n ivory statuette of
Psyche on a silver pedestal, a waistband of coins linked together, a
painted fan with a handle set in amber and turquois, a fine steel
dagger in a jeweled sheath, and a mirror framed in old pearls. Last,
but not least, at the very bottom of the chest lay rolls upon rolls of
paper money amounting to some millions of francs--in all far surpassing
what I had myself formerly enjoyed from my own revenues. I plunged my
hands deep in the leathern bags; I fingered the rich materials; all
this treasure was mine! I had found it in my own burial vault! I had
surely the right to consider it as my property? I began to
consider--how could it have been placed there without my knowledge? The
answer to this question occurred to me at once. Brigands! Of
course!--what a fool I was not to have thought of them before; the
dagger painted on the lid of the chest should have guided me to the
solution of the mystery. A red dagger was the recognized sign-manual of
a bold and dangerous brigand named Carmelo Neri, who, with his reckless
gang, haunted the vicinity of Palermo.

"So!" I thought, "this is one of your bright ideas, my cut-throat
Carmelo! Cunning rogue! you calculated well--you thought that none
would disturb the dead, much less break open a coffin in search of
gold. Admirably planned, my Carmelo! But this time you must play a
losing game! A supposed dead man coming to life again deserves
something for his trouble, and I should be a fool not to accept the
goods the gods and the robbers provide. An ill-gotten hoard of wealth,
no doubt; but better in my hands than in yours friend Carmelo!"

And I meditated for some minutes on this strange affair If, indeed--and
I saw no reason to doubt it--I had chanced to find some of the spoils
of the redoubtable Neri, this great chest must have been brought over
by sea from Palermo. Probably four stout rascals had carried the
supposed coffin in a mock solemn procession, under the pretense of its
containing the body of a comrade. These thieves have a high sense of
humor. Yet the question remained to be solved--How had they gained
access to MY ancestral vault, unless by means of a false key? All at
once I was left in darkness, My candle went out as though blown upon by
a gust of air. I had my matches, and of course could easily light it
again, but I was puzzled to imagine the cause of its sudden extinction.
I looked about me in the temporary gloom and saw, to my surprise, a ray
of