The Haunted Mine

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER III.

  JULIAN IS ASTONISHED.

  "Well, sir, what do you think of that?" asked Julian, when he heardthe noise the telegraph boy made in running down the stairs. "Hereally acts as though he were mad about it."

  "He is a dishonest fellow," said Jack, once more coming up to thetable and throwing his leg over it. "You don't believe everything hesaid, do you?"

  "Not much, I don't," replied Julian, emphatically. "I could not go outthere and work the mine as he talks of doing. I should think it washaunted, sure enough."

  "Well, put the papers away, and then let us have supper. While we aredoing that, we will decide what we are going to do with the box."

  "I say, don't let us do anything with it. We will put it up there onthe mantel, and when we are through supper one of us will write anadvertisement calling upon Mr. Haberstro to come up and show himself.I guess the _Republican_ is as good a paper as any, isn't it?"

  "But Haberstro may be a Democrat, instead of a Republican," said Jack.

  "Well, then, put it in both papers. That will cost us twodollars--seventy-five cents for the first insertion and a quarter forthe second."

  It did not take the boys a long time to get their supper. They hadnothing but bacon, baker's bread, tea, and a few cream cakes whichJack had purchased on his way home; but there was an abundance, theywere hungry, and they did full justice to it. After supper camesomething that everybody hates--washing the dishes; but that wassomething the two friends never neglected. The dishes must be washedsome time, and the sooner it was done the sooner it would be overwith. Then one picked up the broom and went to sweeping, while theother lighted the lamp and brought out the writing materials.

  "I have already made up my mind what I want to say," said Julian, who,being a better scribe than his companion, handled the pen. "Wait untilI get the advertisement all written out, and then I will read it toyou."

  The pen moved slowly, and by the time that Jack had finished sweepingand seated himself in a chair ready to listen, Julian read thefollowing:

  "Information wanted regarding the whereabouts of S. W. Haberstro, formerly of St. Louis. If he will communicate with the undersigned he will hear of something greatly to his advantage. Any relative or friend of his who possesses the above information will confer a favor by writing to the name given below."

  "There; how will that do?" said Julian. "By the way, whose name shallI sign to it--yours or mine?"

  "Sign your own name, of course. Your place of business is much handierthan mine."

  "I tell you, Jack, it requires something besides a knowledge ofpenmanship to write out an advertisement for a newspaper. I haveworried over this matter ever since we were at supper, and then Ididn't know how you would like it. Now, the next thing is to put itwhere it will catch the public eye in the morning."

  The boys did not intend to let the grass grow under their feet. Theyput on their coats and turned down the lamp, but before they went outthey took particular pains to put the box where they knew it would besafe. They opened the closet, pushed the box as far back as they couldon the top shelf, and threw some clothing in front of it to hide itfrom anyone who might look in there. Burglaries were common in thecity, and the boys never left anything in their room that was worthstealing.

  The friends did not ride on the street cars, for they believed thatfive cents was worth as much to them as it was to the conductor, butwalked all the distance that lay between them and the business part ofthe city. They reached the newspaper offices at last, paid for twoinsertions in each paper, and went away satisfied that they had doneall in their power to find Mr. Haberstro.

  "Now we have done as we would be done by," said Julian, "and I believea glass of soda water would help me sleep easier. Come in here."

  "We don't want any soda water," exclaimed Jack, seizing Julian by thearm and pulling him away from the drug store. "We don't need it. Whenwe get home we will take a glass of cold water, and that will do justas well as all the soda water in town."

  "I suppose I shall have to give in to you," said Julian, continuinghis walk with Jack, "but I think we deserve a little credit for whatwe have done. Here we are with a fortune of one hundred thousanddollars in our pockets, and yet we are anxious to give it up if Mr.Haberstro shows himself. I tell you, it is not everybody in the worldwho would do that."

  "I know it, but that is the honest way of doing business. I nevercould look our master mechanic in the face again if I should go offand enjoy that money without making an effort to find the owner."

  In due time the boys reached home and went to bed, but sleep did notvisit their eyes before midnight. They were thinking of the fortunethat was in their grasp. No one would have thought these boys veryguilty if they had kept silent about the contents of that box and hadgone off to reap the pleasure which good luck or something else hadplaced in Julian's hands; but such a thought had never entered theirheads until Casper Nevins had suggested it to them. By being at thesale of "old horse" Julian had stumbled upon something that wasintended for Mr. Haberstro, and he was just as much entitled to thecontents of it as anybody.

  "But I would be dishonest for all that," said he, rolling over in hisbed to find a more comfortable position. "I never could enjoy thatmoney, for I should be thinking of Mr. Haberstro, who ought to haveit. No matter whether he is alive or dead, he would come up beside meall the while, and reach out his hand to take the money I was gettingready to use for my own pleasure. No, sir. We will do the best we canto find Mr. Haberstro, and if he does not show up within anyreasonable time, then Jack says the money belongs to us. I can spendit, then, to get anything I want, with perfect confidence."

  When Julian got to this point in his meditations he became silent, andthought over the many things he stood in need of, and which he thoughthe could not possibly get along without, until finally he fell asleep;but the next morning, when he arose and returned Jack's heartygreeting, that fortune came into his mind immediately.

  "I tell you what it is, Jack," said he. "If, after waiting a few days,we don't hear from Mr. Haberstro or any of his kin, suppose I go toMr. Wiggins with it? He will know exactly what we ought to do."

  "All right," said Jack. "That will be better than going to a lawyer,for he won't charge us anything for his advice."

  "And shall you keep still about this?"

  "Certainly. Don't lisp it to anybody. We don't want somebody to comealong here and claim to be Haberstro, when perhaps he don't know athing about what is in the box."

  "Of course he would not know a thing about it," said Julian, insurprise. "Haberstro himself don't know what there is in the box. Hehas got to prove by outside parties that he is the man that we want,or we can put him down as a fraud."

  "That's so," said Jack, after thinking a moment. "We must becontinually on the lookout for breakers."

  Why was it that Jack did not go further, and say that they must becontinually on the lookout for the safety of the box when they werenot there to watch over it? It was not safe from anybody who knew itwas there, and it would have been but little trouble for them to havetaken it with them and put it into the hands of Mr. Wiggins. If theyhad thought of this, no doubt they would have lost no time in actingupon it.

  Long before the hands on Jack's watch had reached the hour ofhalf-past six the two friends were on their way toward their places ofbusiness, and when Julian reached the office almost the first boy hesaw was Casper Nevins, who had denounced them for trying to find outwhat became of Mr. Haberstro.

  "Good-morning, Julian," said he. "Have you advertised for that man ofyours yet?"

  "What do you want to know for?" said Julian, remembering what Jack hadsaid about keeping the matter still.

  "Oh, nothing; only I want to tell you that if you get yourselvesfooled out of that fortune you can thank yourselves for it. What isthere to prevent some sharper from coming around and telling you thathe is Haberstro? You didn't think of that, did you?"

  "Yes, we thought of it," said
Julian, with a smile. "Do you suppose wewill take any man's word for that? He must prove that he is the man wewant, or else we won't have anything to do with him."

  "Pshaw! That is easy enough. I can find fifty men right here in thistown who will prove that they are President of the United States forhalf of what that box is worth. Say!" he added, sinking his voicealmost to a whisper, "you haven't said a word to anybody aboutadvertising for him, have you?"

  "No; and I have not said a word to you about it either," said Julian.

  "That's all right, but you can't fool me so easy. I want to tell youright now that there are a good many here who know about it, and thatthey are bound to have that box. Ah!" he added, noting the expressionthat came upon Julian's face, "you didn't think of _that_, did you?"

  "Who are they?" asked Julian.

  "There were men in the express office yesterday who know all about it.You needn't think you are going to keep that express box hid, for youcan't do it. Where did you put it?"

  "It is safe. It is where nobody will ever think of looking for it."

  "Then you are all right," said Casper, who was plainly very muchdisappointed because he did not find out where the box was. "But youhad better keep an eye out for those fellows in the express office,for, unless the looks of some of them belied them, they will stealthat box from you as sure as you are a foot high."

  "If they thought so much of the box, why didn't they buy it in thefirst place?"

  "That is for them to tell. I don't know but they have somehow got anidea that there is something in it. You are going to get fooled out ofit, and it will serve you just right for advertising for Haberstro."

  That day was a long one to Julian, for he could not help turning overin his mind what Casper had said to him. When he reached home afterhis day's work was done he went straight to the closet, paying no sortof attention to Jack, who looked at him in surprise, took a chair withhim, and hunted up the box. It was where he put it, and he drew a longbreath of relief.

  "Now, then, I would like to have you explain yourself," said Jack,after he had waited some little time for Julian to say what he meantby his actions.

  "It is there," said Julian, "but I have been shaking in my shoes allday. Did it ever occur to you that some of those people who saw me buythe box at the express office would come up here to take it?"

  "No; and I don't believe they will do it."

  "Well, Casper said they would."

  "You tell Casper Nevins to keep his long, meddlesome nose out of thispie and attend strictly to his own affairs," said Jack, in disgust."It is ours, and he has nothing to do with it. If anybody comes intothis room when we are not here, it will be Casper himself."

  "He can't; he has not got a key."

  "I know that. If he had, we would have trouble with that box. What didhe say to you?"

  Julian then repeated the conversation he held with Casper thatmorning, and Jack nodded his head once or twice to say that heapproved of it.

  "You did perfectly right by declining to answer his question aboutadvertising for our man," said Jack. "What did he want to know thatfor? If they wanted the box, why did they not buy it in the firstplace?"

  During the next few days the two friends were in a fever of suspense,for they did not want somebody to come and take their fortune awayfrom them. Every man who came into the telegraph office Julian watchedclosely, for he had somehow got it into his head that Haberstro mustbe a German; but every German who came in there had business of hisown, and as soon as it was done he went out. No one came to see Julianabout the box, and, if the truth must be told, he began to breatheeasier. Of late he had got out of the habit of looking for the box assoon as he came home, and perhaps the sport that Jack made of him forit was the only thing that made him give it up.

  "One would think you owned that fortune," said he. "I don't believe amiser ever watched his gold as closely as you watch that box."

  "I don't care," said Julian. "The fortune is ours, or rather is goingto be in a few days. Now you mark my words, and see if I don't tellyou the truth."

  "There's many a slip. We will never have such luck in the world."

  "Well, I am going to look at it now. It seems to me that if Haberstrois around here he ought to have put in an appearance before this time.We have waited a whole week without seeing anything of him."

  "A whole week!" exclaimed Jack, with a laugh. "If you wait a monthwithout seeing him you may be happy. If we keep the box for threemonths without the man appearing, then I shall think it belongs tous."

  Julian did not believe that. He thought that the contents of the boxwould belong to them before that time. He made no reply, but took achair to examine the closet. He moved the clothing aside, expectingevery minute to put his hand upon the box, and then uttered anexclamation of astonishment and threw the articles off on the floor.

  "What's the matter?" asked Jack, in alarm.

  "The box is gone!" replied Julian.