Lompoc High School - La Purisima Yearbook (Lompoc, CA)

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tensely, so that at the first glance, I hardly believed it was he. His mouth was open as if crying out, and his lips were a livid purplish-blue, the color of cold lips, and, in spots, were speckled in red. But the thing that fixed my attention was his gaze, a horrified, terrorized look. He heemed to be seeing something which absolutely possessed his faculties. He was looking intensely up through space toward the ceiling. The intensity of his gaze caused my eyes to turn unconsciously to see what he was looking at, and it was then that I received my greatest surprise. For, there on the yellowed ceiling paper, was a red letter, Sigma It was put on with some substance that was neither paint nor ink, for the paper was not stained with the oil nor did the color run on the porous paper. There was nothing else there. I got up and went to call the family, when I saw that the door was locked. I went to the window and it, too, was cecurely barred. I got the key off of the table, from the same place it was placed the night before. I opened the door and called Martin, who came up and looked at the dean. His face showed that he expected something like this to happen. We got the doctor from the town, and he examined the body in the presence of Martin and me. There were no signs of any violence on the body, so the coroner returned a verdict of death from an unknown cause. Martin vouched for my character and, for lack of any evidence, everyone was cleared. I attended the funeral, when my friend's body was laid away in the Buckden cemetary. I left for Durham the next day, and here I am. I do not attempt to explain what occurred during that visit, for I can find no reason for it. So I leave it for you to form your own conclusions. CNote, by author, while proofreading: Martin wrote me, telling me that the red Sigma dissappeared from the ceiling just one month to the day after my friend's death. The paper in no way showed any signs of disturbancej Donald Cherry, '24- -if SPANISH GOLD During the summer of 1922, an important discovery was made at the Mission La Purissima Concepcion, about three miles from Lompoc. Indian skulls, bones. and belongings were found. There were numerous collections of coins, both Spanish and Mexican, unearthed by thc toiling excavators. Martin Luthy, his father, L. Mark, and two Spaniards, Sr. Vesquez and Sr. Toro, were the chief figures in the excavating business. Mr. Luthy and L. Mark were dealers in antiques, and Martin, a boy of eighteen, was assisting his father in the work. The two Spaniards were merely laborers, working under the direction of the others. ..... . One hot day in mid-July the workers were startled by a loud exclamation utter- ed by young Luthy. When they had gathered around him, he showed them a cylinder made of baked clay. Both ends were closed by plugs of clay and the whole was generously smeared with black tar. Must be something valuable in there, judging by the amount of labor put on the outside, said Mr. Mark. l'll het its a record of the doings of the padres and the Mission here, conjectured Martin. Well, put it up until we have time to look at it some place else, said Martin's father. Then he continued in a lower tone so the Spaniards could not hear, I distrust those two 'Greaselsf and it will le best to take no chances. That noon, while at lunch, the party of men directing the enterprise noticed that the Spaniards did a lot of muttering in their native tongue. Occasionally they shot black looks towords the others. No open move of hostility was made 16

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The dagger was of a peculiar make with a straight blade, and a handle of some unknown substance. Into it was carved the Greek character. And now they have found another sign. I am going home, for it will get me if I am its object, even if I stay here. If you care to come along, you mayg for you may succeed where others have failed, in solving this mystery. - By this time my curiosity had been aroused suiiiciently to cause me to earnestly assure him of my desire to do so. So this is how it came about that I entered the home of my friend in York, on March 10, 1892. That date has been burned into my memory so that it can never be eradicated. The building had evidently been an immense manor-house in its better days. It was a fine brick building, immediately reminding one of the period of the Wars of the Roses. The left wing was used as the dwelling, the right wing not being in use. I met the family, consisting of the cousin who had written, Martin, a small, shrunken fellow, his wife, the same type as he, and their son, a stalwart fine young man. Any doubt which I had before my arrival, concerning this family Was dispelled by the cordiality with which they greeted us: and, after the dean had dispelledby the cordiality with which they greeted usg and, after the dean had assured them of the safety of telling everything before me, by their evident fear when they related what had happened. They brought the sign out and let me examine it. It was a piece of white paper, yellowed with age, with slightly frayed edges, with a Greek Sigma painted on it in brilliant red paint, apparently put on with a fine brush. It showed no watermark. I can not explain the feeling that came over me, when I held that paper, but I felt the strength of the danger of the force that had written it. I felt dis- tinctly relieved when I handed it to my friend. We walked until about ten o'clock when my friend and I retired to a room on the second floor. The room had two small, but comfortable beds, a table, two old-fashioned chairs, and a lamp. The floor had a carpet securely tacked down, there was but one window, which was securely shutteredg and the one door had two bolts and an inside lock on it. The ceiling was papered neatly. My friend took the inside bed and I took the one near the window. We securely bolted the door and window, and prepared for a night's rest. We lay there talking until about half-past two, for neither of us was sleepy. At exactly seventeen minutes to three, the house rocked violently, giving the effect of a bad earthquake. We lighted the lamp and went around the room, but nothing had been disturbed. When I went to set the lamp on the table, there was a paper, this time absolutely white, with a red Sigma on it. We could find no further changes in the room, so we put out the lamp and returned to our beds. A few minutes later a round red spot, about four feet across, shone on the floor. I spoke to my friend, and he said that he noticed it too. A short while later it moved to the window, where it stayed for about a minute and vanished as mysteriously as it appeared. During all this we kept talking. We heard a soft laugh near the door, but, on lighting the lamp, we saw nothing. I, indeed, felt that there was some malignant presence there in the room, but I dismissed this as foolishness. After this, after bidding my friend good-night and hearing a peaceful, steady breathing come from his bed, I dropped into the realms of Morpheus. I dreamed no dreams, and experienced a perfectly senseless sleep, such as that felt by one who has taken ether. My day of travel and mental fatigue had produced their effect on me. As nearly as I could tell it was about half-past seven when I awoke. I look- ed at my friendg he was lying flat on his back . It was not his position which excited my attention, but the expression of the face. His face was drawn in- 15

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by them the rest of that day, but there was a feeling of tenseness and danger that hung over all present, like an ominous black cloud that foretells a storm. The Spaniards were sullen and disobeyed orders, or if they obeyed them, it was a notic- able reluctance. That evening the cylinder could not be found! The laborers had kept care- ful watch to see that it was not disturbed, but nevertheless, it was gone' It can't be far away from here, it hasn't legs with which to escape, observed Mr.Luthy. More than likely it is covered up by some of the dirt we have thrown out. We had better look in that pile of dirt over there by the well and thru the trash we put in that hole by the big tree, was Mr. Mark's suggestion. All right! Let's go ' sang out Martin. After about an hour's steady work they were ready to rest a while. All there was to show for their efforts were a few Indian beads and a heavy cross made of' beaten silver. However, they were not to be discouraged by this, so back to work again they went with a will. This time their efforts were rewarded. 'lhe cylinder was found intact under a heap of rubbish near where it had been left. This good luck provoked a remark from Mr. Mark. That's a good one on me. For safety, I put it under that very pile of trash. In all the excitement of the discovery of the other things I forgot that. For during that afternoon they had found three gold bowls, probably used to contain holy water. It is a good thing for you that you didn't do it for a joke, said Martin, laughingly. That eveniing they met in the private oilice of C. M. Elwood, a surveyor who was a friend of all the curio seekers. Very carefully they opened the cylinder and, after some trouble, extracted ax heavy parchment, yellowed with age. What does it say? all asked in unison. The title says 'Acta Confirmationis Sanctae Purissimae' or, translated into English, 'Records of the Holy Establishment Purissimae' said Martin, the scholar. There is too much here to read over in a night, so it means we will have to wait several nights before we know what is in this. Consequently, several evenings later, they all assembled in the survey0r's office. Let's get down to brass tacks, said Mr. Luthy. I'm tired of being ignorant of the contents of that record. Hold your horses for about fifteen minutes, and I will guarantee that you'll be satisfied, for the time being, at least, said Martin. Then he continued, Here is an extract that is most important to all of us. The record says: Est thesarus in insula fere milia passuum quinquaginta hinc. Vide tabulamf' Yes, but what does that mean P asked Mr. Luthy. That is worse than Greek to me. Translated into English it means: 'There is a treasure on an island about fifty miles from here. See the map.' And here it is. All eagerly scanned the map. It seemed that the island was one of the Channel Islands. Every thing was marked off carefully. The treasure's location was designated by a big red cross. .lust then as slight noise was heard in the hall outside the office. It sounded like the creak of a board that had been stepped on. There was just this one noise, then profound silence reigned once more. This served to put all on their guard. They talked in subdued tones and were very careful to see that they did not utter the directions given on the map for finding the treasure. Now we must go after this as soon as possible, said Mr. Elwood. It is 17 '