The Courage of Captain Plum | Page 6

both between his bony fingers. One was the Bible,
the other the Book of the Mormons. In a cracked, excited voice he
repeated the strenuous oath improvised by Captain Plum.
"Now," said Captain Plum, distributing the gold pieces among his
pockets, "I'll take that package."
This time the old man was gone for several minutes. When he returned
he placed a small package tightly bound and sealed into his
companion's hand.
"More precious than your life, more priceless than gold," he whispered
tensely, "yet worthless to all but the one to whom it is to be delivered."
There were no marks on the package.
"And who is that?" asked Captain Plum.
The old man came so close that his breath fell hot upon the young
man's cheek. He lifted a hand as though to ward sound from the very
walls that closed them in.
"Franklin Pierce, President of the United States of America!"
CHAPTER II

THE SEVEN WIVES
Hardly had the words fallen from the lips of Obadiah Price than the old
man straightened himself and stood as rigid as a gargoyle, his gaze
penetrating into the darkness of the room beyond Captain Plum, his
head inclined slightly, every nerve in him strained to a tension of
expectancy. His companion involuntarily gripped the butt of his pistol
and faced the narrow entrance through which they had come. In the
moment of absolute silence that followed there came to him, faintly, a
sound, unintelligible at first, but growing in volume until he knew that
it was the last echo of a tolling bell. There was no movement, no sound
of breath or whisper from the old man at his back. But when it came
again, floating to him as if from a vast distance, he turned quickly to
find Obadiah Price with his face lifted, his thin arms flung wide above
his head and his lips moving as if in prayer. His eyes burned with a dull
glow as though he had been suddenly thrown into a trance. He seemed
not to breathe, no vibration of life stirred him except in the movement
of his lips. With the third toll of the distant bell he spoke, and to
Captain Plum it was as if the passion and fire in his voice came from
another being.
"Our Christ, Master of hosts, we call upon Thy chosen people the three
blessings of the universe--peace, prosperity and plenty, and upon
Strang, priest, king and prophet, the bounty of Thy power!"
Three times more the distant bell tolled forth its mysterious message
and when the last echoes had died away the old man's arms dropped
beside him and he turned again to Captain Plum.
"Franklin Pierce, President of the United States of America," he
repeated, as though there had been no interruption since his
companion's question. "The package is to be delivered to him. Now you
must excuse me. An important matter calls me out for a short time. But
I will be back soon--oh, yes, very soon. And you will wait for me. You
will wait for me here, and then I will take you to St. James."
He was gone in a quick hopping way, like a cricket, and the last that
Captain Plum saw of him was his ghostly face turned back for an

instant in the darkness of the next room, and after that the soft patter of
his feet and the strange chuckle in his throat traveled to the outer door
and died away as he passed out into the night. Nathaniel Plum was not
a man to be easily startled, but there was something so unusual about
the proceedings in which he was as yet playing a blind part that he
forgot to smoke, which was saying much. Who was the old man? Was
he mad? His eyes scanned the little room and an exclamation of
astonishment fell from his lips when he saw the leather bag, partly
filled with gold, lying where his mysterious acquaintance had dropped
it. Surely this was madness or else another ruse to test his honesty. The
discovery thrilled him. It was wonderfully quiet out in that next room
and very dark. Were hidden eyes guarding that bag? Well, if so, he
would give their owner to understand that he was not a thief. He rose
from his chair and moved toward the bag, lifted it in his hand, and
tossed it back again so that the gold in it chinked loudly. Then he went
to the narrow aperture and blocked it with his body and listened until
he knew that if there had been human life in the room he would have
heard it.
The outer door was open and through it there came to him the soft
breath of the night air and the