of these proved harder than I had be-
plve an;ed, the staple of the lock clinging
well ai-o th hard teak wood of which the
they chest was made. The lid was heavy,
Tb but as I finally forced It backward a
?iv" hinge snapped and permitted It to
drop crashing to the deck. For an in
stant I could see nothing within.
"Lift up the lantern, Dorothy,
j "'. No, hlga than that. What
juti: name? Viiy, it is the corpse
of a woman !"
I heard her cry out, and barely
caught the lantern as It fell from her
hand. At first I doubted the evidence
of my own eyes, snatching the bit of
' I ' flaring candle from its tin socket and
holding it where the full glare of
light fell across the grewsome object.
Ay, it was a woman, with lower limbs
' doubled back from lack of epace, but
otherwise lying as though she slept, so
perfect In preservation her cheeks ap
peared flushed with health, her lips
, ' untiling. It was a face of real
. b-uuty an English face, although her
eyes and hair were dark and her man
tilla and long earrings were unques
tionably Spanish. A string of pearls
encircled her throat, and there were
numerous rings upon her fingers. The
very contrast added immeasurably to
the horror.
"She Is alive! Surely she Is alive!"
The words were sobbed into my ear
from Dorothy's Hps.
"Alive! No, that is impossible 1" I
touched the figure with my hand. "The
' flesh Is like stono," I said, "thus held
. lifelike by some magic of the Indies.
