552 til, having been conveyed home and well soaked in wine, the parcel was opened, and revealed to their delighted gaze more than a thousand large gold pieces, subsequently as certained to be Portuguese. It was remarkable, yet so it was, that Mirabel was allowed to retain the whole of the treasure. Perhaps his friends felt some scruple in interfering with the manifest in tentions of the ghost. But Mirabel was not much the happier for it. He feared for the safety of his wealth, — he feared for his own life. Moreover, the prevailing laws respect ing "treasure-trove" were peculiarly expli cit, and it was questionable how far the decision of the ghost might be held to over ride them. In France, of treasure found in highway, half belonged to the king, half to the finder; if in any other public place, half to the high-justiciary, half to the finder; if discovered by magical arts, the whole to the king, with a penalty upon the finder. If, when discovered, the treasure were concealed from the proprietor of the ground, the finder forfeited his share. To these existing claims the phantom had made no allusion. In his perplexity, honest Mirabel bethought him of another friend, one Auguier, substantial tradesman of Marseilles. The advice of this gentleman was that the secret should be rigorously confined to those who already knew it, while he himself (Au guier) was prepared to devote himself, heart and soul, to his friend's best interests, lend him any cash he needed (so as to obviate the necessity of changing the foreign money), attend him whithersoever he went, and, in fine, become his perpetual solace, monitor, and guard. To prevent the possibility of his motives being misinterpreted, the worthy Auguier took occasion to exhibit to his friend a casket, in which was visible much gold and silver coin, besides a jewel or two of some value. The friendship thus happily inaugurated grew and strengthened, until Mirabel came to the prudent resolution of intrusting the
whole treasure to the custody of his friend, and appointed a place and time for that purpose. On the way to the rendezvous, Mirabel met with an acquaintance, Gaspard Deleuil, whom — Auguier being already in sight — Mirabel requested to wait for him at the side of a thicket; then, going forward, he handed to the trusty Auguier two sealed bags, one of them secured with a red ribbon, the other with a blue, and received in return an instru ment conceived in the following satisfactory terms : — 1 acknowledge myself indebted to Honore Mirabel twenty thousand livres, which I promise to pay on demand, acquitting him, moreover, of forty livres which he owes me. Done at Mar seilles this seventh of September. (Signed) Louis Auguier. This little matter settled, Mirabel rejoined Deleuil, and next day departed for his native village. After starring it there for a few weeks, the man of wealth revisited Mar seilles, and having passed a jovial evening with his friend and banker Auguier, was on his way home, when, at a dark part of the road, he was set upon by a powerful ruffian, who dealt him several blows with some sharp weapon, flung him to the ground, and es caped. Fortunately, the wounds proved superficial. This incident begat a certain suspicion in the mind of Mirabel. As soon as he was able, he repaired to Marseilles, and demanded of Auguier the return of his money or liqui dation of the bond. His friend expressed his extreme surprise. What an extraordi nary application was here! Money! What money? He indignantly denied the whole transaction. Mirabel must be mad. To establish his sanity, and at the same time refresh the memory of his friend, Mira bel without further ceremony appealed to the law; and in due course the LieutenantCriminel, with his officer, made his appear ance at the house of Auguier, to conduct the perquisition. Search being made on the
