A Legend of the Grave.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1104, 26 October 1883, Page 4

A Legend of the Grave.

LITE RATURE.

CLAUS WBIDE’S PIPE;

By D. W. C. Nespield

* I am here,’ he murmured huskily to himself, ‘ and I will go through with it let' come what may. I Tf the pipe s is here then the rest .of > theddream will come true, and I am to. smoke it four score times and -eleven before, I find; . the treasure. ; That. is :ninety-one, or thirteen times seven. There is luck in seven and a charm in thirteen,' and so here goes. It is good that I didn’t tell my Maibluemchen-alldf hiy dream, but how glad she will be when I am successful.’ .■. ~ * What on earth is the matter now ?’ soliloquized the old pipe, whose slumbers had been considerably disturbed during the last'honr. ‘ I’m blest if somebody isn’t ' diggingover this gravel Why can’t they let us rest! ’, Oh, dear I' I can feel the cold coming through and I see. a ,ligb| 1’ and. the old clay pipe almost shivered as a lot of loose; gravel was displaced just above it. Yal had worked for iwo hdurs without) stopping except to take a sip’^bf‘the’ brandy, and, although the storm continued he was reeking with perspiration, so that great clammy beads of moisture-mingled with the raindrops as they. trickled down his pale face. The exertion . was fearful, but he could not stop now. He was.in the grave’throwing out great shovelfuls of gravel arid earth. If lie was’ getting weaker he did not know it, althqugli;h(j was six feet down-when the cIoCK struck two. t'"*

Just then the pick came against a soft, rotten- piece of board, a remnant of the old man’s coffin, and by the aid of the lantern he saw that he was near, the object of jhis,search. , c - ; A over His “limbs, for he dare not use Jthe pick or shovel n|y tbe'; remainder of his tfsk mnsrhe done with his'hands.

Oh ! that horrible half hour, as on his knees, he scooped the earth away hand-, ful by Jjiandful r froni thghead/of life* graVe toward 1 the foot ! 1 " s ' .'Surely he:- felt; ‘ something then I Something, pold, smooth, and clammy I One more desperate effort and he would know. both liands into; the ilrew away -about three inches of the earth, and there.by. the light Of the ’lantern l lay the grinning skulltafrold- Gians’ Weidey the miser.

sr w Part 11. rr ;-v-ti- ? He most have lain in the wet clay at least half an hour before he came to his senses, and then all stiff and sick at the stomach, he roused himself, and, reach-ing-'for his flask took a deep draught, * ABhKGott.! but I foresaw I would need hn said to bimself, ‘ and now-mo mope- child’s play. I have no timetp lose.*" V’ _~ / .~- . ' ,It ..Was only a matter of a few minutes now to re-light his lantern, the the hideous skeleton, and; there, sureienough, by the bones of the right armj;which had r fallen :apart as’he ex?., posed ,them, lay the -miser’s; pipe, j«st, as; it had, looked’a score of years ago when ithi<f*be6tf bntied with him." seize*it-and force his way but of the gra:vef.was the work of an: instant. ! Then grafpinghis shovel and planting his feet firmjy>in the wet soil, he.commenced fillingnp the dishonored resting-place. It was half-pastlhree when he had finishedyiahdTcbvered; mver J the last shovelful with soiqe briars, and brambles so as not to call attention to the newly distuflfed plot. AnyJbojVj no‘one ever coines to the paupers’ corner,’ he thought ‘and if they" do, 1 they will never be any wiser, bnt think-it s '’some poor fellow lately buried here.’ The worst was over noiv, nnd lie|was brave again. /tJgh-k 1 wha't an ugly-looking pipe it is,’ he said under his breath,! j‘‘ ai\d:ut must hold nearly >of an ounce of tobaccdJ times thirteen ninety-one. If I smoke two pipes a day it will be six weeks and four days before I find tbe money. What a long time, and what a terrible job this has been I But ,jt; will? make Maibluemchen so hapjjyT { The storm was al-most.-,over, and the day jhst breaking .as Valentine, all covered with raud and white as a ghost, crept up the stairs hieiself again in his rbdihi ‘ It?;iff;no‘ r^oodi; gOrag to bed now,’ he thought, /wilbihide all'traces* of this, night’s ; r .wash off the idirt, and; smoke, my,,first pipe befpre breakfast. That t will ’feaye ninety more, and I .will cut a‘ : in* hj stick every time it is emptied.’ • m - ;-oy;y:'/ 1 *■ # * * * *

Val had a large cupboard in his room with a “hey to it, bat he had never (md it was with a sense pf guilt that lie *pdi’ away all his, clay stained clothes and his hind covered tools in it, and *Wrneß' f tTie key. He always made it a rule to call J his ; mother, when the Angelua rang at six o’clock so that she . could prepare the coffee. By that limo he bad removed, all traces of bis nights work and bad put on clean clothes,-but he was startled when be saw his white cheeks and bloodshot eyes in the gldsS, when he rapped on his mother’s door, and told her it was time to be getting np, the husky tones of his own voice actually frightened him. He had abandoned (he idea of smoking the first pipe before breakfast, and determined to scrub it and wash it with hot waiter before placing it between his lips. ; Even then it seemed an awful and a ghastly thing to do. But he belieyed in the _ dream, and was determined to perseyere for Maibluerachcn’s sake. He swallowed his, coffee mechanically, but he could not tonch the tempting pfann-Knecken which his mother had prepared for him. When she grew alarmed at his haggard looks and want of appetite, he tried to smile bravely, and said, ‘ Don’t be frightened, mother, I canght a little cold hauling timber in the forest, and that is all that is the matter with mo. It is too wet to go into the woods to-day, and I will take a rest.’

Soon he rose and went out into the air, aching in every limb, and in the little spring in the garden, at the back of the house, he washed and scrubbed the old pipe until it almost shone again. Then he sat by the stone fountain, filled it with tobacco, ■ smoked it out and cut a notch in his stick. His mother stood watching him, for she was fretting about her - boy. Since he was bornhe had never looked so badly. As he came into the house again she put her arms round Val’s neck, and drawing his cheek down to her own said : ‘ My dear one, thou art very feverish ; let me give thee a soothing draught, and go lie down again. Presently I will kill a young chicken and prepare it for the mid-day meal. A. good rest and a nice broth will soon restore thee.’ )(To he continued.)