arrest the splendid rout. Stillthe miraculous cornucopia deluged the ground, with its pattering,ringing, bumping, crinkling, rolling, fluttering produce until, likethe final tableau of some spectacular ballet, it ended with a goldenrain that masked the details of the heap beneath a glittering veil ofyellow sand.
"My dust!" gasped Draycott.
"My fivers, by golly!" ejaculated the bookmaker, initiating a plungeamong the spoil.
"My Japanese bonds, coupons and all, and--yes, even the manuscript ofmy work on 'Polyphyletic Bridal Customs among the mid-Pleistocene CaveMen.' Hah!" Something approaching a cachinnation of delight closed theprofessor's contribution to the pandemonium, and eyewitnessesafterwards declared that for a moment the dignified scientist stood onone foot in the opening movement of a can-can.
"My wife's diamonds, thank heaven!" cried Sir Benjamin, with the airof a schoolboy who was very well out of a swishing.
"But what does it mean?" demanded the bewildered canon. "Here are myfamily heirlooms--a few decent pearls, my grandfather's collection ofcamei and other trifles--but who--?"
"Perhaps this offers some explanation," suggested Mr. Carlyle,unpinning an envelope that had been secured to the lining of the bag."It is addressed 'To Seven Rich Sinners.' Shall I read it for you?"
For some reason the response was not unanimous, but it was sufficient.Mr. Carlyle cut open the envelope.
"_My dear Friends_,--Aren't you glad? Aren't you happy at this moment?Ah yes; but not with the true joy of regeneration that alone can bringlightness to the afflicted soul. Pause while there is yet time. Castoff the burden of your sinful lusts, for what shall it profit a man ifhe shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? (Mark, chap.viii, _v._ 36.)
"Oh, my friends, you have had an all-fired narrow squeak. Up till theFriday in last week I held your wealth in the hollow of my ungodlyhand and rejoiced in my nefarious cunning, but on that day as I withmy guilty female accomplice stood listening with worldly amusement tothe testimony of a converted brother at a meeting of the SalvationArmy on Clapham Common, the gospel light suddenly shone into ourrebellious souls and then and there we found salvation. Hallelujah!
"What we have done to complete the unrighteous scheme upon which wehad laboured for months has only been for your own good, dear friendsthat you are, though as yet divided from us by your carnal lusts. Letthis be a lesson to you. Sell all you have and give it to thepoor--through the organization of the Salvation Army bypreference--and thereby lay up for yourselves treasures where neithermoth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through andsteal. (Matthew, chap. vi, _v._ 20.)
"Yours in good works, _Private Henry, the Salvationist_.
"_P.S._ (in haste).--I may as well inform you that no crib is reallyuncrackable, though the Cyrus J. Coy Co.'s Safe Deposit on West 24thStreet, N.Y., comes nearest the kernel. And even that I could work tothe bare rock if I took hold of the job with both hands--that is tosay I could have done in my sinful days. As for you, I shouldrecommend you to change your T.A. to 'Peanut.'
"_U.K.G."_
"There sounds a streak of the old Adam in that postscript, Mr.Carlyle," whispered Inspector Beedel, who had just arrived in time tohear the letter read.
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