell him of this sin-
gular being. Finally his thoughts got into
a tangle, confused, bewildered, mingled with
the sounds of the forest and of the sea; and
at last he had floated off into that paradise of
untroubled sleep, where the old are young
again, and the world-weary are light of heart,
and from which boyhood emerges with re-
newed vitality, hope and energy.

It seemed to Julian when he woke that he

I i

If-

¥'

I-

Il6 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

could never wait to gain his grandfather's
consent, or anything else; but that, once his
breakfast was swallowed, he must hasten to
the marsh and find the entrance to the cavern,
in the light of the Hermit's words. As a first
step towards action, he rushed out of the tent to
light the fire, deferring his morning plunge
in the sea till the kettle was filled with water
and hung ovi r the blaze.

"I mustn't lose a moment," he said to
himself. "I'll go and see grandfather and
get back here by midday. That will give us
a fine, long afternoon for the search,"

Tabby had interfered a good deal with the
morning meal. But when Julian went to
bathe, as it was low water, he found a few
clams on the beach. The four boys relished
them later, with salt and pepper, finding them
a pleasant addition to their bread and butter.
When everything was put away, Julian pre-
pared to start upon his mission; but as he
neared the edge of the forest, whom should he
encounter but Nicholas, standing with arms
outspread, plainly barring his passage?

Julian looked up into the rugged face
Ccirnestly.

*'I must go!" he said.

THE MAD HERMIT.

117

Nicholas shook his head from side to side,
precisely like some wooden image.

"I've got to go!" Julian repeated; and again
Nicholas shook his head.

Julian was jjerplexed.

"1 have to tell my grandfather before I can
go on with the quest; so, Nicholas, you must
let "ne go."

The wooden face relaxed somewhat.

*'I must let him know about the Mad Her-
mit and what he told me."

"Aha!" the voice came suddenly from the
rugged figure, which still barred the path;
and there was a glow of interest, of curiosity,
almost of suspicion in the face, as a gleam of
sun on a rock.

"He told me, you see, Nicholas, where the
entrance of the cavern is, and I must ask
grandfather if it is right to go on lookiu^
when we have got the clue."

Nicholas, with a trace of eagerness never
perceptible before in his imperturbable face,
broke his habitual silence.

"You will not give up?"

"No," said Julian, solemnly. "With God's
help, I mean to keep on; only I want to do
everything fairly."

118 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

The arms were withdrawn, and Nicholas,
making once again the military salute, stepped
aside. Julian, with a simple "Thank you,
Nicholas!" passed on his way; while the old
man looked after the brave figure of the boy,
just touched with the morning sunlight,—
and looked and looked till he had to wink
away some very human tears from his eyes.

It was a beautiful morning, and as Julian
hurried on, the beauty of it seemed to sink
into his heart; for a peaceful heart, a good
conscience, and a joyous temperament give to
Nature a gladness that is indescribable.
Every honest boy experiences this when he
gets up on a summer morning and goes forth
for a ramble by sea or land.

It seemed to Julian's impatience that the
way was very long to the mansion at Pine
Bluff; but at last its roof and gables came in
sight, and the dwelling itself, solemn and
drear, with the shadows of more than two
centuries upon it. Julian entered at the gar-
den, and, passing by the flowering beds and
bushes of roses and other bloom, he reached
the familiar lawn. It was very silent now,
since "the fellows" were all gone from it;
and with something of awe Julian passed

THE MAD HERMIT.

119

across its bars of light and shade, where the
suii came through the ehns guarding it on
every side. Plis figure looked strangely small ;
but his face had that brightness upon it which
one associates with the sunshine ; and his
hair, as he took off his cap to wipe his fore-
head, shone, too, iu the wandering sunbeams.
V His grandfather, perceiving him from the
library window, felt a glow half of pleasure,
half of vexation. Had this little chap come
to disturb his beloved solitude? And had he
been, after all, the first to give up the con-
test ? With these thoughts was a certain
pleasure, owing to the gladness of the boy's
face and to his brave and manly bearing.

*'If he has given up, the others have no
chance," the old man thought. "And yet
I am surprised. I did not think he would
have accepted defeat so speedily."

And then Mr. Mortimer heard the young
voice saying outside his window:

•'May I come into the library, grandfather?
I have something very important to tell you."

The old man could scarce restrain a smile
at the gravity with which this message was
delivered; and he looked down at the small
figure, with its resolute air, and into the
bright eyes gazing so earnestly into his own.

120 THE LOST JEWEL OF T' K MORTLMERS.

"Come in, then," he said, -and let us hear
the momentous tidings. One would think you
were an ambassador from the Czar of All the

Russias."

And Julian, accepting the invitation, went
"P the steps and in at the open door, taking
his way to the library, where Mr. Mortimer
s:.t awaiting him.

I.;

Chapter IX.
An Afternoon's Adventures.

When Julian entered his grandfather's lib-
rary, the boy's figure acquired a peculiar dig-
nity from the surroundings. It was as if a
bright spirit of Youth had suddenly invaded
precincts which had become the exclusive
property of Age. The grandfather surveyed
his visitor lor a moment in silence, then he
spok«»:

"To what am I indebted. Master Julian
Mortimer, for this early return from your syl-
van solitude?"

"I just came back to speak to you, sir."

•'Ah! Not for an extended stay? Not with
a view to giving np the contest?" — and his
eyebrows were very satirical.

Julian flushed.

"I do not think I shall ever give up, grand-
father," he said proudly,— "unless I see that
it is utterly useless."

The grandfather smothered the sigh which
rose to his lips, and, from under contracted

(121)

122 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

brows, studied the fearless countenance and
the shilling hair before him. On his lap
rested an open treatise, which discussed some
abstruse problem of life with which youth has
nothing to do

"I thought it was fairer to come and tell
you," said Julian, «'that I met the Mad
Hermit."

The g/andfather started.

"That, is, we all met him, coming along
just like fury. But he spoke to me."

"Why to you?"

Julian hesitated. He did not want to say
that the others, even Sedgwick, had run
away.

"He mistook me for my father, called me
Bob," explained Julian; "and he told me
where to look for the entrance of the cavern."

"He told you that!'' exclaimed the grand-
father, leaning forward in strong excitement.
"Then, my boy, if you find that, half the
battle is won,— or so I have always heard."

"He told me it was in the moving marsh,
where that wild beast is."

"The moving marsh! the wild beast!"
repeated the grandfather thoughtfully; then
he leaned back in his chair. "Pshaw, child!
he is mad, — remember he is mad!"

AN afternoon's ADVENTURES. 123

"But may we try?" inquired Julian, looking
earnestly into his grandfather's face. «'Will
it be fair if we find the cavern after getting
the clue from the Hermit?"

The grandfather stared. He was an up-
right man, as men go; but this point of honor
was beyond him.

"That's what I came to ask you," went on
Julian.

"You came to ask me if you might make
use of this knowledge gained from the mad-
man?" asked Mr. Mortimer.

"Yes, sir."

"Did the others agree with you in thinking
my judgment necessary?"

"Well, we had an argument, but at last
they all agreed, even Jake."

Mr. Mortimer looked away out over the
sunlit lawn, uito some far distance, as though
he was seeking for his own sunny youth.
Perhaps he strove to remember if this quality
of absolute truthfulness and sincerity had cast
a glow over that beautiful land of the long
ago. Then, with something like pain con-
tracting his forehead for an instant, he
answered:

"I have no power to decide in such a case:

124 THE LOST JEWKL OK THE MORTIMERS.

no instructions have been left. But my indi-
vidual opinion is that you should certainly
proceed to act upon this knowledge. Of course
it may prove to be a Will-o'-the-wisp, but yon
are entitled to what light it gives."'

Having so decided, Mr. Mortimer was
silent a moment; then he inquired, with some
curiosity:

"Did the Hermit give this information to
all the boys?"

"No, sir," said Julian. "I think I was
the only one who heard."

"Then I presume you will follow the clue
for your own benefit?"

"Oh, no!" cried Julian, his fair face flush-
ing. "I couldn't do that. I have already
told them; for I want to go ahead fairly."

The grandfather's eyes were dimmed this
time with a very imusual moisture, akin to
that mist which had obscured the orbs of
Nicholas 0.1 the edge of the forest,— akin to
that dimness which clouds an old man's vision
when he catches sight of the half-forgotten
sky of youth aglow with trustfulness, hopeful-
ness, and the light of integrity.

"My boy," he said, "unless the lost jewel
and the hidden room be but shadows of a

AN afternoon's ADVENTURES.

125

dreain, I believe you will some clay discover
theni; for you have been found worthy."

He rose and, with old-fashioned courtesy,
made a stately bow. Julian was half abashed,
half awestricken.

"You should have been Sir Julian de Mor-
timer," the old man continued, relapsing into
a sportive vein, "and have worn a suit of
unstained armor, borne a lance that was in-
vincible, and uplifted the good sword Excali-
bur. But, as it is, you are only a boy of the
twentieth century, with your own ideals to
work out; and you shall presently have hm-
cheon with nie. After that I shall entrust
you with the volume which records the life
and doings of our common ancestor, this re-
doubtable Anselm Benedict. You will guard
it carefully and return it to me when next you
come from the forest."

The luncheon was ser\'ed with the usual
formal stateliness. The old man presided
with dignity; the boy, who seemed small and
insignificant in those great rooms, sat beside
him and enjoyed the good things with a boy's
hardy relish. His grandfather watched him
approvingly, saying to himself that the lad
had really very good table manners. I^ittle

126 THK LOST JKVVIvL OF TIIK MORTIMERS.

was said, and after the meal the oddly assorted
pair returned to the library. When they had
been sitting there a few moments, the grand-
father drowsy and dozing in his chair, Julian
suddenly rose.

♦*I am afraid, grandfatlie-, I shall have to
be going," he announced.

Mr. Mortimer started, awoke, nibbed his
eyes and looked at iiis grandson, amused at
his tone and bearing.

••Indeed! And pray what's your hurrv
Julian?" ^'

••Well, you see, sir, I promised the others
to get back as soon as I could, so that we
might begin the search for the cavern this
afternoon."

"So eager!" sighed the old man, gazing
out again through the window to what might
have been the lost hills of youth. •'Well, I
must not keep you. I will give you the vol-
ume as a precious loan. It is of much value
as an historical record,--though few of us
have ever so muci as opened it."
St The grandfather adjusted his glasses and
cast his eyes down the pages of a folio, evi-
dently a list of books in the library. Then he
rose and pressed a spring in the wall: a cup-

AN AFTERNOON'S ADVRNTURRS. 1 27

hoard stood revealed. Its shelves were ladeu
with many things which to Julian's eyes
seemed like treasures : slippers of Spanish
leather with silver buckles ; daggers with
elaborate hilts; quaintly carved tennis balls,
with which tradition said a king of France
had played a king of England; stirrup cups
of the long ago ; snuff-boxes, fur-trimmed
gantlets, ancient manuscripts, curious Missals.
Amongst these last Mr. Mortimer sought and
found a volume bound in leather, richly
jewelled, with solid silver clasps of rare work-
manship. Having taken it forth, he blew
the dust from its cover and wiped it with a
silken duster.

"Here, my boy," he said, "is the history
of our eccentric ancestor, Anrelm Benedict
Mortimer, of unquiet memory-."

It hurt Julian to hear his grandfather's tone
of disparagement toward a person whom he
had already transformed into a boyish idol.
For the most generous and high-minded of
boys are usually he o-worshipers and exalt
some one to a pinnacle, whether it be the
successful pitcher or catcher in a baseball
contest, the professor who by some eloquent
lecture has won their admiration, the mathe-

I2S THK LOST JKWKL OF TIIK MORTl.Ml.RS.

. Si

ill;

inaticiaii who has demoiistrated a difficult
proposition, the circus-rider who has ridden
the wildest mustang, or the great general who
has commanded the applause of a nation.
Julian was uo exception to the rule, and this
tendency in his nature had been encouraged
and directed into safe channels by his mother.
Just now he had given the fust place in his
imagination to the somewhat visionary an-
cestor who had imposed so stern an ordeal
upon his descendants.

"I entrust you with this volume because I
know you will value and care for it," declared
Mr. Mortimer.

"But, grandfather, ] am afraid. It is so
handsome, so costly! Suppose it should get
lost?"

"Well, then, my lad, you or I would be
responsible to the estate for a considerable
amount; but, after all— " (he gave Julian a
peculiar glance, which the boy was far from
understanding, and finished his sentence)
/'after all, if you go on as you're doing, the
) price of this volume may be a very small
matter to you by and by."

Julian said nothing, looking gravely up
into his grandfather's face, with his head on

liii

AN afternoon's \DVKNTURKS.

129

• ,n.-

to u

stand liis

one side, as if an> ,
meaning.

"However," said ' -c old nia'j, laying his
hand on Jnlian's arm with real kindliness,
"I shall be very much disappointed in you if
the book gets lost or injured while in your
possession."

"I don't know about that, sir," argued
Julian. "Mother used to say I was very care-
less about my clothes."

Mr. Mortimer laughed.

"Well, you must take extra care of the
book, — that's all. And see that it does not
get spotted."

Julian received the volume as if he were
accepting a trust, believing with all the con-
fidence of youth that he would guard it with
his life. Tucking it carefully under his arm,
he took leave of his grandfather and set forth,
trudging bravely along the road toward the
forest, which lay bright and shimmering un-
der the sun's rays, a mass of verdure.

When Julian reached the camp, he hurried
into his tent to put the precious volume in a
place of safety. Then he came forth to find
Sedgwick and Wat stretched at length under
the trees. They could give no account of

130 TIIK LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTLMERS.

Jake. He had left camp very soon after
Julian's departure that morning.

"I guess he's trying to shoot something for
supper," remarked Sedgwick. "We're get-
ting rather low for provender."

"I saw a tiny house on the edge of the
forest, over near the cliff," said Julian; "and
there's an old woman there has a cow. I'm
going to try and get some milk, and perhaps
butter, from her. I have a little money mother
gave me. But I wish we could go to the
marsh now while it's light. Of course we
can't begin the search, though, without Jake.
It would be unfair."

"It's a pity," cried Wat; "because it's a
fine day, and there are clouds over yonder!
I shouldn't wonder if it rains to-morrow.''

"He's the greatest beggar for being out of
the way when he's wanted," growled Sedg-
wick. "I vote, we all walk down toward the
marsh. We may meet the fellow somewhere. "

So off they all started; for anything was
better than keeping still. And as they went,
they sang lustily the last college song which
had often disturbed the campus. When they
drew near the sinister spot, a silence fell upon
them, and even the bravest were conscious of

AN AFTKRXOON'S ADVENTURES.

131

a feeling of trepidation. What was their
consternation to hear faint but repeated cries
as of distress. Some animal — or, more hor-
rible thought, some human being — was in
danger or pain of some kind or another. The
boys listened and listened. That moaning,
those faint cries for help, fa'rly ciirdled their
blood. At last Julian criei , with a sudden
flash of intuition:

"Jake!"

He began to run forward at full speed; the
others, after some hesitation, following. They
had run halfway round to the far side of the
marsh, when they beheld a strange and hor-
rible sight. Jake had sunk into the marsh
as far as his knees. To the boys' excited
imagination it seemed as if he must be drawn
down before their eyes, after the manner of
the storybooks. More terrible still, the beast
that had before threatened their very lives,
paced restlessly upon the bank, growling and
sniffing, deterred only by the uncertain nature
of the marsh from falling upon Jake. And as
if to complete the chapter of horrors and to
ensure the hapless lad's destruction, above
him towered, secure upon a shaded knoll, the
awful figure of the Mad Hermit, brandishing
an axe in his powerful arms.

II
n

132 THH LOST J p:\vi: L ok the mortimurs.

Julian was a brave boy, and lie was most
anxious to live up to tlie high ideal of cour-
age and manliness set him by his inustrious
ancestor, the chivalrous Anselm Benedict.
But he stood now fairly petrified by fear, in
presence of the threefold danger threatening
the hapless Jake. Suddenly, with a great
leap of the heart, it came home to him that
he could not allow his cousin tliirs to perish.
Something nuist be done!

Following this impulse, he stepped as
lightly as possible upon the marsh. It qua-
vered, but he continued his course, for there
was no other means of reaching Jake, while
the wild animal kept watch upon the opposite
bank. The marsh was dotted, curiously
enough, with little knolls, such as that upon
which the Hermit had ensconced himself,
and upon each of these knolls was a wide-
spreading oak. These circumstances sug-
gested to Julian's active mind the possibility
of approaching the struggling Jake. He ad-
vanced as cautiously as possible to the first of
these knolls, and seizing the outspreading
branch of a tree, succeeded without difficulty
in swinging himself to a tolerably secure
position amongst the branches.

AN afternoon's ADVENTURES.

133

From this point he crept along carefully,
till he was able to seize a branch of the tree
which occupied the second knoll. After that
he strove to make his way by springing from
one tree to another, though the distance
between was considerable, and he knew that
if he fell he would, by the force of his own
weight, be buried almost to a certainty in the
noisome slime of the marsh. Nevertheless,
he succeeded in swinging himself into the oak
under which stood the Mad Hermit. Having
securely planted himself upon an upper bough,
he swooped down and seized the hatchet.
The madman, who had been intent on Jake
and had not taken any notice of Julian's
manoeuvres, in his astonishment, let go of
the formidable weapon. Julian having secured
it, by a dexterous aim laimched it into space.
The Hermit became madly excited and turned
to look for the offender, crying:

"Justice, justice must be done under high
Heaven!"

The mass of foliage hid Julian from his
view, and as he could not discover the new
aggressor, he returned once more to his old
enemy and bending seized Jake by the hair,
with the ominous words:

■•1

li
i\

1'^

T34 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"I will plunge you downwards and bury
you in the quagmire!"

Jake uttered shriek after shriek, while the
animal upou the shore redoubled itsgrowliugs
and paced back and forth, sniffing more
ferociously than ever. It almost seemed as if
it would leap upon the uncertain ground,
which had hitherto restrained it, aid seizing
upou Jacob, destroy that miserable boy's last
chance of escape.

"You would dig! you would dig!" cried
the lunatic, "you would find the cavern, but
I tell yon, you shall not, for it is mine.
I keep a hundred lions there; Bob tried to
find it; he couldn't and he went back to
town."

As the Hermit spoke thus, Julian glanced
at the spade upon the bank and realized with
a curious sense of disgust and abhorrence,
that Jake had actually come here on his own
account, to steal a march upon his compan-
ions and discover the cavern without them.
However, this did not interfere with his settled
resolve to save Jake, if it were possible, no
matter what might be the risk to himself.

The Hermit, whose unstable mind had for
the moment wandered from its purpose of

AN afternoon's adventures. 135

bodily harm to Jacob, suddenly remembered
his previous intentions, and seizing a firmer
grip of his victim, began to dance him up and
down, cr>'ing:

"I will bury you! I will bury you!"

"But if you bury him," cried Julian, from
his vantage ground amidst the foliage, "he
mav find the cavern!"

The words proved magical.

"That is true !" cried the Hermit, "I will
pull him out and cast him upon the shore for
the wild beasts to devour,"

Now this new feature of the programme
filled Jake with a terror, which he expressed
by renewed shrieks. Julian, too, was greatly
alarmed ; for the marsh had been the sole
protection against the beast. And if the
lunatic carried out this latest design, Jake
was, indeed, lost. By a sudden inspiration,
however, Julian began to cry out to the Her-
mit, from his vantage point above:

"IJo, no, help me to hoist him into the
tree, and we'll fasten him up there; he'll be
too far above the earth to find the cavern."

"Ho! Ho!" cried the lunatic, "is that you.
Bob, cunning Bob? That's a good scheme.
I'll pull him out of the quagmire and give you

136 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

his hauds. Then, we'll get a rope and tie
him up for the crows to peck at."

He actually seized upon Jake with a force
and celerity which released the boy from his
precarious position, and stood him up against
. , the tree. Julian then quickly seized his
^ cousin's hands, urging him in a whisper to
help all he could, and to try to reach the low-
est bough of the tree. Jake, who was quite
unnerved, tried to grasp the tree trunk with
his legs, and, by the assistance of Julian,
managed to attain a secure position upon the
outspreading branch.

But whether the comb^lued weight of the
two boys was too much for the bough, or
whether Jake by some awkward movement
had dislodged his cousin, it was impossible to
tell: Julian slipped off the branch and fell
heavily into the marsh, on the other side of
the tree from that wherein Jake had so lately
struggled. Julian thought he must have been
losing consciousness; for he felt himself
slowly, slowly descending, whither he knew
not, but he believed it must be into the realms
of death. He gave one swift thought to his
mother on earth, another to his Mother in
heaven.

AN afternoon's ADVENTURES. I37

Meanwhile Sedgwick and Wat ran along
the shore, desperately watching the disappear-
ance of their brave companion, and calling
aloud in their anguish and terror.

Chapter X.

The Cavern in the Forest.

Jake was at first horrified at the disappear-
ance of Julian, and something like remorse
entered his soul when he remembered the
danger to which Julian had been exposed on
his account. However, the thought of his
own safety soon becme uppermost in his
mind. The grim 5g of the Mad Hermit
was still in evidence, tossing wild arms up-
ward and addressing invocations to imaginary
beings who seemed to people the air about
him; while on the bank still paced restlessly,
with ferocious sniffings, the angry beast.

Jake was sufficiently agile, once he had re-
covered from his first fright, and presently
made for himself a temporary retreat in the
topmost branches of the tree, secure for a
time from his two assailants. As he sat there
ruminating, a thought suggested by the demon
of avarice began to take shape, half con-
sciously, in his mind: that, after all, it was

(138)

THE CAVERN IN THE FOREST.

139

as well if this Julian, who seemed likely to
be a successful competitor in the great race,
had really been removed from the arena.
No one could help it: it was one of those
happenings for which none could be held
responsible. He did not directly rejoice, but
he could not be expected to mourn for Julian,
whom he hated. Julian was always popular,
ever making friends, and doing plucky things
which cost him little effort, and gaining ap-
planse from old and young.

While John Jacob was busy with these dark
fancies, Sedgwick had made a pole of the
branch of a dead tree which lay prostrate
across a corner of the marsh, and strove to
explore the depths into which his comrade
had disappeared. When he at length realized
that these efforts were futile, he stood irreso-
lute and grief-stricken on the bank, in com-
pany with Wat, who alternately wrung his
hands and wiped his eyes.

Sedgwick had meanwhile given very little
heed to Jake, who now began to implore his
assistance; for he feared that his companions
might go away and leave him in his danger-
ous plight, with his two dreaded foes still in
a position of vantage below him.

140 TIIK LOST JKWi: L OK THE I RTIMERS.

"Here I am stuck up iu this tree!" he cried
out, in a cautious \vlii.s])cr.

"Serves you right!" replied Sedgwick.—
"You're the cause of all the trouble,— coming
here alone, like the sneak you are. Now, I
suppose, you've gone and done for Julian, the
best of the whole crowd and the only one
who had the least bit of a chance to find the
ruby."

The tears were very near the honest lad's
eyes as he thus spoke; for he had learned to
love his brave and generous cousin, and felt
not the slightest envy at the general good-will
he earned. However, he resolutely suppressed
his emotion and went on, in a voice that ,
sounded like a growl:

"I've a good mind to let you stick up there!
Well, you'd better get on to the next tree and
I'll give you a hand,— though I'd a great
sight sooner give you the toe of my boot."

Sedgwick, however, in point of fact, gave
Jake such elBcient assistance that the latter
presently stood upon solid earth, nervous and
shaken by conflicting emotions,— a mere hag-
gard wreck.

As they paused a moment, conversing in
whispers, uncertain what *o do and afraid to

'rm-: cavkux in thk iorkst.

141

attract tlic attention of the Ilennit, that ec-
centric individnal, with a wild shriek, sud-
denly fled howling into the forest; and at the
same monient the beast upon the opi)osite
bank seemed to realize that his late foe had
descended to the earth, and so might come
within range of his claws. He would, of
course, have a considerable detour to make in
order to come round the marsh; but he pre-
pared to solve the Jifficultv, keeping watchful
and terrifying eyes upon Jake.

With one accord Wat and Jake and ;j....
wick took to their heels. The race was at
first a sc\ ere one, and its upshot might have
been doubtful ; but, whether the attention of
the beast was distracted, or for some other
cause, he sudd ,..ly gave up the human hunt,
to the intense relief of the boys. They now
pursued their way, unmolested, but despon-
dent and dispirited, toward the camp. Once
there, Sedgwick set out to scour the edge of
the forest in search of Nicholas; for he had a
faint hope that th.it mysterious personage
might in some way be able to give help where
Julian was concerned. But of Nicholas there
was no trace. Only the rising wind stirred
the foliage of the trees or the dry leaves upon

142 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIAIERS.

the ground. Night was upon thei solemn
and drear, and both Sedgwick and Wat were
detennined to proceed to the mansion at Pine
Bluff in the morning, acquaint their grand-
father with what had occurred, and give up
the "whole blessed job". Jake, despite his
cowardice, was stubbornly detennined to con-
tmue the pursuit, with the hope, daily be-
coming more faint, of discovering the jewel.
"I guess if you stay here alone you'll go
mad like the Hermit," prophesied Wat.

That was an awful night at the camp.
Julian's tent stood like a white spectre, a
warning and a prophecy; and the dawn found
the boys still wakeful, pale and haggard from
the horror of what had befallen them. Sedg-
wick announced his intention of going first to
the marsh, to discover if by any means Julian
could have made his escape; and if this effort
proved futile, he resolved that he would call
upon the grandfather to organize a search-
party, that might thoroughly explore, with
spade and shovel, the mud and slime of the
morass.

Jake positively refused to accompany him
on his first expedition, alleging the utter use-
lessness of seeking for Julian, who had been

VHE CAVERN IN THE FOREST.

143

buried for several hours in the morass; and
Wat frankly confessed that he was afraid to
venture near the Hermit and the beast.

"If I were strong and well, perhaps I
shouldn't mind so much," Wat declared apol-
ogetically.

Sedgwick, without answering, began his
lonely way, in the first white light of the
dawn, through the forest.

Meanwhile it is time to return to Julian,
who felt himself descending through space
with a curious rotatory movement, for which
he could not account. In the confusion of his
thoughts, he wondered that he was not choked
with the slime nor swallowed up in the thick
black marshy substance, as he had supposed
would be the case. After rapidly revolving
for some time, he suddenly came to a stand-
still on some soft and yielding surface, after
.which he lost consciousness.
■^ When he came to himself he began to look
about him. The boom of the sea sounded
strangely near, and rocks gray and sombre
stood around, in the light which had begim
to grow dim. One thing was clear: he was
not dead, nor were the objects which sur-
rounded him mere spectral shapes. He lay

144 THK LOST JKWIX OK TIIR MORTIMKRS.

Still a hw moments, while .sudden and slnrp
the remembrance of his mother flashed into
Ins mind. What would she think, could she
know of her boy's perilous position ? The
recollection, however, gave him courage. She
was certainly praying for him earnestly, lov-
nigly; and her prayers would help him what-
ever came or went.

At last he tried to move, and found to his
satisfaction that he was unhurt. He rose to
liis feet and began to make observations It
was a strange scene, wild and desolate; and
as his eyes wandered over sea and rocks, it
became apparent to him that he was close to
the entrance of a cave. Breathlessly he re-
garded the spot: while, with a bounding of
the heart and quickening of the pulses, the
thought occurred to him that here was the
cavern of the forest.

The entrance, cunningly concealed, and
upon which he had happened by the merest
chance, tallied strangely with the description
given by the Mad Hermit, and he had found
It just when he was risking his life for his
perfidious cousin. While scarcely dwelHn-
upon this last consideration, he was -.crv glad
that he had made the discovery without tak-

THE CAVERN IN THE FOREST.

145

ing any advantage of the madman's clue,
except in so far that he had bent his steps
toward the marsh on that particular after-
noon.

He suddenly took his courage in his hands
and passed within the portals of the cave,
full of a throbbing sense of victory, which
filled him with a curious elation. At first he
entered merely a rocky vault, dark, with sea-
stained walls and damp floor. As he traversed
the winding passages, however, the atmo'-
phere grew more and more dry; whilst the
light which streamed in here and there from
crevices in the rocks, revealed those beauties
which have so often charmed adventurous ex-
plorers in the seabound caverns of granite-
lined coasts. Innumerable traceries of delicate,
filmy creepers and almost infinitesimal flowers
reminded Julian of the stories of the fairy
kingdom with which in early c'.iildhood he
■-ad been familiar. Here and there a stalac-
.', hanging from a natural pillar and gleani-

iig in the rays of a setting sun which
• treamed from without, filled the boy with a
feeling of awe.

, He wandered on and on, till at last he felt
a wave as of hot air blowing in his face.

Ri;

i\ '. 1

146 Tin-; LOST JKWKL OF THK MORTIMKRS.

This so startled him that he was tempted to
turn back. Bracing up, however, he made
a few steps forward, and l)y a sudden turn
found himself confronted by a large compart-
ment, fitted up quite comfortably as a liuman
habitation. A wooden flooring had been raised
some feet above the rock pavement, and was
covered with a thick carpet. Its coloring was
dim and obscured by time, but it answered
admirably its purpose of imparting v/armth
and comfort to the place. The walls were
fining about with skins of lieasts, some of
which were uncouth and formidable, others
glossy and shining, but all tending to exclude
the outer chill and darkness. Easy-chairs
stood about in careless profusion; there was
a great table with dragon legs, upon which
stood a pair of massive silver candlesticks
containing two waxen tapers, and provided
with snuffers and tray/1

Last but not least, a fire burned bright and
clear upon the hearth,— a chimney, or vent-
hole, having been arranged to emit the smoke.
This appeared to Julian most wonderful of all,
and filled him with a verj^ whirlwind of
thoughts. He recalled, vaguely and confused-
ly, the vestal fire which the Roman maidens

THE CAVKRN IX THlv I-ORKST.

147

had forever kept alight in the Temple of
Vesta; the fires of the sun-worshipers; and he
wondered if Anselm Benedict had contrived
in any way whatever to have had this flame
kept burning for over two hundred years.

lie stood staring at the hearth as though he
had seen a veritable apparition; whilst a low,
chuckling laugh suddenly broke the stillness
and iii^^reased his terror. Pie did not dare to
turn his head, and was not aware that Nich-
olas stood just behind him till a deep, guttural
voice, hoarse as the sea, sounded on his over-
strained ears.

"For the second time," it said, "a seeker
has found this cavern."

The boy, turning slowly, looked into Nich-
olas' deep-set eyes and saw a powerful emotion
agitating the rugged features. Julian was
half relieved, half terrified by the sight of the
old man; for just then his identity seemed
more than ever unreal. Together the boy and
man stood looking into each others face for
about three minutes, during which Julian
murmured a **Hail Mary" and implored the
help of his Mother in heaven. Then he ven-
tured to speak.

"Nicholas," he said, "you are sure that

1%.

I .

148 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

this is the very cavern in the forest that we
have been seeking all these days?"
"Yes!"

"And now may I go?" the boy queried
eagerly.

"Not until sunrise to-morrow."

A shiver crept through Julian's frame.

"I am afraid to stay here alone," he said
frankly.

"If you leave now, you renounce the in-
heritance," Nicholas replied brusquely. —
"Within the next half hour, if you still wish
to be free, strike with this stick upon the
cavern wall three times in succession. For
that space of time I will hear and answer."

Julian involuntarily took the curiously
carved stick which Nicholas placed in his
hands, but before he could utter another word
the old man had disappeared, and the boy
stood alone in the growing darkness. The
light from without, coming faintly through
the winding passages, had died away com-
pletely; and the logs were burning with a
steady glow, which - ave heat but no longer
much light. Julian paused irresolute, trying
to make up his mind as to whether or not he
should be equal to the dread ordeal of spend-

i.'i^.^

THE CAVERN IN THE FOREST.

149

ing a night of solitude underground. He
thought upon his mother, who would be so
disappointed should he fail in this contest;
he reflected upon the trials and dangers through
which he had already passed; and at last his
mind reverted to Anselni Benedict and the
high qualities with which youthful fancy had
invested him. He would never have allowed
himself to be turned backward by cowardly
fear.

> Julian, by a sudden impulse, threw the
stick to the far corner of the room. Neither
would he weakly yield. Advancing to the
hearth, he was cheered to discover a pile of
pine knots ready to replenish the fire. He
threw a few of them upon the fire, and draw-
ing forward an armchair, sank into its depths.
But, despite his brave resolve, he was far
from being at ease. His eyes roved restlessly
over the walls, which, fur-covered as they
were, appeared spectral in the dimness; and
at the rocky ceiling overhead, which seemed
to conceal chaotic darlcness. The firelight
accentuated the blackness which settled down
upon the cave, save when, more fearful still,
there appeared above Julian's head phospho-
rescent gleams — livid, greenish white or lurid
flame-colored.

i'i !

ii , -

si" -'

til .

w .■

150 TIIK LOST JKWKL F THE MORTIMERS.

Scarce coinijrelicncling their nature, they
filled him with terror. He rose and began to
gro])e his way toward the table. All at once
his hand came in contact with a head. He
recoiled in horror, only to rest his hand upon
some clannny substance. In his affright he
rushed to the hearth, snatched thence a pine
knot, which he lit, thus providing an excel-
lent torch, with which he also enkindled the
two waxen tapers. He then discovered that
the head was that of a leopard hanging from
one of the skins upon the wall, and that the
clammy substance was the nose of a stuffed
silver fox.

But though the clear light of the candles,
blending with the red glow of the torch,
made every object in the apartment plainly
discernible, and so relieved his worst fears, he
suddenly felt the various surrounding objects
intolerable, and fancied that the rocky cave
without and the foaming waves of the sea
would be less unendurable. He grasped his
torch firmly and set forth to seek the mouth
of the cave; but, owing to a wrong turning
in some of the winding passages, he suddenly
found himself in another large compartment,
which, though very different in its appoint-

THE CANERN IN' THE FOREST.

151

ments, showed signs likewise of liumau habi-
tation. Rude chairs, boxes and kegs stood
about; the ashes of a fire were upon a hearth;
while guns, cutlasses and other K familiar
weapons were strewn in the corners of this
rocky chamber.

As Julian stood and gazed, with the roar of
the sea in his ears, he realized with a thrill
that here, ready to his hand, were some of
those adventures which had fascinated him in
the pages of boys' books. This must be the
abode of sea-rovers, perhaps of pirates. While
he familiarized himself with this idea, he was
gradually seized with a fear, not of men but
of the sea — the terrible limitless sea — which
sounded so near, and into which an incautious
step might hurl him. He shuddered as his
imagination conjured up sea-monsters, strange
uncouth fishes, the broken hulls of wrecked
vessels, and the motionless forms of drowned
mariners.

And while he grew every moment more
terrified, the keel of a boat grated upon the
rock, the sound becoming gradually louder
and more distinct. Julian sank, trembling,
upon his knees, praying with a fervor which
surprised himself, as all of a sudden the grat-

H.-' '

V ,1

152 THE LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

iiig noise gave place to the rushing and tram-
pling of feet, and a dozen rough fellows
rushed into the compartment.

■ I
- i

Chapter XL

Among Smugglers.

A dozen or more rough men burst into the
compartment where knelt the astonished and
affrighted boy. Some carried oars or tar-
paulins, others bore kegs, and still others
were provided with formidable-looking weap-
ons similar to those which stood about the
cave. They were clad in red flannel shirts,
trousers of coarse stuff tucked into huge boots,
and slouch hats drawn down over their faces.
They all stood still at sight of the boy, and
some deep and terrible oaths disturbed the
stillness of the cavern. Their first instinct
was to rush upon Julian, but something in his
appearance and attitude restrained them. A
superstitious terror seized upon all excep* '^ue
or two of the most hardened.

"It is surely a sperrit or spook!" whis-
pered one.

"0«/, im revenant, — one who has come
back from the dead!' replied a Frenchman;

(153)

\t.

t '■

154 THK LOST Ji:\Vl... Oi Til K MORTIMERS.

while the rest stood by, legardiug Julian with
reyc-reuce or curiosity, r. icer» 'u what to do.
Tlie b()> Vs eyes, disii. • 'cd by fear, w re
raised in supplication, m. 1 lil^ hands were
clasped as he fervently - ipl* a 1 the help of
^ our Heavenly Mothn Arwun,, him, npoi,
the wall, was the gleaiu of .-uMjew ipons;
and in u semicircle, le trdiu.^^ ijina intently,
were the uncouth figure.., who ^ id itly made
an habil;!al resort of this ca\ -ru. What iliey
v.ere, Juiiau could not iniaj^ine. Li\ ing in
au inland town, he knew but little c smiigj..
ler.s, pirates or other water-side characters;
and it was only his reading of more or less
veracious boys' books which enabled him to
form a guess as to their real character.

At last the captain, who was at once 'he
shrewdest and fiercest amongst the men, li iv-
ing made up his mind that the boy w s cer-
tainly of flesh and blood, approaclud and
seized him rudely by the shoulder, i'.ow of
the banc tarted forward as if to prevei.l .1
sacrilegious act, and then paused in an atti-
tude of curiosity, as if to observe the outcome.
"Sav, who be you and what Ix ou doin'
here?" growled the daring ruffian.

"I am Julian Robert Mor inier," siid the

Ji.

AMUN'

; SMrOCI.KRS.

1 55

boy, ri-.ug

aii(' t.

:ii'"

nuic

circle,

with

head erect and i. i^

.iu^ c\ci5

"Mirtiir

•r!" . c!

ii)C(l c) e .

aid

anothei

un-

ea.si!^ 'I iic IK 1!.,

• was -111

-Id

one i.

. til -

neigil>orliO'

1 iiid

, k. -

. o

e the

forei^. 1^

't V

!lOU

-r,

a^ ■ 'V

asso-

( ated in tl; • iniiui, ith
ai! atmc^. lit of m\ er>

Yes, Afoi 'le'-," k ' n
am oue "f Ik- eke >

" lUi ^ .ill y, 1
rad' '1 ail ' ble \
was ^po'
g^one M<>ti ler.'- ct
tiie mont ."

But 'e c ntair
pli>'-t., -stiou' 1

' Seekers.

' Boys wli

JLU iiv

aud

'an-

' m . a des^
)er I told you .
lie o' them dead-am -
dodgiu' around after

ho was a stranger to the
•gedly:
be hey?"
eeki a jewel and a for-
une," answ jlian, [)roudly.

♦« \ rars t' n ," liugaed the skipper, bru-
tallv, ' ii're i pretty much the same line
iz ourselves."

T ofucs'; " piif in one solemn-looV.'rg fel-
n' 'he' speakin' about the kingdom o'
Ion,- u ' 1 that the parsons chin

„U....« M

at-" ■-;•..

ito

iii

156 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

"Yes, that's it!" cried the Frenchman, ex-
citedly. "It's a saint come to seek liis sal-
vation in this cave. I'm no saint, and I don't
believe much in anything; but I don't want
to hurt a saint."

♦'Be you a saint?" grunted the captain, not
very clear as to what the other meant; and
the question, despite his fear, sent Julian into
a gurgling fit of laughter which prevented his
answering.

"Best leave him alone and make tracks!"
cried one.

"But what about the swag?" queried
another.

"If you mean these things," observed Julian
politely, glancing at the kegs, "they're quite
safe with me."

"Safe, you bet," roared the captain, *«till
you bring the perlice about us!"

And he ripped out an awful oath, which
made Julian's blood mucoid; but he managed
to control his feelings, and answered hastily:

"Oh, no! The only person that knows
about this cavern has nothing to do with the
police. Nicholas — "

"Nicholas!" repeated the smugglers,— and
amongst some of them, at least, there was

AMONG SMUGGLERS.

157

evident trepidation. *'Do you belong to
Nicholas?"

Julian hesitated an instant, then said:

"I know him, and he's coming for me to-
morrow morning."

There was a chorus of oaths and impreca-
tions this time, such as Julian had never
heard, and which seemed to intensify the hor-
ror of the scene, the semi-darkness of the
cave, and the booming of the waters without
upon the pebbly beach. The smugglers were
rather alarmed ^ v this intelligence, and Julian
continued boldly:

'*I guess Nicholas knows you're here, any-
way; for he seems to know most everything
and to hear what people say."
> This was a chance shot, but it had a marked
effect.

"We'd best ship anchor, messmates,"
grunted one old salt. *'The chap's right:
Nicholas knows whatever's goin' on, and if
he has biz to transact here, we'd better get
out, and the quicker the better, swag or no

swag."

*'Waal," said the captain, "Nicholas or no

Nicholas, this here chap's got to swear secre-
cy. You say Nicholas knows, but how d'ye
know he knows?"

!- !

158 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

This was unanswerable, and some of the
men began to mutter amongst themselves that
there was no harm in precautions.

"So. my young cockatoo," roared the cap-
tain, "down on your marrowbones, and say
what I tell you!"

He forced Julian down upon his knees and
proceeded to fornuilate so awful an oath that
even some of those hardened in crime actually
shuddered. Their nerves had got a shock,
and they were not qnile sure yet as to whether
or no they had been called upon to deal with
the supernatural ; while the mention of the
mysterious Nicholas was far from reassuring.
The boy's face turned pale with horror, and
he threw back his head with the gesture of
pride and courage so familiar to all who knew
him.

"Stop!" he cried. "I wouldn't repeat
those wicked words if you were to kill me on
the spot!"

"I tole you it was a saint," raurmure^' the
Frenchman; and others secretly concurred in
the sentiment.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself to
insult God like that!" Julian went on, borne
out of himself by honest indignation; and as

AMONG SMUGGLERS.

159

he tliixs spoke, those in a position to make the
comparison would have noted a marked re-
semblance in this young descendant to Anselm
Benedict of heroic memory.

"If you won't swear as I bid yon, we'll find
means to make you," snarled the captain,
with another frightful imprecation. The
truth is, he trembled for his authority with
hi3 ungovernable crew, should he permit him-
self to be bearded by this mere stripling.

"You'll never find means to make me
repeat that!" cried Julian. "I always disliked
boys that said bad words and blasphemed
God. I never wanted to have anything to do
with them. And it's worse for grown-up men
to use such language."

The clear yoimg voice rose above the roar
of the ocean, giving its honest testimony there
in that underground cavern, surrounded by
lawless and desperate men, far from all human
succor. It was the fearlessness of a noble
nature protesting against what was evil, and
it wrung a reluctant tribute of admiration
from nearly all who heard. Deep down in
the soul of some of those wretched men old
memo"*"s stirred, and across many a lurid
scene * the sunshine of innocence bright

l6o TT/K J,OSl JKWKI, OF THK MORTIMERS.

and clear. The oldest amongst that fierce
band mechanically drew a hand across eyes
which were dimmed by an unwonted
moisture.
< Julian was unaware, however, of the effect
which his gallant bearing had produced; and,
looking around the circle of dark faces, he
found no comfort there. The captain was
absolute and none dared openly to oppose him.
Something like a chill of f-ar crept into the
young heart. He thought of his mother, and
of her horror and consternation could she see
him then; but he also remembered her often-
repeated injunction to have recourse in all
dangers to God and His Blessed Mother.
Then the memory of Anselm Benedict suffer-
ing exile and imprisonment for the Faith
flashed into his mind. The bo\ 's thoughts
were brought back to his awful surroundings
by the captain's voice giving a grim com-
mand:

'*To the boats, then; and take him along
if he won't swear!"

The men approached the boy with marked
reluctance, and, securing his arms, led him
swiftly away through the rocky passages of
the underground retreat, till he felt the salt

AMONG SMUGGLERS.

i6i

air and the sea spray upon his cheek, and
presently stood upon a pebbly beach, where
three or four boats lay in waiting. He was
thrust into one of these, which was soon
manned by the captain himself with three or
four of the crew. Scarcely ten minutes had
elapsed when the little vessel was dancing on
the foamy crest of the waves, moving rapidly
outward. Despite the danger and uncertainty
of his position, Julian's spirits began to rise.
The love of adventure which in his far-off
ancestor had stood out side by side with his
higher qualities, now stirred in his young
descendant, and he scarcely repressed a wild
whoop of enjoyment as they followed their
course out over the darkening sea.

There was a strong element of fascination
in the situation, which appealed most power-
fully to Julian's imagination. Who were
these men and whither were they taking him?
Why did they seem to fear Nicholas? With
these conjectures were mingled a host of fan-
cies more or less distinct. He pictured him-
self afar off in stormy seas, shut up, perhaps,
in the hold of a vessel; or regaining his free-
dom and sailing to distant islands in search
of treasure. This last consideration reminded

l62 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

J"
I I''

him of the fact that he was probably leaving
the jewel of the Mortimers and the phautc^n
fortune behind him; and he recollected with
a pang t'lat he was likewise leaving his mother
in her h neliness, disappointment and sorrow.
She would not even know his fate. The only
consolation was that he could not have done
otherwise, and she would have been the last
to advise him to blaspheme God in order to
secure his own safety.

As they went on, the sky became gradually
overclouded, and the few stars which had
appeared now vanished one by one; a moan-
ing wind crept over the surface of the sea,
stirring the wavelets into angry billows. As
they grow in volume, they beat the boats about
with terrific force, now tossing them high,
now burying them in a deep trougii. It was
soon apparent that rough weather was at
hand, and terror began to manifest itself upon
the faces of the men, as they cast uneasy
glances upon Julian, where he sat calmly in
their midst, his face pale but steady and com-
posed. For he was too inexperienced to dread
the fury of the elements, and the gathering
storm had, to the boy's nature, all the charm
of novelty. He felt like giving a wild halloo

AMONG SMUGGLERS.

163

as wave after wave sent showers of spray over
every inmate of the boat, ai..i he had to hold
his cap tightly on his head lest it should be
blown away.

"I tole you!" broke in the Frenchman. —
"It's a saint, and the anger of God — the God
he prays to— is after us."

Most of the others were disposed to concur
in these sentiments, especially when lurid
gleams of lightning began to part the dark
clouds to the southwest, and the mutterings
of thunder growled ever louder and louder.

"And look you there, skipper!" cried one
of the crew, pointing to the rocky shore they
had just left, which was illumined with flashes
of light gleaming amongst the rocks, — now
livid white, now red, now opalescent green.

"St. Elmo's fire!" exclaimed another, who
in his youth had gone down to the .sea in
ships and had been familiar with many sights
unknown to the offshore smugglers and
wreckers amongst whom he now dwelt.

The men, turning, gazed with superstitious
awe upon that granite-bound coast, illumined
with strange lights. Nor was their uneasi-
ness lessened by the tongues of flame which
presently shot up from some hidden recess of

l64 THE LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

rock, and the meteors, or so it seemed, which
mounted to the very heavens.

♦'That devil of a Nicholas!" muttered the
captain. *'He can do most anything with
them meteors and things; and I reckon he
can make fires blaze up jest as he wants
them to."

Julian felt a shiver pass over him. Nich-
olas seemed to be surrounded, indeed, by all
kinds of mysteries; and as he looked toward
the shore, he fancied he saw his form fantas-
tically enlarged in the dim light, waving
great arms.

•♦The St. Elmo fire," croaked the travelled
one, "means storm, it do, and death and mis-
fortune."

The men with one accord begged of the
captain to put into shore, and to return Julian
to Nicholas and the cavern.

•'I say, we'd better heave the lubber over-
board, if so be he's the cause o' the foul
weather," suggested the skipper. "Let
Nicholas take him ashore if he's grt, a
mind to."

Happily, however, the predominant senti-
ment was in favor of putting Julian ashore,
and the captain relrrtantly gave orders to

AMONG SMUGGLERS.

165

that effect. Nor was the order an easy one to
obey; for the sea ran ever higher and higher,
and the roar of the wind became more sullen
and ominous; so that Julian felt in his whole
frame the excitement of a life-and-death-
struggle with the forces of air and water.
The dogged silence of the crew was broken
ever and anon by the hoarse shouts of the
captain; while the dazzling glare of the light-
ning, the dashing of the white waves about
the boat, with the swarthy faces of the men
bending desperately to their oars, made a
picture which remained in Julian's mind for
many a day.

Sometimes, when his courage quailed, he
quietly made the Sign of the Cross and whis-
pered a "Hail Mary" to the Star of the Sea;
then nerved himself to emulate the endurance
of these rude seamen, who remained stonily
silent save wht^n necessary orders were given.
More than one of them noted with admiration
the resolute bearing of the boy, as he sat, a
slender figure, with folded arms, pale face,
and lips tightly compressed. Even the skip-
per was moved to something like approval;
and, as he did not share in the belief of his
crew regarding Julian's semi - supernatural

s--. '

l66 THE LOST JKWEI. OF THE MORTIMERS.

attributes, he all the more commended his
manliness and fortitude, and inwardly cursed
old Nicholas, who by his devices had deprived
him of so promising a seaman.

•'Them things he's sendin' up is signals,"
be muttered to lumself, while he watched
rocket after rocket soar upward into tne blue.
"He's warnin' me to bring back the young
un,— that's what he's at; and the sea's sidin'
with him. I couldn't never git the boats safe
off the coast in this gale."

So ruminated the skipper, while he man-
fully handled his oars like the rest; their hard
labor being at last of some avail. By a de-
termined effort they sent the boats ashore,
Julian being devoutly thankful when he heard
the grating of the keels against the pebbles.
He was hastily hustled ashore and through
the entrance of the cavern; but not before he
had remarked that there was no sign of Nich-
olas, and that rockets and fires were apparent-
ly going of their own volition.

Julian was left in the cavern whence the
smugglers had withdrawn him, and which
was now dark and silent. He did not remain
there long. He began to wonder if the fire
still burned upon the hearth, and if the tajiers

AMONG SMUGGLERS.

167

were still alight iu that more comfortable
apartment from which loneliness had tempted
him. Moreover, it seemed to him that per-
haps, after all, it was there that Nicholas had
wished him to remain.

He groped his way with some difficulty
through the rocky passages, guided by a
thiead of light which soon defpeued into a
glow. There blazed the fire upou the hearth ;
and the candles in the silver candlesticks
burned with a steady flame, as if only a mo-
ment had passed since he left the spot. To
Julian it seemed as if this must be the work
of enchantment. Wet and chilled as he was,
the warmth and light were most welcome; and
he sank into an armchair, realizing at the
same time that he was not only very tired,
but faint and hungry. Scarcely was he seated
when he heard a slight graMng sound; and,
turning his head, he saw a species of shelf
projecting from a corner of the rock. Upon
it were plates piled with haii sandwiches and
plum-cake, also a glass, an(^ a small jug con-
taining a hot posset of milk. This was sweet-
ened and spiced, and was highly agreeable to
the wearied boy. After partaking abundantly
of this refection he settled himself in the arm-

168 THK LOST JKWEL OF Tin; MORTlMrp-^

chair and fell soup 1 asleep. He wake just as
a faint k' ■'inner of dawn stole into the cavern.
The fire had at last burned out, and o x\y the
two candles— evidently renewed— now relieved
the dreariness.

Julian felt rested and refreshed, though
somewhat stiff; and a sudden desire, born of
his adventurous nature, seized him to explore
the cavern. He took up one of the candle-
sticks and began to look alxjut. He raised
one of the skins, and found that it covered
but the bare rock ; another concealed what
seemed to be a door. This, however, appeared
to be securely fastened and resisted all efforts
to force it open. He raised a il Jrd— the skin
of a tiger,— and there was revealed a pair of
winding stairs leading he knew not whither
As he stood, hesitating, at their base, it
seemed to him that he heard a voice, and the
voice he could have sworn was that of Sedg-
wick. *

Chapter XII.

To THE Rescue.

Julian, hearing Sedgwick's voice, uttered
a joyful exclamation, calling out at once in
answer. But his voice seemed to die away in
the echoes of .le cavern. Julian, more intent
just then <ni communicating with Sedgwick
than on jnu-suiug the windings of the .stairs,
descended promptly into a narrow passage,
along which he foUowe' the soup^I-? frotn
above a. ^ his comrade's piercing -^lls, till at
lasthcfoi id himself at the em ^o the

cavern, and present./ stood upor. : <. , ^ly
bead

As he paused and looked about . ., he
uotcd a peculiar shelving rock, covered from
top to bottom with a carpet of green moss,
and forming almost a sliding tunnel fro'n a
height above. Jul'- v rega. led this s. ; .ge
descent closely, wondering within li.ui.,elf
whether or n<>t it was by means of it that he
himself had tumbled downward. While he

(169)

.J. :

170 THE LOST JKWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

was revolving this problem in his mind, he
heard a shuffling noise, a stifled exclamation,
and then a heavy dark mass came rolling
rapidly over the moss-covered incline and
landed at the boy's feet. He drew back,
startled ; and the next moment was almost
paralyzed to discover, in the grey light of
morning, that it was a human body which
had thus rolled swiftly toward him.

After the first movement of terror he drew
near to where the figure lay motionless, and
found 10 his dismay that it was Sedgw-ck.
Grieved at the thought that the comrade
whom he loved best might be lying there
dead, Julian bent over him, unfastened his
necktie aiid the collar of his shirt. Then all
at once he remembered his own fall, the brief
period of unconsciousness which had followed,
and hoped that things would go no worse with
Sedgwick. He brought a little of the salt
water from the shore in a clam shell and
bathed the pale face and moistened the lips.
In ii very short time the unconscious boy
showed signs of reviving. He opened his
eyes, stared about him a moment, fixing be-
wildered eyes upon Julian's face. Then he
asked, tremulously:

TO THE RESCUE.

171

•'Am I — are we— dead?"

Something in the question touched Julian's
sense of the ridiculous and he burst into a
hearty laugh; Sedgwick, looking at him a
moment, began to lav;gh too. When their
merriment had exhausted itself, Sedgwick
exclaimed:

"So, curly pate, you're alive, after all!
I guess you'll come through anything. But
where on earth are we?"

«*Get up and look around," said Julian.

As the first step toward following this ad-
vice, Sedgwick sat up; then, with Julian's
assistance, he slowly rose to a standing pos-
ture, stretching himself, and feeling all his
bones to be sure that they were unbroken.

"Whatever this place is," remarked Sedg-
wick, thoughtfully, "I guess I came down
pretty much as you did. I was poking in the
marsh, hoping to find you dead or alive, when
the ground gave in, and here I am. It looks
like — like the entrance to a cave!"

"It is 1 cave," replied Julian, — ''the cave
— the cavern in the forest. Hurrah!"

"Hurrah!" echoed Sedgwick, catching the
contagious enthusiasm.

"And I'm as pleased as anything that you
found it, too," went on Julian.

172 THE LOST JEWEL OI- THE MORTIMERS.

"But you fouud it first," suggested Sedjr-
wick.

"Oh, I don't think that matters, so long as
you found it on your own hook, without any
help from me!" declared Julian.

And together they pressed forward, Julian
eager to show, and Sedgwick anxious to see
the wonders of this mysterious place. When
at last they stood in the largest room, l^efore
that f which seemed to burn forever upon
the hearth, Sedgwick said:

"Well, these are jolly quarters. I wouldn't
mind livingr here for the rest of my days. But
what's to be done now?"

"Wait for Nicholas, I suppose," Julian
responded.

They had not long to wait; for, as if in
answer to the thought, Nicholas stood sud-
denly behind thtni. He showed no sign of
surprise at Sedgwick's appearance, though
never befoie in all his years of service with
the Mortimers had a second fortune-seeker
found the cavern. Greatly to the boys' dis-
appointmeut-for fhey would have enjoyed
J>eing together in the cavern,— Nicholas an-
nounced that lie was about to take Julian
away. But here came into play the favor

TO THE RESCUE.

173

with which the old man had from the first
regarded the youngest of the competitors.
When Julian appealed to him, declaring that
he would much rather stay a second night iu
the cave than return without Sedgwick to the
camp, Nicholas, after a moment's considera-
tion, gave his consent.

He left them as suddenly as he had come;
and the boys, disregarding the opixjrtunities
for further search which the place might pos-
sibly afford, set to work to enjoy themselves.
The morning hours wer; spent out upon the
shore, clambering amongst the rocks, fishing
with the tackle which was plentifully scat-
tered about, a*^ padding in a boat which
they found on the beac 1.

Of course Julian tolc his comrade all about
the smugglers, and took him to explore their
corner of the cavern, — which, by the bye,
looked rather forlorn and dreary in the morn-
ing light, the empty kegs and even the weap-
ons having a poor and commonplace appear-
ance. Many a strange tale might the lx)ys
have heard, if the rocky walls could have
spoken; for it had been a resort of lawless
men from time immemorial, and there had
always been a tradition in the neighborhood

174 THE LOST JKWEL OF THK MORTIMERS.

Of the existence of some secret hiding-place
a some point along the coast. Of afl this
of course, the boys were ignorant. *

, \ l^"^^"- ''f «» the wild tales we read
about these sort of people are tnie?" Sedg'

abot htr '' ^^'°"^^'^^"">'' - ^e ga Jd
"I don't know," replied Julian; -but I tell

youwhat,Sedgwick,ifithadn'tUeno my
mother's prayers, I't have been taken away
and have seen far-off places and all that. "
But I don't suppose they go very far "

thai habitable part of the caver,, where Julian
had spent his first night; and were ,."nch
grat,fied to find „p„„ the sliding ,„e„, ^^'^

had so s,,ddenly appeared beforefa sufetaS
meal of bread and cheese. ■»tantial

Having done fnll justice to the meal fl,.„
set about exploring the odd quarter ~ 4 icT
Ihcy found themselves. Julian wanlld t
show h,s fr,e„d the winding .stairs upo, ^hich
he had stood when he first heard Sedg,WcLt
vo,ce; but for a long ti.ne the search foMhem
seemed absolutely fruitless.

TO THE RESCUE.

175

"I could almost swear it was behind tliat
leopard skin," Julian said, discomfited; but
the raising of that furry covering disclosed
only the solid rock.

It was late in the afternoon when at last
they came upon the missing stairway quite
unexpectedly. They mounted it with eager
haste, and came to a turning that led along a
passageway they knew not whither. This
they unhesitatingly followed; coming after a
time to another winding stairs, which they
mounted also, and pressed eagerly along a
second passageway. Thus they continued for
some time — now going upward, now pressing
forward, led by occasional gleams of light
from crevices in the rock, till at last they be-
thought themselves of turning backward. It
was then they realized, with sudden dread,
that they were in absolute darkness. They
stumbled on, however; but, instead of going
downward, continued on and on upon the
same level. It finally occurred to them that
they were lost in a species of labyrinth, where
the darkness grew more and more intense,
and from which they knew no way of exit.
But as they stood and shivered, another
thought flashed upon Julian which set his
pulses beating hard.

! ,,

»■ i

IIJ

176 THK U)ST JKWKL OK THK MORTIMKRS.

^ "Perhaps," he whispered to Sedg^ -vk
this passageway leads lo the hidden roon.."'
I don t believe it leads anywhere!" cried

darkness and h.s cheek glowed with a certain

"Suppose we pnshon?" said Julian, eager-
, ,^ Iv'""" ' ^'' ^""'^ altogether; or if we
should Nicholas will get us out so^'newavT"
-for Julian had come to have unlimited con-
fidence in that mysterious personage.
Here goes, then!" cried Sedgwick
And together the boys made a rush forward
as swjft y as the darkness would i,ermif Teel-

J"g their way by rocky ledges, Lnig^w

h way, now that. At last they disco^vered

that they were at the head of a stairs leading

downward, which caused them to go ve v

cT:e^:^/^?'^^'^p^"^"---^"tLfir.^

of .se^eral similar ones, so that they were often

on tejx,nu of slipping and tun Jingprli^:
itately to the ground. ^

Once they were brought to a halt by what
sounded hke a mocking langh. Th s wa
b^od-curdling, coming throifgh the leL
and darkness, and re-echoed from passagewav

TO THK UKSCUE.

177

to passageway. Suddenly, they perceived a
gleam of light, and pressed toward it with
beating hearts. They were approaching some
place, they knew not where. Their expecta-
tion rose to fever heat. The gleam as of
candles was mingled with the red glow of a
fire. What were they about to see? What
mysterious vision was to appear before their
straining eyes? They came to a halt all at
once, and saw before them the very cavern
from which they had started. They stood
still an instant, and then burst into a peal of
laughter such as those rocky depths had never
heard before. They sank into easy-chairs
before the fire, and utterly exhausted by their
late efforts, fell fast asleep.

When they woke they were disappointed to
find that they had slept the whole night
through, that it was daybreak and Nicholas
was standing before them, ready to lead them
back to camp.

"Why, we haven't seen half the place yet!"
remarked Julian. "And perhaps if we had
a little more time we might discover some-
thing."

But there was no relenting this time in the
old man's wooden face; and the boys, having

f i

178 THl-: LOST JKWKI. Ol' TifE MORTIMERS.

first regaled themselves with a fresh supply of
bread and cheese, were forced to take leave
ot that fascinating spot and follow whither
their grim guide led.

Nicholas conducted them through some

devious paths known to himself, and along

lie shore beneath the cliff. The sea stretched

before the eager eyes of the two lads; it was

j pearly white, or flushed with the pink of the

dawning, and catching quivering arrows of

gold from the sky in the east. The tide v as

just coming in.

They reached camp just as the sun was high
;" ')' ^'";7.«- They found Jake sitting at
the door of his tent. He cowered in a ver>.
paroxysm of fright wheu he first caught sight

Julian, whom he had supposed to be dead.
But Juhan's cheery voice very soon dispelled
tlie illusion.

I.,nfr"°'-'M'-','.'""'^'''""- "Yous«

1 m alive and kicking!"

''You showod him a short cut to thecaveru,
Jaky, put ni Sedgwick, maliciously.

The look of terror upon Jacob's ill-favored
couuteuauce gave place to an expression of
rage and hate, just as Nicholas interposed
mtimatiug in his monosyllabic fashion thai

TO THK RESCUE.

179

no inforinatiou was to be given regarding the
cavern. He also made the adventurous four
understand that, though Jake and Wat would
be obliged to finish their two weeks in the
forest if they desired to continue the quest,
Julian and Sedgwick were free to return to
the mansion at Pine Bluff, and there await the
announcement of the third and last test.

Wat, who had testified genuine delight at
the return of his favorite cousin, began to
protest that he knew he had no chance of
finding the cavern, and wanted only to give
up the contest and get out of the horrible
forest. He declared that he would return to
the house with Sedgwick and Julian.

Jake was divided between cupidity and
cowardice. He still hoped that by some ex-
ercise of his wits he might discover the cav-
ern, but he was dismayed at the thought of
being left any longer without the protection
and support of Julian and Sedgwick.

"Look here," oHserved Julian, "what do
you say, Sedgwick, to seeing the two weeks
out in the forest?"

'•Hurrah!" cried Sedgwick. "It would be
twice as much fun as waiting at the house."

Nicholas made no objection, and this point

i8o THK LOST ji;\vi:i. or thi Mortimers.

was speedily settled to the satisfaction .f all.
Everyone was hungry by tl.is time, an.l
Julian went off foraging. He remenihered
the little house near the cliff; and having
made his way there, found a tiny woman I^nt
nearly double. Her house wa j as small as
herself and scrupulously clean. She looked
\xp with her bleared eyes into Julian's bright
face, as he stoo'1, cap in hand, before her;
and readily gave him the milk and butter for
which he begged, with a few freshly baked
scones thrown in. When Julian offered to
pay, jingling his money proudly in his pocket,
the old woman altogether refused to allow
Imn, patting him kindly on the shoulder and
bidding him come again whenever he wanted
milk from her cow.

Julian ran home in triumph to the camp;
and the breakfast was a splendid affair, after
all, spread out on the green sward before the
tents, while the birds sang overhead and but-
terflies flitted up and down the forest paths.

Chapter XIII.

Julian Meets with Misfortune.

That evening Julian took out his treasured
volume recording the life and times of Anselm
Benedict the heroic. He threw himself at
full-length upon the grass, losing himself
completely in that fascinating chronicle of
past scenes and personages, to which his
youthful fancy lent an added glow. He read
of that gallant, hopeless rally in the town of
Worcester, when the Second Charles led on
his followers against Fleetwood's Cromwellian
troopers. There, in Friar Street, with pike
and smallsword, Anselm Benedict Mortimer,
with scores of other British gentlemen — Eng-
lish, Irish and Highland,— contested foot to
foot and hand to hand the advance of the
Covenanters. "It was a most furious con-
test," read Julian; "none that was whole
ceasing to fight, but assisting their comrades
so long as their strength served; ever esteem-
ing more of their credit than of their safety."
(i8i)

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182 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

They fought with desperate valor, and the
name of Ansehn Benedict appeared in several
dispatches of the day; and it was he again
who, while the King was escaping by St
Martin's Gate to the north, at the momeni
when all was lost made a counter-movement
with the Earl of Cleveland and a few other
gentlemen and retainers, to draw upon them
the fury of the Cromwellians and cover the
Kmg's retreat.

Numberless were the feats recorded of hero-
ism, of reckless daring,_all inspired by un-
swerving loyalty to God and country; all
showing that far-off ancestor to have been at
once chivalric and romantic, valorous, and
above all religious. They delighted the soul
of his enthusiastic, hero-worshiping descend-
ant under American fores, treer; but even to
his immature judgment they seemed less
glorious than that after-struggle, when the
man of mature years deliberately gave up
fame and fortune and country -for that one
true Catholic and Apostolic Faith, which is
o a surety more precious to a man than goods
of fortune, or even life itself." It was a
splendid, inspiring tale-the flight, capture,
fine, imprisonment in a dungeon, and finally

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. 183

the death sentence, — all of which were unable
to shake the superb courage and constancy of
the confessor of Christ. The capital penalty
was avoided by a hairbreadth escape; and
Anselm Benedict took the path of exile over
the ocean wastes and settled at last in the
New England colonies, where toleration of a
man's convictions was but slowly raising its
head.

Sometimes, in his enthusiasm, Julian read
aloud a paragraph or two from those annals
of the past; but it must be owned that they
called forth only a half-hearted response from
his auditors. Jake openly sneered; Wat could
not understand, and kept putting exasperating
questions, which proved that he had not the
remotest idea of what the book was about.
Sedgwick was a simple, honest lad, suscept-
ible to good impressions, and willing to do
right according to his lights ; but he was
totally without ideals, detested history, and
had made his heroes chiefly of successful
athletes or daring aeronauts.

That which did attract and hold Jake's
attention was the outer covering of the volume,
and the precious gems with which it was in-
crusted. His eyes fairly sparkled with cupid-

Jt 1
u ■

184 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

ity at their color and lustre, especially when
Julian, in the simplicity of his heart, began
to dilate upon the great value of the book.
A plan was slowly forming in the boy's evil
mind, by which iie could at once injure Julian,
whom he hated, and secure a substantial ad-
vantage for himself. He argued that if he
could obtain possession of the book, it would
not be by any means stealing. It seemed
little likely now that he could ever discover
the jewel and the hidden room. Should he
by a lucky chance do so, the book would be
but a small item in the list of valuables then
falling to his share; while, in the contrary
event, it was only fair that he, a genuine
descendant of the Mortimers, should secure
this small portion of their wealth. He, there-
fore, laid his plans carefully, and determined
in the first place to discover where his unsus-
pecting cousin kept hidden the precious
chronicle.

•'You'd better be careful of that book of
fairy-tales," sneered Jake, with an oblique
look at Julian from out his dark eyes and a
sharpening of his hatchet-face, "or you'll have
old man Mortimer and half a dozen other
blokes after you."

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. 185

♦♦Oh, I am careful!" said honest Julian,
impulsively. "I keep it under my pillow at
night, and in the daytime I hide it in a hole
in the ground between the tent poles, with
leaves and a rug over it."

Something in Jake's expression as he lis-
tened struck Sedgwick, and he hastily inter-
rupted Julian, but too late to produce the
effect he intended. Jake, having secured the
desired information, skilfully changed the
subject. But long after they had all sought
the shelter of their tents, Sedgwick pondered
upon the singular expression of John Jacob's
face, and feared that it portended no good to
Julian.

Next day was cheerless and cold, with a
drizzling rain which finally intensified into a
downpour. The boys, shivering in their
tents, experienced to the full the discomforts
of life in the woods, under leaden skies, when
the dull drip, uiip, drip, from the sodden
leaves upon the path seemed interminably
weary and monotonous.

"I guess if it had rained much, we'd have
given up the whole job long ago," observed
Sedgwick, poking his head in between the
curtains of Julian's tent.

I) '

^A'

l86 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

Julian looked up brightly. He had almost
forgotten the matter in the fascinating story
of Anselm Benedict's life and doings.

"I suppose it is dismal," responded Julian.
I wonder if there's any place where we could
make a fire i"'

Sedgwick's face brightened.
"Let's see!" he cried, looking out upon
he landscape, which was not very promising.
Perhaps in that sheltered corner over there
Hardly any rain has got through; and it
couldn't be dangerous, because the trees are
so wet."

Julian, having waited long enough to con-
ceal his treasured volume, went forth with
his cousin to investigate. They brought out
some dry wood from the tent, and presently
bad the satisfaction of kindling a blazing fire
on the spot indicated by Sea^wick. Wat came
forth from his quarters in great delight at th>
fire, which he hoped would prevent him from
taking cold. Jake, too, strolled out, in lazy
enjoyment of the crackling logs; though he
did not vouchsafe one word of commendation
to the kiudlers of the blaze.

When the twilight fell, ghostly shadows
began to creep in and out among the trees-

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. 1 87

a bat, attracted by the blaze, came fr 'th from
obscurity and circled about ; the katydids
droned in the foliage; and a wind stirring up
from the west dispersed the clouds and drove
away the rain. The boys beguiled the time
with stirring stories of daring and adventure;
Julian drawing some of the wondrous anec-
dotes from the life of their common ancestor,
the chivalric Anselm Benedict. At last it
became time to think of supper, and it was
found that water was needed from the spring.
This occasioned some surprise, as a large tin
pail h 1 been filled after breakfast; and only
one of the four — the enterprising Jake — knew
that it had been purposely spilled. The only
thing to be done was to fetch more, and
Sedgwick and Julian set oa to replenish the
pail. This was precisely what Jake had ex-
pected, for he had gone with unusual alacrity
to procure what had been needed for the
morning.

Once the two comrades had disappeared,
Wat devoted himself to the care of the fire,
and Jake began to stroll carelessly about,
edging ever toward the tents. Loudly pro-
claiming that he was going into his own lent
for some cooking utensil, he remained there

I88 THE LOST JKWKL OF THE MORTIMERS.

but a moment. He stood at the door looking
forth into the darkness. The damp, cool
smell of the woods, heavy with the delicious
fragrance of the forest depths, smote upon his
nostrils. The drip, drip of the rain from the
trees, like noiseless footsteps, startled him
back each time that he attempted to move.
The birds were all still in their nests; the
hush of night lay over the forest; and the
shadows of the woods, intensified by the glare
of the firelight, concealed his movements from
Wat, who was intent on stirring up the fire
and heard only the crackling of the logs.

Hence it was an easy matter for the catlike
Jake to slip from his own into Julian's tent,
where everything lay around in a kind of
cheerful disorder,— for Julian used to say that
he needed his mother to tidy up. Once on
the scene o.' -r , emplated theft, the un-
scrupulous b _ , . .j.y found his way to where
the precious vomnie lay buried. He had
found out the exact spot from Julian, and so
lost not a moment in securing his booty.
Thus it was that while merry-hearted Julian,
in rain coat and rough hat, was swinging
along the dripping paths in company with
honest Sedgwick, a treacherous act against
him was being done.

JULIAN MEUTS WITH MISFORTUNE. 1 89

Jake, having secured the book, crept
stealthily back to his own tent, panting and
breathless as though he had been a long dis-
tance, with staring eyes and burning cheeks.
It seemed to him as if he were an hour in
passing from tent to tent. Once safe back in
his own quarters, he hugged the precious
volume to his breast with fiendish glee, and
held it close to the open door that he might
see the reflection of the firelight in the glow-
ing gems upon the cover. It seemed to the
excited fancy of the wretched lad that they
glowed with a baleful light, and were living
and conscious of his act.

All at once Wat called out to him:
"I say, Jake, I think you might help to
keep up this fire!"

Jake started as if he had been stung. The
voice seemed to be that of an accuser charg-
ing him with the theft. In his fright he
almost dropped the book; but, presently rally-
ing, he hid it in an obscure corner. Hasten-
ing forth, he almost rushed into the arms of
Sedgwick, who fixed a penetrating look upon
his agitated face, just then revealed by the

firelight.

"Halloo, Jakey! You look as if you had

seen a spook!"

190 TIIK LOST JEWKL OK THE MORTIMERS.

"You wouldn't be so chilled if you bad been
carrying water for a mile or so," Sedgwick
responded, after which there was a diversion

td cT'; °"-"^ '^''°"' '^^^"'^ P^t^toes
an cobs of corn m the ashes, and boiling the

kettle to make a pot of liot coffee. For all

except Jake of the .uilty conscience, this was

ad 1 to the hilanty that the coffee-strainer had
got lost, so that the coffee was a trifle muddy
and some of the ears of com were a little
scorched.

Whe. Julian went to his tent that night,
e thought lie would like to read a page of
the fascniating memoirs. He carefully un-
covered the hiding-place and put his hand
nito the hole. His fingers came in contact
only with tlie paper which he had placed
between the volume and the damp earth. He
groped about feverishly: no volume was there.
The cold sweat broke out upon his forehead,
he tremb ed from head to foot. He snatched
a candle from its place in a tin sconce on the
wall, and sent its rays into the hole: there was
nothing to be seen.

JULIAN MKF.TS WITH lalSFORTUNE. I9I

He threw liimself upon the ground and
burst into tears. In all the t: to which he
had been subjected during iiic weeks that
were past, he had never given way before.
Many things conspired to make the loss of th''
memoirs peculiarly bitter: tlie trust which his
grandfather had reix)sed in him, the inestim-
able value of the book, and probably his own
disgrace For it was not at all unlikely that
his carelessness, even if no harsher name
were put upon it, would disqualify him from
pursuing the quest. He rose and stole out
through the darkness, toward Sedgwick's tent.
The stars were shining brightly after the rain,
and some night-bird called afar in the dis-
tance. Sedgwick was sleeping soundly.
Julian made no effort to arouse him; but, re-
turning to his own quarters, remained awake,
so that the dawn foun Inm white-faced and

haggard from tb trouble oi his thoughts.
A second titv he pe^ ed ii

tent. This time the skepei

and finally opened his e\ >

drowsily upon Julian, uniu ^

friend's face attracted pxes

attention. He sat up, exclai
"I say, curly pate, what's i

Sedgwick' i

red uneasily

le fixed them

Miiiv, ir bis
nUering

192 THK LOST JF.WKL OF TIIK MOKTIMERb.

"O Sedgwick," answered Julian,
heart's broken: the book is gone!"

"The book! ' eclioed Sedgwick, who, not
so interested in the memoirs as his cousin,
did not remember at fi/st what book was
meant.

"Anselm Benedict's booi.," answered Jul-
ian, with a sob in liis voice such as his cousin
had never heard from him before.

With a sudden realization c' what had
happened and what it meant to Julian, Sedg-
wick started to his feet. He made a hasty
toilet and accompanied his cousin back to the
latter's tent, where together the two boys
explored the hiding-place once more, but
in vain.

♦'That villain Jake!" cried Sedgwick, with
a sudden flash of intuition. "He has a hand
in it, or I'm mistaken."

Julian, however, refused to entertain this
notion, or even so much as to question the
guilty boy. Sedgwick had no such scrup'. ,
and put John Jacob through a tolerably
searching investigation. Jake had planned
out his part by this time, and acted it thor-
oughly. He affected the utmost indifference
about the whole matter, declaring that it was

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. I93

altogether Julian's affair if lie chose to bring
valuable books from the library and then
report that they were lost. He threw out
this last suggestion with so meaning a glance
and so evident an insinuation that he very
Uf . • ^revoked Sedgwick to violence.

j , a, however, had but one thought — to
scv iiis grandfather as soon as possible and
make known the loss. He S2t forth through
the forest at sunrise. The woods, fresh from
the rain, gave forth delightful odors; and the
leaves in their renewed verdure were hung
with raindrops, glittering li ke jewels in thg ,
morning light. But Julian's heart was so
heavy that he had no eyes for the beauties of
nature. He sped on and on, and then had to
wait an hour or more for the appearance of
his grandfather.

Mr. Mortimer was an early riser, and took
a constitutional on the lawn every morning
at seven. On this occasion he scarcely stepped
forth when he saw Julian running toward
him. The boy, in his impetuous truthfulness,
was only too eager to acquaint his grandfather
with the loss he had sustained. He ran
swiftly across the lawn and reached his ^jand-
father's side, panting and breathless; under-

P' ■;

it _

^. t'

194 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

going one of those agonizing moments more
common in early youth than is generally sup-
posed. Sedgwick had advised him to spare
himself this ordeal, and allow Nicholas, in
his mysterious fashion, to acquaint Mr. Mor-
timer with the theft. But this course of
action did not commend itself to the boy's
manly fearlessness, nor to his sense of honor
and justice. He alone was responsible and
he alone must take all the consequences.
^ Mr. Mortimer looked down upon him with
genuine kindliness. He was growing attached
to this fine-hearted lad, who alone of all who
had run the traditional race had seemed to
be imbued with the highest qualities of the
dead-and-gone ancestor. His natural good
feeling and kindness of heart, which had been
embittered by his own failure, reasserted
themselves, more or less, under Julian's
genial influence, as the sun shines upon the
hoar-frost of the valley and melts it away.
He fully appreciated his grandson's indom-
itable spirit, high courage and thorough-going
honesty. He told himself that he might
trust this boy in any emergency and would
never meet with disappointment.

"Grandfather," said Julian, his voice

' ('

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. I95

choked with a very passion of grief and ex-
citement, "I have lost the book, — Anselm
Benedict's book!"

"What!" cried the grandfather, with an
expression of such grief and disgust as con-
firmed Julian's worst forebodings.

"It was lost, stolen or something from my
tent in the forest!"

"Stolen from your tent in the forest!"
echoed Mr. Mortimer, with a sneering con-
tempt which brought out all that was most
repulsive in a countenance ordinarily hand-
some and marked by a certain philosophic
calm. "And pray who was in the forest but
yourselves, and perhaps a wild animal or two?
Who could have taken it?"

"I don't know,— oh, I don't know!" cried
Julian. "And I'd rather have cut off my
right hand than have it happen."

"A right hand would not be of much use
in this emergency," observed Mr. Mortimer
in his coldest voice; "so that I would advise
you, my young man, to hasten back to the
forest and continue searching until the vol-
ume is found. The expense of replacing it
would ruin your mother; and I think, though
I am not yet sure, that the occurrence will

!• t

l?li-i

196 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

prevent your competing any further for the
great prize."

Now, it flashed into Julian's mind that this
was rather unjust, considering that Mr. Mor-
timer had ahnost forced tl.e book upon him,
hinting in high good-humor that he would
no doubt be able to pay for it, if lost, out of
the fortune accruing from the ruby. But he
quickly dismissed the thought, being too gen-
erous to shift the blame from his own shoul-
ders to those of any other.

"Have you reason to suspect any one?"
inquired the grandfather.

**No, sir, I h d it hidden away."

"Were the other lads acquainted with the
hiding-place?"

"Yes; but, of course, none of them would
take it. I wonder if an animal could have
been the thief?"

"Animal indeed!" retorted the grandfather,
who was furiously angry at the whole affair;
the more so as he felt that he had been to
blame for intrusting so precious a volume to
a mere boy. "Get out of my sight, in any
case; and don't come near me till you have
some news of the volume!" the angry old
gentleman concluded.

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. I<)7

As poor Julian fled back to the forest, his
heart bursting with new and painful emotions,
feeling convinced that no boy had ever been
so miserable before, he suddenly encountered
Nicholas lurking in the shadow of the trees,
like some gnome of the woods, and forthwith
blurted out the story of his misfortunes.
Nicholas' wooden face remained perfectly
undisturbed by the recital; nor did he give
Julian any sign of encouragement, save only
a slight pat on the shoulder. Then he pointed
toward the forest depths, saying laconically,
t«Go!" — and Julian was left alone.

He ran on and on till he reached the camp,
with a faint hope springing up in his heart,
even as the leaves raised their heads after
being beaten down by the storm. But the
day wore to afternoon and there was no trace
whatever of the missing volume. Both Julian
and Sedgwick, who had energetically pursued
the search, were utterly discouraged. All at
once, however, just as the shadows were
purpling the west, a great outcry was heard
in the trees adjoining the camp. Presently
Nicholas emerged, grasping Jake by the back
of the neck with one hand and holding up
the missing volume with the other.

198 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

it!

"You let me go, you old sneak! You stole
the book yourself and try to pretend that
I did it."

Nicholas took not the slightest notice oi
Jake's exclamations, nor of his frantic
struggles to get free. He hurried the miser-
able boy into the very centre of the camp
where Julian sat in dejection, with 'W at hov-
ering about, eager to offer any consolation in
his power; and Sedgwick pacing up and
down, his honest face showing genuine
concern.

Nicholas shook off J^e^s if he had been
an obnoxious reptile, J^i tdd out the book
to Julian. The lattefcould scarcely believe
that Jp really saw the precious volume again.
But Hs pleasure at -iti return was swallowed
up ij horror, disguiB|?and indignation at his
coin's treacherou* conduct. He could not
tnist himself to speak; however Sedgwick
made up for the silence, expressing his feel-
ings in forcible terms.

But here Nicholas interposed, and made
them understand that matters must go on as
before. So Jake, darkbrowed and sullen, was
left unmolested; though needless to say that
his presence there, after what had happened,

I i!

JULIAN MEETS WITH MISFORTUNE. 1 99

threw a constraint over the remaining days in
the forest. He tried hard to treat the matter
as a joke, and declared that he meant only to
play a trick on Julian, and would have
restored the book in the end. This explana-
tion Julian, with his customary generosity,
was finally led to believe, and was on terms
of comparative friendliness with Jake during
the final residence in camp.

I' v

!;!;•

!-!

Chapter XIV.
Before the Third Test.

The time was drawing near for the boys to
leave the forest, when one evening Sedgwick
and Julian were caught, at some distance from
the camp, in a wild storm of wind and rain,
with hailstones big as pebbles falling upon
the paths and rattling against the boughs.
The wind raged with such fury as to shake to
their roots even the tallest trees.

The boys, who were in a remote part of the
forest, struggled along manfully for some
time, accepting the buffets of the storm with
cheerful indifference. But just as they began
to grow exhausted, being thoroughly drenched
besides, they caught sight of a singular-
looking structure formed of the boughs of
trees, which were piled one upon the other in
a most fantastic manner; but, cunningly
enough, were set over against a rock which
had been carried thither by some strange con-
vulsion of nature. This served as a bulwark
(200)

BEFORE THE THIRD TEST.

20 1

to protect the frail dwelling against the fury
of the elements. By a common impulse, tue
boys made for this shelter, which they sup-
posed to be deserted.

Scarcely had they crossed the threshold
when they saw their mistake. The hut gave
every sign of being inhabited, though all in
the interior was in wild confusion. The dis-
ordered fancy of a madman was clear in the
ini )ngruous mingling of all sorts of oddities.
Bits of colored cotton, torn prints, p^rips of
cloth, grasses, snake skins, — all sorts of
trivialities which had caught the wand'-ing
fancy of the Mad Hermit, were dis' .^yed
upon the walls or hanging from the roof, and
interlaced with festoons of cobwebs, the growth
apparently of many years.

Upon a couch of leaves and straw in one
corner lay the weird figure of the Mad Her-
mit, and it was evid'-nt even to the inex-
perienced eyes of the two observers that
Death had claimed him. He lay in solemn
majesty, his cloak gathered about him, his
sncw-white beard gleaming out of the still-
ness, his restless feet and wandering mind
stilled forever.

The boys, awestricken, bent their heads

reverently.

S> I

•i ■

, I

(■ ;

202 THK LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTLMERS.

"Let US say a prayer," whispered Julian;
and together they knelt in that strangely
impressive scene.

The storm grew momentarily wilder and
wilder, so that it seemed to threaten the hut
with destruction,— though it, like its late
occupant, had w .athered many a storm. The
lightning flashed through the loosely placed
boughs which formed the walls, and across
the calm face of the dead. As the boys re-
cited the Be Profundis, Julian suddenly
caught sight of a small picture of the Mother
of Sorrows stuck upon the wall. In the wild
disorder of the place, it was as a bea con upo n i,
some stormy sea, the symbol of peace and- ^
mercy, the sign of at least a long-past faith.
For the Mortimers had always been Catholics,
and even the most degenerate among them
had preserved the name and some outward
practice of that religion which was synon-
ymous with what was most honorable in
their race.

"Let us say the Beads for him," observed
Julian.

And so, amidst the bowlings of the tem-
pest, the two boys in some sort performed a
Requiem over the mortal remains of that

BEFORE THE THIRD TEST.

ao3

singular being who had so lon^ inhabited
these desert places, and who, by his strange
antics and weird appearance, had no doubt
contributed to the wild tales which were in
constant circulation through the country con-
cerning the forest of Pine Bluff. Their only
further care in the matter was to acquaint
Nicholas with the death of the Hermit; and
in due course his remains, very quietly, but
with honor, were laid to rest in the vault
sacred to the Mortimers.

N. When the pleasant ^wo weeks in the forestx
had come to an end, the boys returned to the
mansion at Pine Bluff. There was the sun
shining on the roof of the dwelling; there|
were the blue pigeons sunning themselves in
its rays and walking majestically to and fro;
there was the lawn, with its tall trees shelter-
iug colonies of rooks that settled there in the
springtime; and there was the cliff over-
hanging the sea and bordered with thick
pines. It seemed to Julian as if all things
had grown very familiar and he had always
known them, and yet that it was long since
he had seen them; and Sedgwick was vaguely
impressed with the same feeling.

♦'It is a jolly old place!" he said, looking

a04 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

about with an air of satisfaction. ''And if
it's ever yours, curly pa i, I am coming here
to stay with you."

••Just as likely it will be your own," an-
swered Julian, turning a somersault out of
pure joyousness.

He instantly straightened himself to atten-
tion, liowever, as his grandfather appeared at
the library window. Forgetting the last
interview, which had been decidedly un-
pleasant, Julian ran forward to meet him with
perfect freedom and cordiality. This was the
very best course he could have taken, had he

planned it deliberately; for it relieved Mr.
Mortimer from the awkwardness of making a

first overture after his late displeasure.

••Good morning, grandfather!" Julian cried

out. ••I'm glad to see you again."

••And to have got out of the enchanted

forest, I suppose?" said the old gentleman;

but there was a faint glow of pleasure on his

pale cheek, and a sparkle in his eye at the

hearty and spontaneous greeting.

•'Oh, I liked being in the forest well

enough!" Julian answered; "though we got

lots of frights while we were there. But it's

nice being back, and we're all dying to know

about the third test."

'I ',

BEFORE THK THIRD TEST.

205

♦•You won't have very long to wait for
that," said Mr. Mortimer. ♦'Immediately
after luncheon I shall make the announce-
ment, and in about half an hour you will hear
the gong sound."

He then withdrew to the library, glad as
he always was to return to his books; and the
boys, left to themselves, ran and jumped and
wrestled, climbing tall trees and startling the
rooks into angry clamor. Julian set out to
run a race with a chipmunk that was skipping
along the hedge on the garden side of the
lawn. But he soon gave it up, joining in the
shouts of laughter with which Sedgwick and
Wat greeted his endeavor.

After luncheon came the summons whi(
was to lead them for the last time into th
presence of Anselm Benedict.

So far Mr. Mortimer had given no sigi' s
to whether or no he had heard of J s
latest misdemeanor with regard to the l-ok.
He had not referred in any way to the loss or
recovery of the precious volume. Jake thought
he had regained his confidence, and felt as-
sured that Mr. Mortimer had accepted the
excuse he himself had invented— that his ab-
straction of the book was merely a joke. He

^1^-

206 THK LOST Jl.;\vi;i. OK rilE MORTIMKRS.

was oppressed by no special uneasiness, there-
fore, when the grandfather turned the key
and ushered the four into the presence of
Ansehu Benedict. Julian felt a keener ad-
miration Mian ever for their remarkable
ancestor, ..., ; was more eager than ever to
study every detail of the face and figure of
that splendid soldier, who had left so strong
an impress on the annals of his time.

Mr. Mortimer surveyed the two boys for a
moment or two in silence; then he touched
the spring, revealing once more the now
familiar portrait. He turned toward the pic-
tured figure on the wall, no longer in mockery,
but with a subtle deference and a more sym-
pathetic understanding than ever before; and
for this change Julian, though he knew it not,
was responsible.

^ ^'Anselm Benedict," he said, ''for the last
time your four descendants are assembled in
your presence; and it is my painful duty to
decla-e the absolute unworthiness of one
amongst them, either to appear here, or to
take any further part in a contest which is
prima.-:;/ governed, at least, by the rules of
gentlemanly conduct."
Jake's face grew livid during this address,

BEFORK THE THIRD TEST.

207

for his conscience told him that to him alone

it could 'pply.

♦'Whatever may have been the faults and
follies of the Mortimers," the old man went
on, his voice growing colder and colder as he
proceeded— "their lack of ambition, their
supineness, or their want of energy,— they
were at least gentlemen. One here present
has failed most conspi( 'y in those quali-
ties which even *' >rest amongst them
have retained. Tb /ore, I think I am only
voicing your sentiujnts, Anselm Benedict,
and following the rules you have laid down
for this contest, when I request John Jacob
to withdraw from this room and from this
house, as well as from any further part in the
search for the lost jewel of the Mortimers—"
♦'Grandfather!" cried Julian, eagerly inter-
rupting, "if you mean that affair about the
book, Jake explained! It is all right,— it
was a mistake,— he did it for a joke."

Mr. Mortimer turned a rebuking eye— in

which there was yet a moisture— upon the

eager pleader.

♦'Please, grandfather," persisted Julian,

"let us all go on together to the end! I'd

hate to have Jake leave now,— we've gone

so far!'*

■■

if i

til

•!!

208 THE LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

"What you ask is impossible," declared
tbe grandfather. "He has violated every

, rule laid down for the contest. He has shown
neither courage nor fortitude nor resolution.

. He has proved himself sadly deficient in truth ,
in honor, in fine feeling; and has put a climax
to his inglorious career by an act not only of
dishonesty, but of malice. For with the
recovered volume was found a calculation of
the amount which the book would probably
bring, and of the injury which its loss would
be to you. ' '

If ever there was the picture of a beaten
hound, it was Jake being hurried from the
room and from the arena of possible success
by the inexorable Nicholas. Julian felt a
certain pity for him and a regret for the late
occurrence.

•'If I hadn't taken the book to the forest,"
he whispered to Sedgwick, "this would never
have happened."

"The book be blowed!" answered Sedg-
wick. "It wasn't that alone: it was every-
thing. He's the meanest hound— that Jake,
—the most cowardly beggar I ever came
across. ' '

Here Mr. Mortimer imposed silence upon

BEFORE THE THIRD TEST.

209

them by beginning to consider the case of

Wat. ,

•'Walter Worthington", he said, "has not ^

discovered the cavern as yet, it is true; nor
has he shown conspicuously those quahties ^
which tend toward success. But, if he so
desires, and by consent of the other com- ^
petitors, he may undertake the third test, »
even though the chance of success is dimin-
ished, as we are informed, by his failure to
discover the cavern in the forest.

Walter was beginning to protest that it was
no use, that he had not strength enough for
any more ordeals; but Julian nudged him to
be silent and wait events; and Mr. Mortimer
likewise advised him to hear what the third
test might be before finally deciding.

The old gentleman then began to read from
that formidable document, yellow with age,
the final test, which was to decide whether or
no any of the competitors should discover
the hidden room and the lost jewel of the

Mortimers.

♦'But one fortune-seeker has ever got so far
in the quest," declared the old man, "as to
discover the whereabouts of the cavern. He
belonged to a generation far removed from

I-! '

Et.i

1 !

ili

2IO THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

ours, and his after-fate is not recorded, save
that he failed in the third test. It is one of
great difficulty, requiring courage, endurance,
and ingenuity."

The boys waited breathlessly for an ex-
planation of this third trial which was finally
to try their mettle. They were awed and
subdued by the expulsion of Jake from
amongst them, — ♦hough Sedgwick, at least,
was convinced of its justice; and Julian's
mind began to wander off to the succession of
brilliant episodes with which the soldierly
figure on the wall was now associated. He
was recalled by the voice of Mr. Mortimer
explaining the nature of the test, and detail-
ing in a very precise manner what was ex-
pected of the competitors.
, o Each boy was to be imprisoned for a night
in a species of dark hole or underground pas-
sage in the earth. Thence he was free to
make his way out, if he could; and a tradition
had always existed that that way led to the
finding of the room and the treasure. But no
one had ever found them. Those even who
had persevered in remaining the night — for
to this an alternative was given by Nicholas
appearing before midnight and asking if they

BEFORK THE THIRD TEST.

211

wished to be free — had been found at sunrise
eager to be free, and willing to relinquish all
prospect of success rather than remain longer
in those gruesome quarters.

"If", said Mr. Mortimer, when he had
finished the details of the last ordeal, "no one
has ever succeeded in this final test, only one
ever got so far as to enter upon it. Therefore
you should feel encouraged, my boys, and
resolutely push on to what may be a glorious
ending, — that is, if the whole idea of hidden
room and lost jewel be not fables woven in
the active brain of Anselm Benedict; some
splendid mirage which he shows to the
voyagers upon the ocean of life, to encourage
them to proceed with energy, constancy, and
endurance. And yet," he went on after a
pause, suddenly addressing the portrait, "why
should I thus discredit your utterances, since
one at least of your descendants has shown
that simple truth and goodness may carry
their possessor far on the road to success?"

His eyes took on a far-reaching, dreamy
expression, as though he were revolving some
problem in his mind. It seemed as if the
antagonism which had existed between him
and the brilliant if somewhat visionary an-

rt'

[I'JFpt^ i

212 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

cestor were removed, and that this old and
disillusioned man began to feel the same bond
of union which linked Julian's glowing youth
with ihe past.

*'Ncvv, my boys, concluded Mr. Mortimer,
"I will not pretend to advise you as to
whether or no you should relinquish all hope
of further success, or enter upon an ordeal
which few would have cared to undergo. It
is full, no doubt, of difficulties, hardships and
terrors, real or imaginary."

Julian, as the war horse at the sound of
battle, pricked up his ears, figuratively; and,
throwing back his head, declared that he
would like to make this final trial.

"If we fail, you see, grandfather, we shall
have tried everything; and don't you think
that's better?"

The grandfather bowed his head as in a
sort of deference; and Sedgwick, in his blunt
wav, declared that he would stand by Julian.
But Wat most emphatically decided to give up
any chance of success rather than go down
in any dark hole.

♦'If I were strong, it would be different,"
he said; "but I might ruin my health, and
my father and mother told me that I mustn't
do anything of that kind."

BEFORE THE THIRD TEST.

213

This being settled, Walter Worthington was
ruled out of the competition; and he a:cepted
that result quite cheerfully, glad to be re-,
lieved of the necessity for any further effort.
He was almost certain that he could not have \
succeeded in any case, and had persuaded^
himself that there was in reality neither room
nor jewel, but only some kind of fable to try
the mettle of the boys ; and with him his
health and personal comfort had always been
of first importance.
/ So Sedgwick and Julian, being the only
ones left in the arena, grew more and more
excited, as they paced the lawn together in
eager talk. Julian was full of bright hope-
fuhiess, which infected Sedgwick, who was
in the main a sturdy and courageous lad

Suddenly they came upon Jake lying full-
length amongst the brushwood on the cliff,
in very much the same spot where he had
poked amongst the leaves on the morning
following the arrival of the young adventurers
at the mansion of Pine Bluff. Then he had
been boastful, arrogant, confident of success;
now he was fairly gnashing his teeth and
clutching at the weeds growing about him,
in a very agony of impotent rage and despair.

214 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

Julian pulled Sedgwick by the sleeve and
endeavored, out of respect for the miserable
boy's feeliugs, to steal away unnoticed; but
Jake, chancing to catch sight of them, burst
into a torrent of abuse against all concerned
and especially against Julian. The language
was such that Julian clapped his hands to his
ears and ran away; while only contemptuous
pity for his cousin's wretched plight deterred
Sedgwick from administering personal chas-
tisement.

Jake's disappointment, which his natural
avarice and greed of gaii would have ren-
dered sufficiently keen, was intensified by the
knowledge of what awaited him at home.
His mother had long been dead. His father
was a needy adventurer, who had failed iu
the first effort to discover the Mortimer jewel,
had been embittered deeply by the failure,
and had endeavored to eke out a scanty in-
come by the exercise of his wits. While
building on the chance of his son's success,
he had failed to implant in him one of those
sterling principles which alone could aid him
in the great competition. Yet none the less
bitter would be his disappointment, and none
the less envenomed his fury against his un-
fortunate sou.

BEFORE THE THIRD TEST.

215

Sedgwick and Julian had only one more
glimpse of Jake's hatchet face, sullen and
morose, with wildly staring eyes; and tli's
was from out the carriage window as he was
being driven to the station, in company with

Wat.

- The latter was in high good humor, de-
lighted at the prospect of getting home. He
knew that he would be well received, and that
his indulgent parents would prefer the loss of
a problematic fortune to the chance of their
only child endangering health and strength
in a contest which he knew to be beyond him.
In fact, they had permitted him to enter into
the competition only because he had been
pleased with the novelty of the idea, and had
set his heart upon seeking the hidden room
and the lost jewel. The parents were m
easy circumstances, the mother having brought
a substantial inheritance to her husband; and
they were not ambitious. Walter had, there-
fore, said a warm and cordial ««Good-bye" to
his comrades, particularly Julian, to whom he
had become much attached.

«'We must see each other often when all
this is over," he had declared. «'If there is
a fortune, I hope you'll win it, Julian; though

2l6 THE LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

! -

•^f

\' '-fi

Sedgwick is almost as near, and deserves it
next best. I'm afraid, tliougli, that grand-
father is right, and th.at there isn't any for-
tune at all."

So Wat's last greeting was an effusive wav-
ing of his hand from the carriage window to
the two upon the lawn, and the renewed hope
that he would see them soon again, when the
test was over.

"Oh, I v.ish it were well over!" said Sedg-
wick, staring after the carriage. "But I'm
like you, Julian: I want to stick fast to the
end. If you can do it, so can I; and I know
my people would rather I held out to the end,
even if I failed at last. My father said he
always regretted not having gone in for the
third test. Anyway, I wouldn't want to leave
you, curly pate, lose or win."

*'I hope we'll both wi.i!" cried Julian,
heartily. "And then I suppose they'll let us
divide the fortune; and perhaps we can give
some to poor old Wat, and unlucky Jake
too."

"I wouldn't give that Jake a brass far-
thing," responded Sedgwick, full of honest
indignation.

"Well, we may not get anything to keep

BEFORi: THK THIRD XEST. 217

or give away," said Julian; "so we needn't
bother yet. Come on,— I'll race you to the
woods over there."

V Off they went as if neither of them had a
care on his mind, or a thought of that trying
ordeal which awaited him. Fresh air, sun-
shine, high spirits, a clean conscience were
all with them, and they were richer than any
prince. But when the chill of the early
autumn evening came into the air, and mists
stole into the glowing sunset of the western
sky, their spirits became subdued, and they
began td consider more gravely the curious
experience before them. Sedgwick, by right
of age, was to precede his cousin, as on for-
mer occasions. Should he succeed, Julian
was to undergo a similar ordeal, without hav-
ing communicated with the other, snd so run
an equal chance of securing the great prize. ^^
♦♦Suppose we say the Beads together?"
suggested Julian. "We always said them at
college, and I read in the book that Anselm
Benedict carried his rosary with him all the
time, and said it on the eve of battle or when-
ever he was exposed to any danger."

Sedgwick readily agreed to join in the
prayers. For he had plenty of faith, though

2l8 THK LOST JlCWia OP THE MORTIMERS.

ill his Upbringing it had been kept iii the
background; and until he met Julian, he had
fancied that it was something of which a boy
was more or less ashamed. Sedgwick had
remarked this to Wat one day:

*'0f all the fellows I have ever met, Julian's
about the only one who doesn't seem ashamed
of being good — of saying prayers or anything
like that."

And this being repeated to Julian, he had
set his head on one side, as was his habit
when thinking, and wondered why any fellow
should be ashamed of sajing his prayers or
trying to be good.

So the two boys paced the lawn, in tiie
shad )w of the tall trees which for generations
had shaded the mansion at Pine Bluff, and
mingled their young voices with the sigh of
the wind in the pines and the vesper song of
the birds ; repeating that old-time prayer
which prelate and prince, the sage and illit-
erate, the rich and the poor, the great and
the lowly, have said through the ages in the
Church of God.

Mr. ]\Iortimer, pausing at the window,
heard the sound of their voices, and listened
an instant to what they were saying. For the

BEFORE THE THIRD TEST.

219

►

tide was low that night, under the pine cliff,
and the noise of the waves was silent, so that
the words of the Rosary came distinct to his
ears. The man who had grown world-
hardened saw, as in a picture, his boyhood's
home, and heard once more the prayer falling
from lips long silent. Softly he withdrew,
and with bowed head passed into his library,
where the scientific thought of many genera-
tions had occupied his mind to the exclusion
of that higher love, which was all contained
in the words the boys were saying, — the mys-
teries of faith with their bearing on this life
and the life to come.

ifel.

Chapter XV.
The Final Tkst.

It must be owned that, as night drew near,
Julian felt a creepiness in all his nerves;
though it was Sedgwick, and not he, who had
first to face the dread ordeal. The shadow
of evening deepened suddenly, as in autumn
is apt to be the case; purple clouds enshrouded
the departing sun, as a pall of that royal hue
envelops the bier of a conqueror; and a gray-
ness stole over the landscape, bringing with
it a deep hush. The birds were still in the
boughs of the trees, the insect clamor sub-
sided, and a star or two appeared in the
heavens, as the boys came out from their
substantial evening meal.

Nicholas, grim and fantastic as the shadows
of the trees on the lawn, stood som-what sud-
denly beside the boys. He had come to lead
vSedgwick into durance vile. The cousins
wrung each other's hand, as if they were
never more to meet upon the greeu earth's
(220)

jsh

THE FINAL TEST.

221

surface. Then Sedgwick passed tln^ugli a
portentous-looking trap-door, ^Inch Nicholas
had opeiKd in the very heart of the brush-
woe 1 npon the cliff. Neither of the boys had
discovered this entrance before, despite their
constant researches.

Julian, left alone, cast a swift glance up-
wards at a star which shone, glowing and
bright, in the gathering darkness; and it
seemed to him like a beacon of hope. He
went to bed early that night, and lay awake
wondering how it fared with Sedgwick in
those fearful subterranean depths, to whicli,
imagination suggested, he must have gone
He recalled, as he tossed about, restless and
sleepless, that first night when he h^d awaited
the summons to appear in presence of their
formidable ancestor and to begin the quest
which was now so nearly ended.

He was up betimes in the morning; in fact,
it was scarcely daylight when he appeared
npon the lawn, and there was only a faint
streak of dawn in the eastern sky. He wan-
dered about aimlessly, listening with curious
impatience to the cheerful chirping of the
birds in the nests far overhead. And presently
there was Nicholas and there was Sedgwick

r.-'f .t'

■f "

222 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTLMERS.

beside him. Julian looked for a ir >nioni r.uo
his cousin's face. Its ruddy color was gone:
Sedgwick was deadly pale, and .lu/e wee
traces of exhaustion in his whole appearance.
Julian did not like to ask a question, but
Sedgwick cried out:

•'Oh, it was awful, Julian! And I have-
failed!"

"Failed!" said Julian, aghast.
But Nicholas hurried Sedgwick away, nor
did he allow any communication between the
boys during the whole of that day.

It was one of the longest and most depres-
sing Julian had ever known. He took his
luncheon alone with his grandfather, who
seemed in a silent mood, buried in thought,
and scarcely heeding the presence of his
grandson. Julian actually welcomed the
coming of the dusk, though it brought him
face to face with that dreaded ordeal, which
he feared so much the more since his momen-
tary glimpse of Sedgwick. Whatever it might
be, it was better to have it over. He should
at least go back to his mother, whom he was
longing to see; and Sedgwick and he would
meet and have some pleasant times together.
Even if both cousins were unsuccessful in

THE FINAL TEST.

223

finding the fortnne, Julian argued that they
would have many experiences to telk over
and would be friends for life.

Just as Nicholas thrust the young adven-
turer through that dismal trap-door, he caught
a glimpse of the same bright star which he
had beheld on the evening previous, and
which reminded him of the "Star of the Sea",
to whom he had, in his boyish fashion, so
tender a devotion. He felt in his pocket to be
sure that his beads were there; and he held
them close, as Nicholas shut the door with a
bang, bolting it upon the outside; and Julian
found himself iu complete darkness.

The old servitor, however, had provided
him with a winding circular taper of wax and
a box of matches, so that he would have some
means of guiding himself on his way. But
in that first moment of dense, overpowering,
palpable darkness, the boy felt ps if he were
wrestling with some giant, and he stood still,
not even remembering to light his taper. He
stumbled along blindly, mechanically, with
an instinct that he should move at all costs
from the spot on which Nicholas had left him.
Occasionally he encountered the projection of
a stone wall, damp and mouldy, from which

224 '^"^■- LOST ji;\vi:i, ok TIU', moutimers.

p I '

( >^ -

he r'^coiled, feeling as if he had touched some
living thing.

For the

beine his

ises seemed be-
munbed, as it were; and a curious fancy came
over him that he had died, and that this was
the dark passage from Life to Death. Oddly
enough, this whimsical idea made him re-
member to light his taper, which seem 1
symbolical of the light of faith, which alone
can illumine that last dreary pathway. He
stnick match after match, but it was some
time before one remained lit, so damp and
mouldy was the atmosphere. At last, how-
ever, he succeeded in securing a clear light,
which, though small, seemed to pierce the
surrounding gloom, giving him courage to
go on.

Sometimes he was discouraged to find him-
self up against a blind wall, with no appar-
ent means of outlet, until at last he discovered
a crevice and finally a narrow passage, through
which he crept on all fours, startling toads
and lizards from their accustomed quietude.
Occasionally the noise of the sea sounded so
loud and so close to him, that he was filled
with sudden terror and stood still, trembling
and clinging to the rock. What if an in-

THE FINAL TEST.

225

cautious movement should throw him head-
long into the fathomless depths, the waves
swallowing him up in an abyss of blackness!
Again, imaginary terrors crowded into his
mind, strange spectres flitted before his eyes,
fantastic images crowded his overtaxed brain,
lurid lights seemed to gleam out of the dark-
ness. A fear of the unseen filled him with
horror. But perhaps the most terrifying
thought of all was that he might have to re-
main there forever: that there might be no
other exit save that by which he had entered,
and that he might never be able to find his
way thither again.

An intensity of longing came over him for
a glimpse of the sky studded with stars, of
the green grass or the waving trees, or of the
sunlight on the surface of the sea. He felt
that if only this might be, he would sacrifice
cheerfully all the fortunes of the world; for
"the wealth of Ormuz and of Ind" then
appeared to him small and pityful. But his
resolute spirit at last asserted itself, and he
reminded himself that he must take heart and
press on, either to that goal of success which
now seemed to him so shadowy and unreal,
or at least to regain that outside world, with
its life and warmth and brightness.

226 TiiK Lo.'^r ji;\vi:i< ok thk Mortimers.

1- ll

He began to recite his Rosary, at first
mecliauically, then with fervor, until his fears
gradually were allayed and something of his
natural buoyancy began to return. He fancied
himself leading forlorn hopes or facing fearful
odds, as Anselm Benedict had done ; or,
again, as being immured in some fearful dun-
geon for the one holy Catholic and Apostolic
Faith, and making a dash for freedom. Thus
passed the time; though he had, in reality,
nothing wherewith to contend except silence
and darkness. He began to remember how
Sedgwick and he had got lost, apparently, in
a labyrinth of passages, which finally led to
the cavern ; and he shrewdly conjectured that
these windings led there, or somewhere else
more advantageous. But even to reach the
light and warmth and rest of the cavern
seemed now most desirable.

Besides, he began to ask himself if there
couhl be any tnith in the supposition which
Sedgwick had once set forth — that the cavern
in some way held the secret and was closely
connected with the discovery of the lost jev. el
and the hidden room. In any case, iic was
determined to try to reach the cave; and, if he
■ could not get any farther, there at least to

THlv FINAL TKST.

227

await Nicholas in peace and comfort. Willi
this in view, he continued upon his difficult
way, not without sundry cuts and bruises and
plenty of sharp blows from t'.ie projections of
the rocks and the sudden - arniugs. At last
he found himself going down, down, down,
with considerable speed, as though he were
upon an incline. It seemed to him that the
toilsome way would never end. His strength
began to fail, and he knew that he would
soon become altogether exhausted.

Just as he felt a giddiness and faintness
coming over him, he was conscious of a glim-
mer of light, and made a great effort to reach
the brightness. In another moment he
stumbled and almost fell into e familiar
room of the cavenr, where the mysterious fire
still glowed upon the hearth. By a last effort
he threw himself into an easy-chair, blowing
out his taper and laying it beside him upon
the table. He remained for a time in a per-
fectly lethargic state.

After a while, however, his dormant facul-
ties awoke to life, and he began to look about
him, his eager gaze discovering nothing new
whatever. There was the hearth with great
//logs leaping in a cheerful blaze, and dry sticks

228 THK LOST JEWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

,j...

piled beside it, ready to be burned; there were
the skins upon the walls and the rug upon the
floor, and the table and the candlesticks and
the easy-chairs. But was this cavern the end?
Were the lost jewel and the hidden room but
phantoms of the brain, as the grandfather had
suggested; and the trials which the four ad-
venturers had come through but tests of man-
hood, which should bear their own reward?
Somehow, he could not believe this. He felt
that Auselm Benedict would never have de-
ceived them and so graphically described
what had no real existence. Yet here he,
and he alone, had come thus far in the third
ordeal and had discovered nothing new.

He sprang from his chair with a sudden
strong impulse of hope and courage. The
cavern was not the end, but only the means
to the end, — he felt assured of that. He would
explore every nook and cranny of it. And
just as he had come to this determination, he
heard the grating sound in the wall, and there
was the shelf with sandwiches, plum-cake,
and a hot posset of milk. Surely he was the
favorite of Nicholas, or whoever provided this
mysterious refreshment. He partook of it
eagerly; and, as though it had been the fabled

THE FINAL TEST.

229

nectar of the gods, it seemed to fill him with
new strength and energy.

It occurr d to him still more forcibly that,
since the dark labyrinths of winding passages
all seemed to lead to this habitable portion of
the cavern, the cine niu«t be therein, and that
some other passage migiit lead to that goal so
long desired and so eag dy songht by genera-
tions of the Mortimers. He remembered the
opening which he had seen on the morning
when he had heard Sedgwick's voice above
his head, and he conld have sworn that it
was under that particular leopard skin, from
which green eyes now glared at him malevo-
lently. And yet it was behind that precise
covering that a rocky wall had appeared,
hopeless and impenetrable.

Nevertheless, he approached it once more,
undeterred by the gleam, baleful in the fire-
light, which shone in the eyes of the beast.
They were only eyes of glass, which had re-
placed the natural orbs of the once fierce
beast of the jungle; but they caught the flame
and held it as if with suppressed fury. Julian
raised the skin and peered at the gray rock,
which seemed to stare him in the face. As
he was about to drop the skin in discourage-

230 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

urn

i I

ment, he suddenly perceived a curiously
carved knob placed within a deep indentation
in the stone. He seized this and it yielded:
a door flew open, and there were the stairs
going upward, two or three rt a time, as he
h-'d seen them on that other morning. In-
stantly he began to mount; but, turning back-
ward by a happy instinct, took his waxen
taper and the matches from the table. Then
he went on, with something of the feeling
that the famous youth must have had, who
heard above him the magic word "Excelsior!"

When he had mounted to a considerable
distance, the stairs made a sudden turn, and
there was a passageway similar, as he could
not doubt, to those in which he had twice
before stumbled blindly, only that this seemed
smoother, and that the hand of man had
clearly removed obstructions and fashioned a
species of tunnel. The light from below still
aided the glow of his taper, and he could see
his way clearly; but after a time he had to
depend entirely upon the glimmer of the wax
light, and to pursue his way without the re-
motest idea as to whither he was going.

When he had gone on thus for some time,
lie began to hear occasional sounds, such as

I ■ ■ '.^l

THE FINAL, TEST.

231

the soughing of the wind in the forest trees,
or the call of a bird. It flashed upon him
that this tunnel led under the forest, and that
here was the explanation of one mystery at
least. Nicholas walking in that passage could
hear voices from above and make his own
voice heard. No doubt the tunnel reached
down to the rocky shore v/here the mysterious
echo had first been heard, and under those
forest paths where stood the caaip of the
fortune-seekers. But if it led under the forest,
what was its final destination? Did it extend
as far as the mansion at Pine Bluff? And if
so, with what portion of that edifice did it
connect? Would it finally lead to the glorious
end of all these adventures?

Julian's heart began to beat high, his pulses
throbbed, and his feet fairly flew over the
damp earth. The twitter of birds coming
faintly from above warned him that the dawn
was near, and a horrible fear smote on him
that perhaps Nicholas would come to snatch
him back from the very threshold of success.
He had so often seen the old servitor appear
at the most unexpected moment, that he
would not have been surprised to encounter
him coming through the solid rock or upward

f..',

.'I

232 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

from the ground at his feet. But all remai- ^d
silent, save those whisperings of nature from
above; and the boy, sanguine and glowing
with renewed hope, urged on by the keenest
curiosity, saw before him only the gray rocky
sides of the passageway 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.

"More steps!" he muttered to himself, in
discouragement; for they always seemed to
bring him into more winding passages. How-
ever, he had no alternative but to mount the
stairs or go back the way he had come. He
looked all about him carefully. This was
obviously the way out; and if that way led
into the mansion at Pine Bluff, as he believed,
he wot naturally have to go upward from
beneath the earth. He set his foot upon the
lowest step. It was made of wood, mouldy
and almost rotten: it creaked when he walked,
and set numberless strange insects in motion.
There was a rude sort of banister, and he
seized upon this — though it did not feel secure
in his grasp — and resolutely began the ascent.
Presently a step broke with his weight, and
he was very nearly thrown down into strange
depths.

)'■,

THE FINAL TEST.

233

But the boy was not to be deterred now by
any obstacles. Pride, ambition, hope, cour-
age, — were all strong within him; the adven-
turous spirit of his ancestor was alive, and
success lured him on, as the syrens of old
lured the fabi d mariners. He felt that
nothing could liave made him turn back till
he reached the top of those stairs. Yet the
stairs seemed very long, and it occurred to
him, in his mad excitement, that surely they
were taking him to the very roof of his grand-
father's dwelling.

He paused every once and a while to take
breath, trembling and panting with the
thought of what might lie hidden at the top
of that damp and mildewed stairway. He
had left rocky passages and caverns behind
him, — of that he was certain; and the boom
of the sea sounded mellowed and softened to
his ears.

All at once he '•tood still and listened.
What sound was tlu , strangely familiar, but
weirdly unreal in this stillness, and altogether
unexpected in this scene, — metallic and vib-
rant, grating at first, tiien softened into
melody? He knew at last what it was, and
held his breath. What did it portend, and

234 THE LOST JKWKL OK THK MORTIMERS.

were all uis wanderings to have the common-
place cutlet of the principal stairway in the
mansion at Pine Bluff ? Should he see the
servants there, going noiselessly about their
work; or his grandfather going down for his
morning walk; or Nicholas, who never seemed
to have any settled place of abode?

A passionate impatience seized upon the
boy. If he suddenly found himself upon that
well-known stairway, Nicholas would be there
and would lead him away and _ = 1 his dream
forever, and tell him, peihaps, that the treas-
ure he had sought did not exist, and that his
adventures had been in vain. By an odd
freak of memory, he recalled all the abusive
names which Jake used to bestow upon the
old servitor, and for a moment he felt tempted
to pour them all out upon that unoffending
head. Then he told himself that if, after all,
the treasure that he sought proved mythical,
it would be a good thing to get back to
ordinary life and to be done with all these
wild and strange adventures.

He stood thus and reasoned with himself
long after the vibrant, metallic sound had
ceased; for the ancient clock upon the stairs
had finished striking the hour of five.

Chapter XVI.

vSuccESS AT Last.

Yes, Julian was surely very close to the
great clock on the stairs which always tolled
out the hour in the uiansion at Pine Bluff
with great, solemn strokes, and which had
summoned him to that first memorable inter-
view with Anselm Benedict. But where was
the clock ? The steps, damp and creaking
and festooned with cobwebs, upon which he
stood, were not the luxuriously carpeted and
immaculately clean pair of stairs down which
his grandfather came in the early morning,
and which he mounted again at night. And
yet that clock had tolled, and was even now
ticking away in his ear. It dawned upon him
at last that he must be at the back of the
t^'mepiece, and that there was probably a door
which gave entrance to the Mortimer dwell-
ing. And as he stood uncertain, he grew
tired of the darkness and silence and longed
for the light, which he knew was even then

(235)

; '■;■;** «aJ^

w ■

t-.'i'

236 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

breaking over the surface of the sea; and for
the voice of Nicholas or any other human
creature to disturb this monotonous stillness.

The boy felt utterly discouraged as well as
disappointed ; for most likely he had chanced
upon a secret passage from the cavern to the
house, which had once been used end was
now out of date. He stretched out his hand
and it grasped the handle of a door; and,
bringing his taper nearer, there was a rusty
key. This jangled harshly as he attempted to
turn it in the lock; but finally it yielded.
He was indeed at the back of the clock in a
kind of niche; and, giving way at once to
weariness and despondency, he leaned heavily
against the wall. As he did so he felt a
gradual yielding, and the next moment found
himself falling inward.

He was terribly frightened at first, believ-
ing that he was falling into some abyss; and
then; as he stared and blinked, it occurred to
him that he was upon a soft rug, and that the
air about him was curiously stale and close,
as of a room loug shut from the light. He
lay still a few moments, pondering, dazed and
uncertain; then he sat up and looked about
him, and finally rose to his feet. He wan-

SUCCESS AT LAST.

237

dered about aimlessly, until interest and
curiosity began to be excited by what he saw.
It was an oddly shaped room, and so curious-
ly contrived that it was evident no trace of it
appeared from the outside. It was not dark,
but the light seemed to be the reflection of
other lights, and came glowing — now fiery
red, now opalescent green, now royal purple
— from stained windows which gave not upon
the landscape without but upon a kind of cir-
cular corridor illumined by some outside
windows.

A faint aromatic perfume pervaded the at-
mosphere, recalling to Julian's mind some of
those quaint Indian legends he had heard;
and the stillness was so great that he could
almost hear his heart beat. The furniture
was antique, of a style which he had never
seen before, except in so far as it resembled
that apartment below, where the pictured
figure of the gallant cavalier held its solitary
sway. Julia., felt oppressed by a sense of
strangeness and of mystery, which seemed to
transport him back into the past, from which
he could never come forth again and be just
an ordinary twentieth-century boy, going to
school and being buffeted about by his class-
mates.

238 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

He scarce dared touch the beautiful and
costly objects which lay strewn around, and
he did not know the names of any of them.
They might have been the work of some
strange enchanter, who would lay a spell
upon him, were he so much as to fix his eyes
too intently upon the rare collection. A cur^
ious terror stole over him and seemed to be-
numb his senses, till all at once his wandering
eyes encountered a picture of the Virgin
Mother and Child, quaint with the shadows
of antiquity, but fair and soft in its tints,
mild and benignant in its expression. Before
it was a costly vessel of silver, in which
burned some perfumed oil. Julian afterward
learned that the light had never been extin-
guished while two centuries and more had
run their course, and the old world had seen
its innumerable vicissitudes of joy and sorrow
and war and famine and pestilence. It was
one of those li 'ts which Anselni Benedict,
like many pi holies of the generations

gone, had 01 .; by his will should burn

in perpetuit> ....fore a representation of
"St. Mary".

Close by the picture, upon a spindle-legged
table of satinwood, stood a curiously wrought

SUCCESS AT LAST.

239

cabinet composed of various woods, incrusted
with ornaments of solid gold, wliicli were
marvels of the artificer's art. With a species
of awe Julian touched one of these, gently,
delicately, as he might have touched a rose-
leaf. Instantly a door ?prang open, and there,
upon a cushion of finest satin yellowed by
age, lay a gorgeous jewel: a drop of living
fire, a vivid crimson stain like the blood of a
heart, — Julian knew not what to call it. He
felt fascinated, bewildered by its beauty, as it
gleamed and glowed in the light from "St.
Mary's" lamp. In his inexperience the boy
knew nothing of its value, but vaguely thought
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus burning and
glowing, the source of true wealth and power.
Perhaps it was this analogy which caused
him to fall upon his knees, with a prayer of
thanksgiving upon his lips for his preserva-
tion from many dangers. And as he knelt,
bewildered, he remembered the legend of the
Holy Grail, which his mother had read to
him, and of the finding of the blessed cup by
him who was pure of heart and steadfast.
He fancied that the pictured face of the Vir-
gin Mother smiled upon him; and as he knelt
thus, a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and

i.'i.

340 THE LOST JK\V1;L OK THE MORTIMERS.

there was Nicholas. He rose and coiifronled
the old servitor, who seemed borne out of
himself by some overpowering emotion: the
grim eyes sparkled, the wooden face fairly
beamed with joy and excitement, and, raising
his hand, he made a military salute to the
young hero of the hour.

Then for the first time Julian realized the
meaning of all these marvels. The ordeal
was ended. He had come through all his
trials triumphantly, and here were the hidden
room and the lost jewel of the Mortimers.
The knowledge came to him by a sudden
flash of intuition. Nicholas had said nothing,
and for the moment it seemed to the boy as
if his heart would break with the wonder and
the joy of it. The thought of his mother
rushed into his heart. Like a torrent released
by the springtime sun, he could go back to
her now with the glad tidings; and she would
be rich and never know the pressure of strait-
ened circumstances any more.

"//e will be glad!" cried Nicholas, in
trumpet-like tones that were startling in the
stillness.

*'\Vlio? Grandfather?" asked Julian.

•'Grandfather! No!" replied Nicholas.
"He, the master, down below!"

SUCCESS AT LAST.

241

Then Julian knew that he meant Ansehn
Benedict, of whom the servant spoke as though
he still lived and moved and were capal)le of
human feelings. And the boy experienced a
sudden glow at the thought that he— he
at least— had proved himself worthy and had
finally conquered in the great race. This
brought him to the remembrance of Sedgwick,
and Julian's generous heart was filled with
something like remorse. Sedgwick had striven
bravely and had failed. He had come so far
on the journey and had been compelled to
turn backward unrewarded. Julian felt truly
sorry, and dreaded the meeting when he
should have to say to the cousin, to whom he
was now deeply attached, ''I have won where
you have failed."

Nicholas, however, was troubled by no such
regrets. He stood gazing at the ruby, lost,
as it seemed, in a kind of reverential awe.
Then he raised it from its satin bed and laid
it in Julian's hand.

"Think of it!" he cried, in the same
clarion-like tone. « 'After hundreds of years

it is yours!"

A thrill passed through the boy, as though
the ruby had been some sentient thing which,

l- i

;1 .T

'>42 THK LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS,

suddenly resurrected, had responded to Ins
touch. Still, he was glad when Nicholas re-
lieved him of it and restored it to the oushion,
whence it sent forth its wonderful flashes of
fire in the flicker of "St. Mary's" flame.
For human hearts are so constituted that
triumph, success, the sudden realization of
good fortune, or of great happiness, leaves
them in a measure unresponsive.
'XvNicholas closed the door of the cabinet,
and, taking Julian by the hand in a strong,
warm clasp, which told of sympathy and of
gladness, led the boy out of the room. But,
instead of going down the dusty and worm-
eaten steps by which Julian had ascended,
they went out from behind the case of the
great clock and down the principal stairs of
the mansion at Pine Bluff, of which Julian
was henceforth practically the master. The
staircase and the hall looked different to him,
as though they were touched with the quiet
and peace of Sabbath sunshine; and so the
boy, attended by the grim old servitor, passed
down into the librarj', where sat Mr. Mortimer
among his books. He, too, had a different
aspect about him, as if he belonged to another
world. He was buried in a ponderous vol-

SUCCESS AT LAST.

243

ume dealing with scientific research. Julian
ran straight to the old man's side.

"Grandfather," he exclaimed, "Anselm
Benedict was right: there is a hidden room
and a lost jewel ! ' '

Mr. Mortimer turned ashen-white, and his
hands shook as if he were suddenly stricken
with palsy.

"Do you mean to say," he asked, in a
tremulous, broken voice, "that — that you
have found them?"

"Yes, grandfather," Julian answered, sub-
dued, abashed at his own success, p. shamed of
having proved this old man's tl' cries wrong.

Mr. Mortimer looked at him with an odd,
puzzled, long stare, as though the boy were
one who had come out of some long-past
dream. But he said never a word more,
turning his eyes at last away from the boy
and out over the landscape, sunlit now with
the fair morning beams. From the very depths
of his heart he sighed, as men sigh for whom
youth is vanished, with its hopes, its aspira-
tions and its possibilities.

By a sudden impulse Julian laid his hand
upon his grandfather's arm.

"I am only a boy," he said, "and what

244 'f"!-; lOST JKWHL OK THK MORTIMERS.

does it matter whether I found the things
or not?"

Then tears, the slow tears of age, began to
steal down the old man's wrinkled cheeks,
and through the mist which the moisture
made he saw himself and the long ago; but
'aw, too, the simplicity, honesty, truth and
enerosity which shone in the face of the boy
before him, and he acknowledged that for this
time at least good fortune was deserved. He
bowed his head upon his hands; and Julian,
obeying an imperative sign from Nicholas,
went softly out.

When he reached the lawn, the birds were
singing a very paean; they seemed to greet
him with acclamation. It was their morning
chorus of praise and joy. And the living
green of the grass seemed fairer than ever to
his eyes, and the trees were all burnished
gold by the early sun, while the voice of the
sea in a gentle munnur spoke of gladness.

Sedgwick came running in great haste to
meet his comrade.

"I know you have found it!" he cried.
"You must have found it, curly pate! It
wouldn't be right if you didn't. The story
would end all wrong."

y = ,i

SUCCESS AT LAST.

245

Julian hesitated. The sight of Sedgwick's
honest, ruddy face filled him with regret and
something like confusion. His cousin had
been so kind and so faithful in all their ad-
ventures, and had done him so many good
turns! It seemed almost cruel to tell him of
the success which had befallen himself, and
of that wondrous room hidden away behind
the clock-case, at the top of those creaking
and worm-eaten stairs.

But Nicholas, who had set his heart upon
Julian's ultimate triumph, and had early seen
the promise of success in the boy, was troubled
with no regrets whatever. He straightened
himself to attention — a grotesque figure, an
anachronism in that joyous sunlight, — he
waved his hand as if inviting all the landscape
to share in his joy, and to proclaim, as he was
about to proclaim, Julian's triumph. He took
off his hat and bowed ceremoniously to his
young hero, who now shared in his heart the
place long occupied by the traditional Anselm
Benedict alone. Then he spoke out in tones
clear and vibrating, which caught every echo
and mingled with the hoarse voice of the
waves:

"Know ye all, and be it known to you,

246 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

li X

ii.^

tliat the victor stands before you, the worthy
descendant of the great and famous Ansehn
Benedict ; and that he has found and shall
forever hold in his possession that which was
concealed in the hidden room — namely, the
lost jewel of the Mortimers!"

Then Sedgwick's cap went up into the air,
and for very joy he turned a somersault or
two, which was in marked contrast to the old
servitor's poniiJous proclamation, but which
was fully as sincere and honest; after which
he also straightened himself to his full height,
and sent all the echoes ringing into the forest
with a great shout of —

"Hip, hip, hurrah for Julian, for Anselm
Benedict, the hidden room and the lost jewel
found!"

Nicholas joined him with right good will
in three times three. And the grandfather
came to the window and saw Julian's small
figure and shining hair glistening in the sun,
his pale face aglo>v with happiness; while
again and yet again went up that cry of
"Ilip, hip, hurrah for Julian, for Anselm
Benedict, the hidden room and the lo'-' " wel
found!"

Chapter XVII.
Joy All Round.

It would be impossible to put into one
chapter all these things which followed upon
Julian's success; but his very first act was to
sunnnon his mother that she might share his
triumph. Their meeting was a most affecting
one, not easily to be set down in cold black
and white. The mother was proud of her
little knight; joyful, too, but fearful at times
of the effect of success upon the character and
future career of her boy.

At the request of Mr. Mortimer, she con-
sented to take up her abode with her son in
the mansion at Pine Bluff, with the stipulation
that Julian should return to college and con-
tinue his education. From the very first the
mother and son were full of projects which
had fur their ultimate aim the good of the
greatest number. For Mrs. Robert always
insisted that the fortune had been left them
merely in trust, and that they had to consider
(247)

SCT^

24^ T 1 1 K i.f )hr ■ I'.w !•; I, I • n k \u . k ■ i m hk.s.

\ hat w II 1 have eeii he wisl- A ' im
IJt'iieclict ill its disposal. Tht. k>L . lat

1 would have been desirous ol ' vnel:tin<^ Ii s
»u- endants in even brn .ch o the fa n']
and al- . of ad van • • - t'-e interest- of hose
who li\ ! •■ I the nt ,;iibor .ud o ue 'l.tf
.'i> well as in tl.r suriu -iv coi; ,:>
Mr. Moriinier who wa> w in ♦^'i i\

svn )at',v and

"ti t' ni( t cord. 1 tt

v.uh his daugluei-iu-lav.
^'ito all these schei 'es, •]. jri,
in his new enthusia 'w.
Julian, who, in his i, ic
fa'.lier a\ 'th the o^rea aff :k
him with i -ference n id

ei d
yoi
IS dt
•d h-

h.. -t

agai.
' h
ant
created
^ ation
•i wants,
11 to all
favorite
.r 1 hs-
d, a.^ the

hcaiuifnl to see. '^e an ipatt-d

listened with inti si , a^jjreci

his savings knc • he o fin

hooks ami when :o eave hii

tnrhcvi ci ni-: m. Julian,

}e.-irs \vi on, remai'^^d t:.e .aie br; ^dit^

'" ' ^'"U"'' '' -re, ,. "-rested in a!i about

hill m ? - (ctmg nn' : .all .e and sym-

en, >ii pious and regular

iutis a f' s, h' ex-i !ple was as

;try nd, and had its

wurld h character

l-a
in
a

i hii 1
icon to .
' even c>i

JOY ALL ROUND.

249

of his grandfather, who g hially turned from
the things that are pnssiu to those that are
eternal.

Every year, upon the anniversar of the
finding of the jewel — which, by the way, was
to remain in its shimmering cushion of satin,
within the little cabinet beside "St. Mary's
picture", until Jidiau should be of age, —
there was a gathering of the Mortimers, sen-
iors and juniors, r id a solemn visit to the
(nice hidden room, where the ruby was dis-
played and pas^ d around among them. Be-
fore departing they assembled also around
the picture of Auselm Benedict ; and this
ber , ne a traditional custom, a ceremonial of
great we'ght in the family. Even the most
obscure member felt that it in some way en-
hanced his importance to be one of the group
around the portrait of their brilliant and
piciiiresqiK ancestor; the more so as, through
Julian's influence, the chief incidents of his
life and the most conspicuous traits in his
character became familiarly known to them
all.

From ihese family gatherings, however,
Ja le ail . his father were absent. Never once
did thcv cross the threshold of t^^ nnsion

>i i m

250 THE LOST JEWEL OF THE MORTIMERS.

at Pine Bluff, though they were annually in-
vited to do so. Julian had made over to Jake
a handsome annuity, which the latter freely
accepted, while openly expressing his hatred
of the donor. He was heard of as an un-
scrupulous and over-sharp speculator in stocks,
and bid fair, as his grandfather declared, to
become a frequenter of bucket shops and other
shady speculative resorts. Julian always
thought with a kind of regretful pity of his
cousin, and Julian's mother was full of sym-
pathy for the erring lad and Oi'teu deplored
that they could do nothing whatever to
help him.

Sedgwick received from the estate a very
considerable sum indeed, as had been arranged
by Ansel m Benedict for any competitor who
should have passed through many of the tests
and acquitted himself honorably upon all
occasions. Aud Wat was not forgotten; for,
though he had not distinguished himself in
any way, he had done nothing to forfeit the
good opinion of those about him; and so he
received a sufficient share of the fortune to
delight him and his parents.

The two cousins spent nearly all their holi-
days, winter aud summer, at the mansion of

liil

JOY ALL ROUND.

351

Pine Bluff; and their visits there were gala
occasions indeed. They lived over again
every incident of those memorable weeks,
when they had all been competitors for the
Mortimer fortune and seekers after the jewel.
There were, in the first place, many mysteries
to unravel; and as many of these v/ere con-
nected with the grim and somewhat grotesque
figure of Nicholas, the old man seemed to
take particular pleasure in introducing the
cousins to his most secret haunts.

For there was a whole labyrinth of secret
passages and winding stairs, — some of them
in the house and others without, leading into
the forest or down to the cavern or the sea-
shore. Most of them were known to the old
servitor alone. He had spent many of his
long years of service in their hidden recesses,
and had his own apartments where no prying
eyes might look upon them. This circum-
stance, with the antique style of dress he
affected, his taciturnity, and his singular
manner and appearance, had gained for him
among the people about the reputation of
possessing occult powers. Many amongst the
generations of Mortimers whom he had served
had not been altogether free from this super-

252 THE LOST JKWEL OK THE MORTIMERS.

stition; and, being unable to account for his
mysterious coinings and goings, had been in-
clined to ascribe them to magic, or at least to
some inexplicable cause which it was im-
possible to discover.

As for the old man himself, he had been so
long the guardian spirit of the place, and the
repository of all its secrets, that he almost
fancied himself to have always existed, and to
have been at Pine Bluff when the mansion
was erected in the pioneer days of Anselm
Benedict. He was seldom distant from Julian,
save when the -latter was absent at college;
and he loved him with a love which gradually
blended, as Nicholas grew extremely aged
and his powers begun to fail, with the wor-
shiping tenderness with which he regarded
Anselm Benedict. To hear his fragments of
talk, it almost seemed as if, in some myster-
ious way, Julian the young and merry-hearted
had changed places with that brilliant soldier
of other days, who had long since mouldered
into dust in the family vault of the Mortimers.
This peculiarity of Nicholas gave Julian him-
self an uncanny sensation, which he once
confided to Sedgwick.

•*He makes me fe' her like a boy in a

JOY ALL ROUND.

253

fairy book," Julian declared, with a wry face.

*'Well, you did go through adventures that
beat the 'Wild West' tales all hollow," Sedg-
wick responded.

"So did you," said Julian.

"That's so, but I didn't come up to you..
I didn't climb rickety stairs nor hear the big
clock strike and suddenly find myself in a
wonderful room. Why, it's a good deal like
the Arabian Nights, and I don't wonder the
old man feels like handing you bouque s ever
since."

"but he needn't mix me with Anselra
Benedict," replied Julian; "though, of course,
it's a compliment, because any fellow would
be proud to be like him. I'm really fond of
Nicholas," he added hastily, lest Sedgwick
might infer from his remarks anything de-
rogatory to that faithful servant.

"So am I. He's a first-rate old chap,"
agreed Sedgwick, cordially; "and he gives us
no end of a good time when we come here."

"Do you remember all the names Jake used
to call him?" asked Julian.

"You het I do!" answered Sedgwick. "And
I sometimes felt like joining in myself."

"We we^e all rather afraid of him."

254 'I'HK LOST JKWRL OF THK MORTIMKRS.

•'No wonder, curly pate," exclaimed Sedg-
wick, "when he could go through thick walls
and hear what we said everywhere, and then
speak at our very elbow! We had a glorious
time, though, Julian; and I wouldn't Lave
missed it for anything."

"Neither would I," agreed Julian, enthusi-
astically, "even if I had never found the hid-
den room nor the lost jewel. I don't think
any boys in our time ever had such queer
experiences."

And they had a good many more, and very
pleasant ones too. They encamped every
summer for a few days in the forest, Nicholas
remaining with them and supplying their
every want. They made frequent visits to
the old woman iu the hut, who made fresh
scones for them any day they wished, and
gave them fresh milk from her cow. They
became quite familiar with the supposed wild
animal, which was indeed wild and fierce
enough, — an enormous wolf-hound, of a breed
that had been kept there from father and son
to terrify lawless intruders. Sometimes they
went to the hut of the Mad Hermit, which
was hastening to decay, with all its curious
contents. They heard many quaint tales of

L-

JOY ALL ROIM).

255

him, his life and his singular doings, from
Nicholas, who remembered him as a boy just
entering upon the comiJetitiou; and they never
forgot to say a prayer for his soul.

But perhaps their greatest treat was to go
down, for a few days at a time, to the cavern
of the forest, where, under the guidance of
Nicholas, they were constantly discovering
new mysteries : secret stairs, doors opening
in the rocks, shelves sliding forth from hidden
recesses, and pan Is answering to secret
springs. Many of these things, as well as the
underground passages v^hich Sedgwick and
Julian had traversed, had to do with the
contraband trade, — a fascinating and un-
^mpulous calling, in which many were en-
gaged in the unsettled pioneer times of the
colonies; whilst some of the Mortimers, like
others of their class, had their own dealings
with the ruthless violators of the law.

It was rather a disappointment to the boys
that the smugglers, who had rendered mem-
orable Julian's first visit to the cavern, seemed
to have completely disappeared. Whether
they had been terrified by Nicholas' mysteri-
ous doings and by their belief in his occult
powers, whether they had been alarmed by

m"^\

256 THE LOST JI'WKL OK TlIK MORTI.MKRS.

the appearance of Julian, or had in some other
way been led to suppose that the cavem was
no longer a safe hiding-place, it was ceitain
that they never visited their former resort,
whence they had removed all traces of their
presence.

Nicholas, however, showed the boys his
way of producing what the uncouth seafarers
had mistaken for the fire of St. Elmo; and,
with their assistance, he set off many rockets,
which were seen afar by the country people
and gave rise to a variety of conjectures.
Then, he often took the boys in his boat-
quaint and old-fashioned, but most seaworthy,
— and they made many expeditions to places
in the neighborhood.
J So that, all things considered, the mansion
>at Pine Bluff was a centre of great interest
" and happiness to three young lives at least;
whilst old Mr. Mortimer learned, as it were,
to live his life over again in them; and Mrs.
Robert watched with pride, but with a never-
relaxing solicitude, the growth and develop-
ment of her idolized Julian.

•'I am so afraid," she observed to the grand-
father, as they sat together in the library
before a glowing fire, "that my boy's head

JO\ ALL ROUND.

257

may be turned by success as well as by the
:-owledge that he is the possessor of
rtune."

•I don't think any train of circumstances
will turn his head," answered the grandfather,
emphatically; ««and I am sure he would have
been just as fine a fellow even if he had been
defeated in the quest. He would have borne
his failure like a hero. We must admit that
he at least has earned his good luck; but you
and I kuo.v, by looking backward, it is far
from being the best people who most fre-
quently succeed."

•'Very far, indeed," said Mrs. Robert
thoughtfully. «'But I suppose everyone gets
what is best for him; and the ideal character
is that which support^ good and evil fortune
with equal countenance. Julian is, I think,
of fine metal and not easily spoiled. "

Here the two elders were incerrupted by a
shout from without, and Julian came nishing
ni, rosy from the nipping of the frosty air;
and after him came the "other fellows"—
Sedgwick and Wat,— the veteran ; of many a
sham battle in the new-fallen snow on the
lawn. Then, as they drew near to wann
themselves in the blaze, Mrs. Robert looked

258 THE LOST JKWEL OK THK MORTIMERS.

at her boy's bright face and hair shining in
the firelight, and thought, by a sudden turn
of memory, of the day when they were start-
ing from their shabby home in town to accept
the grandfather's first invitation, and how
Julian had expressed the hope that there
would be some "other fellows" there to enjoy
^the hospitality of Pine Bluff with him. Well,
. here \/ere the other fellows, standing side by
;,side with Julian, sworn friends and good
^comrades of his for evermore.

It all seemed dreamlike now, as some of
those visions of the early morning touched
with a roseate hue; and the mansion at Pine
Bluff, the old gentleman among his books,
were as unreal as the wonderful thought of
the fortune and the ruby, the quest upon
which these boys had entered, and in which
Julian came forth a victor by the finding of
the hidden room and the lost jewel of the
Mortimers.

THE END.

iMM

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