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00.. london CL Iii 15111.3.31'. I stool upon a fErm bed of coral sand ‘ :1: “as strewed with a thousand The sand was of a soft. creamy m" mint. and the shells were tinted1 I .ulet. pink. and blue of a hundred mics as various as theirshapes. 0n SL011 grewâ€"1t “115 um: buwc. uuu u. "m, a ship. Yet how was Ito settle the question? I looked up at it, and it looked hopeless: I atruCk it with the tomahawk, and the ed e rated harsh- ly on shells. only on 3 el 5. Then an idea. strut]: naeâ€"there might be some- thing on the other side. There was some difficulty in getting round. for the coral grew more thick- ly here than elsewhere. but I gradually found a way to reach the other side. The idea had been a good one. as I saw at once. The rock. it it was only a rock. was lower at thll side; the vea- lmkml round me. puzzled and ‘28- dered. Surely no earthly garden; s ever so wonderful as this. In none .t Ihmi ever seen were the forms various or the colors so vivid. It is .n the bright effects of the sunlight m missing no birds were perched these glo“ mg branches. and no in~ ts lashed or floated through the- . Yet here and there golden fishes rted like gleams of sunshine through 9 co'ore l boughs, while others, of daz- ng Hue and emerald green, hung 1’ ioniess like inset‘ t8 poised for flight, nihliled gent) y e the soft twigs of p (‘omlline shrugs. Looking from we. I had “11 5e together bring; but c .nd [bad b1 nts grew w: .>ys opened ez‘tion. Th obtain_a p as various as tnenrsnapes. uu side I was surrounded by an «hrubhery of carol plants that «mm a. foot to four or five feet. mg from the silvery soil. and .Lng their delicate" branches that rrimson and scarlet, purple and in}: and green, in the soft. clear 'N A TREASURE SHIP. more than that. use of the tomahawk that at last I was able to get close to it. \Vhen I did so, however, the hardest part of my task was done. The perpendicular part of the rock was hardly more than breast high here. and above it the slope. but for one or two lumrys in the middle, and 3 higher part at each end,’ seemed‘ pretty even and not very steep. l‘l'ithi a beating heart I prepared to Climb. ? With the aid of the branches of coral l I contrived to struggle on to the Slope. It had been no easy matter. imprisoned as I was in the stiff leathern casing that ham red each joint and swelled every lim) to an elephantine size. but at last I had done it, and the moment it was done I knew that my search had been successful. There could be no |longer any doubt about it when seen from aboveâ€"it was a vessel, or at least ; it had been one, on the deck of which '1 I stood. I could trace the outline clear- ily now; I could distinguish the high ', stern. and the form of the lofty fore- ;castle. that jutted out like beetling cliffs of rock. I could even make out f must have been the jagged stump of a ‘ mast, though now incrusted deeply thh shells and overgrown with coral; and. most convincing token of all, that which from below had looked like a solid rock, showed only from atom .a. hollow shell. Natural decay. 0t It might have been fire, had destroyed part of the (leak. and before me there ."flwned a gap through which Icould m tch a glimpse of shapeless heaps be- ' low that might once have been cargo. ()‘fet‘grown wl‘th seaweeds and crusted with a myriad shells. A. n. 1 1‘,_ -"J --â€"\- L-“vc-wv .It was the galleon after all, and the discovery was my own ! I examined the place with critical eyes. The bold had probably never been very deep. and now 1t was largely filled up by the [maps on which I had feasted m): 9395' I crept cautiously along the 810131“? deck to the Opening. I knelt and peerâ€" ed eagerly into the darker depths of the hold. . vâ€"“v There was no real difficulty about the descent. In any case it would, of ('ourse, have been easy enough to get down. and I now saw that the slop-mg eule of the galleon as she lay over would insure an easy way of getting ont of the hold on my retwrn. I saw this al- most at a glance, but somehow I still hml an uneasy feeling of curmsxty which. strange to say, rather made me hesrtute than hasten my descent. There was a trembling eagerness about the 10:118. anxious looks [threw into the dmn shadows where the deck still cov- ered the holdâ€"there was a shrinking from the attempt to explore these dark- erflepths which almost overcame 1115' determination to obtain some tangible evulenve of the treasure. It was only for a few seconds after all. and then I shook off the impression and prepared to make the attempt. The gap in the deck was only a few feet wide, and it didn't extend all the way acres the deck. so that I could see but a ver." small part of the hold from where I “”38- The part still covered by the deck was hardly visible at all from above. but I did not doubt that, when «ghee I was there. I should find that Ugh}: enough found its way in to gmde me m any search I might have to make. I cast Cine last careful look around me: I saw that the twhimg from my helmet and the cord that was fastened alzout my waist were free; I lowered myselt over the ragged edge of the (leek. and m another moment I stood in the hold of the Spanish treasm'e-ship. It had been deeper than it loo'kedfl or at least I felt as if it were so. \\ hen f I reached the bottom the deck which I i had left was quite out of reach, and‘ seemed, indeed, to be feet above In)": head. I had alighted on one of the; shapeless-look'~ g heaps I had notwedg from above. find I was surprised to; find that in spite of its covering of shells and seaweed, it felt nearly level to the touch. I looked around, and l was conscious of a strange new feel- 1'98 of op osition. For the first ttme, Slnce I le t the brig I felt a shrinkmg sensation thzit was almost like fear. Itmay‘ haye been the sudden change. vuv on \ “unnb\' from the. broad freedom of the ocean bottom, bewildering as that had been.‘ to the narrow innits of the place mi which I found myself; it may eyen have been merely the effect of the dun- xner light in which I stood. and the darker shadows that surrounded me on every side; but whatever the cause. the effect was something worse than un- leasant. I looked around, and as I ooked I shuddered. It was only by an effort that I re- covered myself, and considered what my next step should he. The uestion was. where I should he most li' elv to find what I was looking for. There had been no effort required when at a dis- tance to picture untold heaps of treas- ure lying ready to my hands, but it was different now that I was face to face with realities. I might. indeed. lie standing upon a heap of gold or sul- ver. hut amnehow. now that I found fl1y§elf in .VOP/‘afit. with it, the‘ reallty of' the w hole thing iéeé't'neâ€"(vlnhgxi‘vdâ€" t2) gr tsp. I stooped and struck sexeral hIOWs w ith the tomahzlwk upan the heap Q--- on which I was standing? \Vhatever the heap was composed of, it resisted the edge of my weapon as if it had 1’92? sgone. I stopped to consider. water looked dark and cavernous as? I stooped forward to peer into the sha-‘ dows that brooded over it. There did not appear to be an obstacle in my way. however, and a ter a momentary hesitation Imoved cautiously down the slope. l was doubtful of my footing, and I moved carefully. Step by step. with my face sct towards the darker shadows that lurked under the after- deckâ€"step by step I felt m way. It was after all less dark than had fear- ed it would be. My eyes had grown ac- customed to the soft pervading light that came downward through the wat- ery atmosphere overhead, and now I found that they quickly accommodated themselves to the dimmer light that stole obliquely into the inner recesses of the after-hold. Looki'n from side to side as I went cautious y forward. I could make out 111 new surroundindgs almost as well as {had done outsi e. The place was like a cavern, and step by step as I descended the illusion be- came more complete. Underm feet the floor sloped stee ly downw-ar s thickly paved With shel s; on each side coral plants had taken rpot. and although they had not attuned the size and luxurinnoe of those outside. they seem- ed almost more stance and beautiful as they stretched their, colored breaches towards me {on every ends. Overhead '1‘ he heap slope d‘ ami-"n Wavfdéâ€"vt‘fotfi'ta rds the. stexjn._so_mm~h so, 'mdeed, that the CHAPTER. III TEE DURHAM CHRONICLE, July 1, 1897 it, can he misfaken in gold ‘? The hold was longer than I had thought. Little by little as 1 went on the light grew dimmer. The clear soft light seemed to fill the water at the entrance, as clear if not as white as the glow from a hidden electric lamp grew more and more grey as I went. further and further in. The shadows of the coral shrubs began to look ghost- 13'. and the waving seaweeds overhead more and more suggested medusa faces half hidden behind those tangled tres- ses. Surely now I must. be near the place where the treasure had been stor- ed. and it was worth while to take yet w few steps more, even though they led into those eerie shadows. I seemed to be all eyes. My glances peered into each darker hollow in search of the yellow gleam of gold, and in half con- scious dread of some unknown terror about to show itself in the shadow. More than once I cast my eyes hack- ward. half inclined to give um; more than once I started. under the im- pression that; I heard a sound, through the oppressive silence. I had nearly reached the stern atl last, for already I could dimly make out the shadow that marked the end before me. If the treasure were not here, my attempt had failed. Perhaps. after all, the story of the treasure had been false. Perhaps it had been tak- en by the crew, and the tale of the native attack had been but a blind to cover the robbery. Such things hadi beenâ€"at least, so I had heard, and why not in this case? I grew cold at the thought, but yet I didn’t stop. I would at least make sure, now that I had come so far. I took another step. No, it wasn’t the stern after all. The! shadow I had seen mine from some- thing that was piled up higher thin my head. but it didn’t reach to the black covering overhead, \V’Illt'h I knew to he the desk. I looked at it narrow- 1y; I touched it with my hand : I struck it with the tomahawk. Inclosed as I was in my helmet I could, of course. hear nothing, but as lstruck Icould fancy it sounded hollow to the blows. I strut-k again and again. 'l‘hen something gave away, and out of the darkness there rolled something ”13" fell in a stream into the darker sha- 'dows at my feet. Dim as the lit!th 'was, I seemel to catch the glitter of gold; deaf as I was to all other sounds. I seemed to hear the Chink of nietalas the little stream ran swiftly down in- to the darkness. I had found thi! : treasure! I dreamt, many things iii that minute’s Pause. And all the time that slender stream of gold was. ruaming out and gleaming faintly as it fell. Then 1 came to myselt, and bent forward to grasp it im my outstretched hands. As 1 did so something like, a narrow sha- dow seemed to flit, mat; me, and even as I bent forward felt myself arâ€" rested by some invisible force. lb was gentle but firm, soft. but. for the mom-- (‘nfi1 almost, irresistible. 313' heart seemed to stand still, and! for several moments I felt powerless' even to malke an effort to free myself from that mysterious grasp. \Vhatnt could be that held me 1 could not even 8111988. but vaguely pietured to myself. the bony fingers of some Spanish doni who. for three long centuries. had stoodl guard over the sunken treasure. Of! course it was ridiculous. but it is hard. to draw the lime between the possible and the impossible at a moment like' that. I am not an imaginative mil-mi however, and as my heart recovered It-a self, and the blood began again to rush‘ through my veins, my courage came hook to me. It might be only a fancy: \Vtth the thought came the effort to prove it correct. and I threw myself forward once more to grasp the falling gold. Again I found myself held back. and now I knew that the grasp was on my shoulder. Surely it was a hand! l'l‘he weight with which I had thrown myself forward. resisted as it was. swung me partly round. and in the dim thlight my eye caught sight of a thin dark line that stretched out of the darkness rigid and strongâ€"was it m- deed the skeleton arm I had dreamed of? Involuntarily my hand went up and caught it. No, it was no bony sub- stance on which my gauntlet closed so convulsively, for it, Dent as I pressed against itâ€"bent like apiece 0f highly tempered steel. With a sudden wrench I tried to lessen its hold, and I almost sumredBd. Then with akind of shudder that communi- cated itself to my hand It suddenly swelled and grew rigid 383m: and I felt as if I had been drawn closer to the spot in the darkness out of which it.came. At the same moment some- thing else sprang out of theoshadow. trembled for an instant. as If 1n doubt, and then darted suddenly at my other shoulder. Then I knew what 1 had to deal with. .A devil-fish! Strange as it may seemâ€"strange as it even seems to my- self nowâ€"the conviction was a posi- tive relief. I had never seen a devil- fish, it is true, but I had heard and read of them, and their appearance was familiar to me from pictures. Terrible as the creature was, he was not Invest- ed with the terrors of the unknown, and I felt as if I could face him on very different terms from the bony skeleton I had imagined toomyself in my first moment of dread: Like 8 flash It passed through my mmd as I felt the new arm of the animal touch and cling to my breast. There was some- thing about that touch that was unlike any other experience I had ever had. It was not a blow; it was not agrup; it wasn’t even a push-yet the cen- on! d sation I felt was a iittle like all three. I staggered for a moment, but I held fast by the long, thin arm which I had gripped so tightly with my hand, and it seemed to steady me. It was some- thing to feel even so much that was real and tangible; but for these two slender bands that reamed out of the darkness, 1 was opposed to the un- I felt that I was face to face M'lth' my enemy, and even that was some- thing. The arms had sprung out of the shadow, and I knew vaguely that there were more behind. \Vhen would they too suring upon m0? “7 here would they fix their hold! (I stood expect- ant of what was to come next; my eyes searched in the darkness for the face of my enemy. I think the silence was the worst of it. A roar, a tri- umphant scream, etcn a hiss, would have been a relief. it was the utter silence that was terrible. It could only have been for a minute or two at the. most, for when I cast my eyes doun' I could see that the little riv er of yel-‘ low coins 11 as still trickling downand losing itself in the shadows. .[ didn t try to reach it now Somehow, my 1n-. terest, which had been so keen and overpowering only a few minutes be- fore, seemed to have ceased. (I looked at it vaguely, but I scarcely had more than a faint curiosity about the coins, and they no longer connected them- selves with my future. As I looked, howexer, I moved my foot, and some- thin: that rested against it fell offâ€" the tomahauk! The accident brought me back from the half unconscious state into which I was falling. The tomahawk! I was not quite defence- less then, after all. 1 atmped to seize it, and at the same moment. another slender hand darted at me from the darkness, and clutched me by the arm. It held me, yet it did not paralyze as the others had done. 1 had grown ac- customed to the idea, which w as much, and 1 had now a gleam of hOpe, “111.111 was still more. Igl1ent forward and idown'ward, in Spite of the clinging i hands that held me back. At last I reached it, and as my fingers closed clumslly on the handle I felt as if I was suddenly restored to my self-con- fidence once more. I rose to face my unseen adversary, and 1 was surprised to feel myself so cool and prepared. I had always heard that men were quickly exhausted in the toils of the devil-fish, and for a few moments I failed to understand why I should be an exception to the rule. Then it dawned upon me. It was my diving suit that preserved me so far. The crewture had seized me, indeed, but his suckers were fixed only an the thick leather suit that covered me from head to foot. Even through that strong protection I could feel the force of that deadly suction, indeed, for my flesh seemed to creep and rise to meet the grip of these leathery-look- ing bands; but it was with a new hope that l re:'ognized the fact that most of their deadly power was wasted on me. Helpless as I was in that grasp, the struggle might not, after all, be a llopelesq one. The very thought was half the battle gained. 1‘- My assailant was in no hurry. Sec- ond after second passed, and they seemed more than minutes to me, yet he made no further movement. I faced the shadowâ€"l strained my eyes to fol-- low those deadly arms to the place they came fromâ€"I gazed into the darkness in the hope of seeing some vulnerable point at which to strike. More than! once I tried the edge of my weapon on l the long. sinewy bands that graspedl me, but it was vainâ€"I could make no impression, Then another stole out of: the darkness and alighted on my thigh. ' “Four,” 1 said to myself, as I eyed. the long. snaky line, a darker shadow; in the dim water. I waited for whatl was to come. I felt a grim pleasure: in the though that my armor was allI the time deceiving the devil-fish. He was waiting till I. should he help-. less in his grip. \Vell, I also could wait. i .I suppose he didn’t consider long,l_ though if I had thought about it at: all, I should have supposed it had been hours. At last! There was a quiver of that malignant light,a phosphor- escent glitter in the water, and I saw him at last. He was only a dim out- line even now, as he stole upon me out of the shadow, but I. knew that at last I had him face to face. \Vhat was he like! Even now I can give ; myself no certain answer to that ques- l tion. There was something like a head, , and yet it was not a head: something. 2 that resembled a beak, and yet it was , unlike any beak I had ever seen. The .eyes,â€"only the eyesâ€" were recognlz-i E able as like, and even these were un- like anything I had known. It glided on to the attack. I could feel each one a of the hands it had thrown around me tighten with a convulsive pressure as it came. I could feel each of its hun- 1dreds of suckers pull and strain till lthey dragged my flesh into burning ridges under my covering, 0: leather. I staggered with the sensation ofpain. ‘my feet and faced him still. He was :close to me nowâ€"and now he seemed ' to gather himself together for a final effort. His fiendish eyes seemed to fix and paralyze my own, till I could only gaze into them, a. strange, urea!)- ing numbness coming over me as I did W At that moment I felt a. sudden pull at my waist. Once, twice. a. third time! Someone had pulled the rope. In a moment life and consciousness seemed to come back to me, and I was myself again. .Like a flash, I had grwped the tomahalwtk more firmly in the hand that was least encumbered and struck at the demon eyes that glar- ed at me. They seemed to flash a lurid fire at me as I did so. but the edge Bank deep. Again and yet again I struck, in the frenzy of my recovered hold on life. There was a. terrible con- vulsion, in which each of the clinging bands that bound me round took a share. I felt myself dragged, and toss- ed, and wrencned, in that supreme ag- ony of my assailant, till at last I lost my balance and fell. When 1 recovered the consciousness which 1 must have lost. it seemed to on the deck of the bug, and Tomagiadison knelt on one knee beside me, while the skip- per’s face bemd on me from the has round. My helmm; had been tak- en 0 f, and the hot aim we. shining full. on myfaoe. I struggled into a sitting position, and stared round stu- pidly for a mommt, then Tom’s vonce said: “\Vell, HaJl, that was a pretty narrow squeak, wasn’t it! We owe Boru here, something for finding you.” I looked round. The devil-fish lay be- side me. One at his arms was fasten- ed upon me still. . (To be W.) FURNITURE UNDERFAKING A FIRST C. Fllt’l‘lfl. - um TAXJDERMIST. Small birds up to Sparrow size.. .100 Hgtgin‘, BlpeJnx,_ quupedcera, and Undertaking and Emhahnin g A fiI’ECI A III") Cash Price List for Stuffing Birds Ammals. etc., etc. birds of similar size. Kingfishers, Snipes, Smail Hwakl. . Owls, and birds of similar size. Parfrigige‘ Ducks, Hawks, OWL: -x‘--. and birds of similiar size. 325010000 Large Hawks and Ow,ls omaoomglgg to Loans, Cranes. etc. . . . 4 00 ' Squirrels. 1 15 to l 75 W eagle, Mink; Musk. 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