"But," I interposed, "you say skull was not parchment made the drawing beetle How then trace any connexion boat skull - latter, according to your own admission, must designed (God only knows how or by whom) at some period subsequent to your sketching the scarabus ? "

"Ah, hereupon turns the whole mystery; although the secret, point, I had comparatively little difficulty in solving My steps , and could afford but single result I reasoned, for example, thus: When I drew the scarabus, no skull apparent parchment When I had completed the drawing it , and observed you narrowly until you returned it You, therefore, design the skull, and no one else was present Then not done by human agency And nevertheless it " stage reflections I endeavored to remember, and did remember, with entire distinctness, every incident which occurred period The weather was chilly (oh rare and happy accident ! ), and fire was blazing hearth heated with exercise and sat near the table You, however, had drawn chair close chimney Just as I placed the parchment in your hand, and were act of in inspecting it, Wolf, the Newfoundland, entered, and leaped upon your shoulders With your you caressed him and kept him off, while your right, holding the parchment, was permitted listlessly between your knees, and in close proximity fire At one moment the blaze had caught it, and was about to caution you, but, before speak, you had withdrawn it, and were engaged in its examination When I considered all these particulars, I doubted not for moment that heat the agent in bringing to light, parchment, the skull which designed upon it well aware that chemical preparations exist, existed time out of mind, possible to write upon either paper or vellum, so characters shall become visible only when subjected action of fire Zaffre, digested in aqua regia, and diluted with four times its weight of water, is sometimes employed; green tint results The regulus of cobalt, dissolved in spirit of nitre, gives red These colors disappear at longer or shorter intervals material written upon cools, but again become apparent re-application of heat

"I now scrutinized the death's-head with care Its outer edges - the edges drawing nearest the edge vellum - were far more distinct others clear action caloric imperfect or unequal I immediately kindled fire, and subjected every portion parchment to glowing heat At first, the only effect strengthening faint lines skull; but, upon persevering experiment, there became visible, corner slip, diagonally opposite spot death's-head was delineated, the figure of what I at first supposed goat closer scrutiny, however, satisfied me intended for kid "

"Ha ! ha ! " said I, " no right to laugh at you - million and half of money is too serious matter for mirth - but about to establish third link in your chain - find any especial connexion between your pirates and goat - pirates, , have nothing with goats; they appertain farming interest "

"But just said figure was not that of goat "

"Well, kid then - pretty much the same thing "

"Pretty much, but not altogether," said Legrand " heard of one Captain Kidd I at once looked figure animal as kind of punning or hieroglyphical signature signature; because its position vellum suggested this idea The death's-head corner diagonally opposite, had, same manner, the air of stamp, or seal But sorely put out absence of all else - body to my imagined instrument - text context "

"I presume you expected letter stamp signature "

"Something kind The fact is, irresistibly impressed with presentiment of some vast good fortune impending scarcely say why Perhaps, after all, rather desire than an actual belief; - but that Jupiter's silly words, bug being of solid gold, had remarkable effect upon my fancy ? And then the series of accidents and coincidences - these were so very extraordinary observe how mere an accident events occurred sole day of all the year , or , sufficiently cool for fire, without the fire, or without the intervention dog precise moment he appeared, never have become aware death's-head, and so never the possessor treasure ? "

"But proceed - all impatience "

"Well; heard, , the many stories current - the thousand vague rumors afloat about money buried, somewhere Atlantic coast, by Kidd associates These rumors had some foundation And rumors have existed and so continuous, resulted, it appeared , only circumstance buried treasure still remaining entombed Had Kidd concealed his plunder for time, and afterwards reclaimed it, the rumors would scarcely have reached us in their present unvarying form observe stories told are all about money-seekers, not about money-finders Had the pirate recovered his money, there the affair dropped It seemed that some accident - say the loss of memorandum indicating its locality - had deprived him means of recovering it, and accident had become known followers, who otherwise might never have heard that treasure concealed at all, and who, busying themselves in vain, because unguided attempts, to regain it, had given first birth, and then universal currency, reports which are now so common ever heard of any important treasure being unearthed along the coast ? "

"Never "

"But that Kidd's accumulations were immense, is well known it for granted, therefore, earth still held them; and scarcely be surprised when I tell you that hope, nearly amounting to certainty, parchment so strangely found, involved lost record place of deposit "

"But how did you proceed ? "

"I held the vellum again fire, after increasing the heat; but nothing appeared I now thought it possible coating of dirt something failure; so I carefully rinsed the parchment by pouring warm water over it, and, having done this, I placed it in tin pan, skull downwards, and put the pan upon furnace of lighted charcoal , the pan having become thoroughly heated, I removed the slip, and, to my inexpressible joy, found it spotted, in several places, with what appeared figures arranged in lines Again I placed it pan, and suffered it to remain another minute Upon taking it off, the whole was just as it now " Here Legrand, having re-heated the parchment, submitted it to my inspection The following characters were rudely traced, in red tint, death's-head goat:

"53305))6*;4826)4)4;806*;48860))85;1-(;:*8-83(88)5*

;46(;88*96* ? ;8)*(;485);5*2:*(;4956*2(5*- 4)88*;40692

85);)68)4;1(9;48081;8:81;4885;4)485528806*81(9;48;

(88;4( ? 34;48)4;161;:188; ? ;"

"But," said I, returning him the slip, " dark as ever Were all the jewels of Golconda awaiting me upon my solution enigma, that unable to earn them "

"And yet," said Legrand, "the solution is by no means so difficult lead to imagine first hasty inspection characters These characters, as might readily guess, form cipher - , they convey meaning; but then, from known of Kidd, suppose him capable of constructing any more abstruse cryptographs up my mind, at once, was of simple species - such, however, as would appear, crude intellect sailor, absolutely insoluble without the key "

"And you really solved it ? "

"Readily; solved others of an abstruseness ten thousand times greater Circumstances, and certain bias of mind, have led me interest riddles, and it may well be doubted whether human ingenuity can construct an enigma kind which human ingenuity may not, by proper application, resolve , having once established connected and legible characters, I scarcely gave thought mere difficulty of developing their import