o be a
gold-and-jeweled crucifix and beneath it lay a parchment with a seal.

Leaving the pieces of gold in the box, they carried the crucifix and the
parchment out on to the terrace, and then the Professor adjusted his
strongest spectacles and prepared to read what he could, while Halcyone
examined the beautiful thing.

The writing was still fairly dark and the words were in Latin. It
stated, so the Professor read, that the money and the crucifix were the
property of Timothy La Sarthe, Gentleman to Queen Henrietta Maria, and
that, should aught befall him in his flight to France upon secret
business for Her Majesty, the gold and the crucifix belonged to
whichever of his descendants should find it--or it should be handed to;
that all others were cursed who should touch it, and that it would bring
the owner fortune, as it was the work of one Benvenuto Cellini, an
artist of great renown in Florence before his day, and therefore of
great value. The quaintly phrased deed added that if it were taken to
one Reuben Zana, a Jew in the Jewry at the sign of the Golden Horn, he
would dispose of it for a large sum to the French king. The crucifix had
been brought from Florence in the dower of his wife Donna Vittoria
Tornabuoni, now dead. If his son Timothy should secure it, he was
advised not to keep it, as its possession brought trouble to the family.

"Then it is legally ours and not treasure-trove," said Halcyone. "Oh,
how good! It will make the Aunts La Sarthe quite rich perhaps, and look
how beautiful it is, the jeweled thing."

They examined it minutely. It was a masterpiece of that great craftsman
and artist and of untold value. Cheiron silently thrilled with the
delight of it--but Halcyone spoke.

"I am glad Ancestor Timothy suggested selling it," she said. "I would
never keep a crucifix, the emblem of sorrow and pain. For me, Christ is
always glorified and happy in heaven. Now what must we do, Master? Must
we at once tell the aunts? But I will not consent to anyone knowing of
this staircase. That would destroy something which I could never
recover. We must pretend we have found it in the long gallery; there is
a recess in the paneling which no one knows of but I, and there we can
put it and find it again. It will be quite safe. Shall we leave it
there, Cheiron, until we come back from abroad? How much do you think it
is worth?"

"Anything up to fifty thousand pounds perhaps to a collector," the
Professor said, "since