The Argosy, Vol. 76, No. 3 — page 123: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE THING THAT WAS CAASAR’S. the ditch, looking for the watchman when he should make his rounds, so that I should be warned in time to es- cape being seen. “For a good hour I clung to that wall like a fly in order to get the twenty minutes’ work that I needed‘ to get the stone out. Of course, it was not laid in mortar. We had cut that out when we took it out ten years before, and reset the stone in soft earth—”’ He paused and drank the rest of his peg, setting the glass down slowly. “and then when it was all done I put the stone back, so that no one could see what we had been doing, for the Chinese would have made it the subject of an international complaint if they had seen me digging away at the walls of the Holy City, and I went back to the hotel. “spent the rest of the night there and made the American sailor, Fel- ton, stay with me, and caught the morning train down. On the way down I heard some one say something about some trouble having been re- ported about the Atlanta’s cargo, and then, just as I was about to put off to gO aboard of her, I saw the police- boat, and when you put off to the Futami Maru I took a charice till I saw it it was really you in the launch and—here I am,” he wound up lamely enough. “Here endeth the second lesson,” said Oakes gaily, putting his hand upon Hemingway’s shoulder. ‘“ To be frank, old man, I never thought much of your plan. It was too chimerical; too much to expect that wealth to stay there for you. ‘“‘T have always felt that either some one else had found the cache or that you had lost it, or that Lavalle had gone back there unknown to you. I’m awfully sorry about your disappoint- ment, old fellow; but see here! Bur- ton and Oakes aren’t yet quite broke. I want you to go back with me when I go, and we'll find that there is a yolk in the egg yet—” 593 “Do you mean to offer me a place with you?” asked Hemingway, sur-’ prised. “T mean that we need a man who has been trained to handle men, and that the three of us can open the world’s oyster and get the meat out of it yet, if you care to come with us. There’s our Mexican concession that we sim- ply must have looked after, and that immediately, for it will take us a year to close out our Manila end of the business—” Hemingway looked at him from un- der bent brows. ‘‘ Know my record? ”’ he asked. “Don’t need to,” said Oakes short- ly. ‘‘ When I want a man to help me, I don’t want to know about his love- affairs. What do you say?” “May I look at that box, if you please, Miss Downs?” asked Heming- way irrelevantly. Surprised, the girl handed it to him. He rose slowly from his seat, stretch- ing his six feet of height, and so stood looking smilingly down upon his friend and the girl they both loved so well. “Funny thing about this old box,” he said reflectively. ‘“ That old bonze was sure that evil luck was attached to it. “Member what he said? That every time the box was stolen it brought -evil luck. upon all connected with it until it was stolen again? Wasn’t that it?” Marjorie nodded silently, her eyes fixed on Oakes. “TVll be back in a moment,” said Hemingway. He stepped’ back from his chair and entered a cabin the door of which stood open. They heard him rummaging about the room, but they paid no attention to him, but sat look- ing into each other’s eyes. His reappearance on the deck start- led them, and a quick flush of warm color to her cheeks told Marjorie that she had been sitting staring and stared at for at least two minutes without a word having passed. Oakes presuma- bly had the same thoughts, for his face. too, was flushed. COMmiicloo S CO@