My Strangest Case | Page 7

me that you will be
an old man by the time you find the treasure, Kitwater."
"Don't you believe it. We've got something better to go upon than that.
There was an old Chinese traveller who visited this place in the year ...
what was the year, Coddy?"
"Twelve hundred and fifty-seven," Codd replied without hesitation.
"Well, he describes the glory of the place, the wealth of the inhabitants,
and then goes on to tell how the king took him to the great
treasure-chamber, where he saw such riches as mortal man had never
looked upon before."
"But that doesn't tell you where the treasure-chamber is?" argued
Hayle.
"Perhaps not, but there are other ways of finding out; that is, if a man
has his wits about him. You've got to put two and two together if you
want to get on in this world. Coddy has translated it all, and this is what
it amounts to. When the king had shown the traveller his treasure, the
latter declared that his eyes were so blinded by its magnificence that he
could scarcely mount the steps to the spot where his majesty gave
audience to his people. In another place it mentions that when the king
administered justice he was seated on the throne in the courtyard of the
Three-headed Elephants. Now what we've got to do is to find that
courtyard, and find it we will."
"But how do you know that the treasure hasn't been taken away years
ago? Do you think they were such fools as to leave it behind when they
went elsewhere? Not they!"
Though they were well out of earshot of the land, and alone upon the

boat, Kitwater looked round him suspiciously before he answered.
Then a pleasant smile played over his face. It was as if he were
recalling some happy memory.
"How do I know it?" he asked by way of preface. "If you'll listen for a
moment, I'll tell you. If you want more proof, when I've done, you must
be difficult to please. When I was up at Moulmein six months ago, I
came across a man I hadn't met for several years. He was a Frenchman,
who I knew had spent the most of his life away back in Burmah. He
was very flush of money at the time, and kept throwing out hints, when
we were alone, of a place he knew of where there was the biggest
fortune on earth, to be had for the mere picking up and carrying away.
He had brought away as much of it as he could, but he hadn't time to
get it all, before he was chased out by the Chinese, who, he said, were
strong in the neighbourhood."
Kitwater stopped and rubbed his hands with a chuckle. Decidedly the
recollection was a pleasant one.
"Well," he continued, "to make a long story short, I took advantage of
my opportunity, and got his secret out of him by ... well never mind
how I managed it. It is sufficient that I got it. And the consequence is I
know all that is to be known."
"That's all very well, but what became of the Frenchman? How do you
know that he isn't back there again filling his pockets?"
"I don't think he is," Kitwater replied slowly. "It put me to a lot of
inconvenience, and came just at the time when I was most anxious to
leave. Besides it might have meant trouble." He paused for a moment.
"As a matter of fact they brought it in 'suicide during temporary
insanity, brought on by excessive drinking,' and that got me over the
difficulty. It must have been insanity, I think, for he had no reason for
doing away with himself. It was proved that he had plenty of money
left. What was more, Coddy gave evidence that, only the day before, he
had told him he was tired of life."
Hayle looked at both with evident admiration.

"Well, you two, taken together, beat cockfighting," he said
enthusiastically. Then he added, "But what about the secret? What did
you get out of him?"
"Here it is," said Kitwater, taking an old leather case from his pocket,
and producing from it a small piece of parchment. "There's no writing
upon it, but we have compared it with another plan that we happen to
have, and find that it squares exactly."
He leant over Hayle's shoulder and pointed to a certain portion of the
sketch.
"That's the great temple," he said; "and what the red dot means we are
going to find out."
"Well, suppose it is, what makes you send for me?" Hayle inquired
suspiciously.
"Because we must have another good man with us," Kitwater replied.
"I'm very well, but you're better. Codd's head-piece