after the lapse of a considerable period. He got
no commendation, however, for this equitable dis-
tribution of his patronage; people were disposed
to regard it as an ineffectual attempt to conceal
his possession of so much money. That he had
great hoards of ill-gotten gold buried somewhere
about his tumble-down dwelling was not reason-
ably to be doubted by any honest soul conver-
sant with the facts of local tradition and gifted
with a sense of the fitness of things.

On the 9th of November, 1867, the old man
died; at least his dead body was discovered on
the 10th, and physicians testified that death had
occurred about twenty-four hours previously --
precisely how, they were unable to say; for the
post-mortem examination showed every organ to
be absolutely healthy, with no indication any-
where of disorder or violence. According to
them death must have taken place about noonday,
yet the body was found in bed. The verdict of
the coroner's jury was that he "came to his death
by a visitation of God." The body was buried
and the public administrator took charge of the
estate. A rigorous search disclosed nothing
more than was already known about the de-
ceased, and much patient excavation here and
there about the premises by thoughtful and
thrifty neighbors went unrewarded. The admin-
istrator locked up the house against the time
when the property, real and personal, should be

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