and what mining was to be done, he did himself. I understand that he was
a man of fine physique, and that his disposition was absolutely fearless.
It was his habit at certain seasons of the year to go up to his mine, and
there work it for a month or two at a time, spending the rest of the year
with his family. It is quite certain, too, that he kept his secret, even
from his grown-up sons; for when he died, they had not the slightest idea
of the locality of the mine, which fact I know from Le Fenu's
descendants.

"And now comes the interesting part of my story, Le Fenu went up into
the mountains early in May one year, to put in his solitary two months'
mining, as usual. For, perhaps, the first time in his life, he suffered
from a serious illness--some kind of fever, I suppose, though he had just
strength of will enough to get on the back of a horse and ride as far as
the nearest _hacienda_.

"Now, on this particular farm there dwelt a Dutchman, who, I believe, was
called Van Fort. Whether or not Le Fenu partially disclosed his secret in
his delirium, will never actually be known. At any rate, two or three
weeks later the body of Le Fenu was discovered not very far away from the
scene of his mining operations, and from the evidence obtainable, there
was no doubt in the world that he was foully murdered. Justice in that
country walks with very tardy footsteps, and though there was little
question who the real murderer was, Van Fort was never brought to
justice. Perhaps that was accounted for by the fact that he seemed to be
suddenly possessed of more money than usual, and was thus in a position
to bribe the authorities.

"And now comes a further development. Soon after the death of Le Fenu, it
was noted that Van Fort spent most of his time away from his farm in the