Few men are--alas!--honest where their own reputations are at stake.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
IN WHICH THE PROFESSOR EXHIBITS CUNNING.
Frank was fully aware that Professor Griffin was an eccentric man, full of strange moods and strong prejudices. Most scholars and writers are.
"But, dad," exclaimed his daughter, placing her soft hand upon his shoulder, "what do you really think of it? Is there anything in this Doctor Diamond's theory?"
"My dear child, I never jump to conclusions, as you know. It is against my habit. It's probably one of the many hoaxes which have been practised for the last thousand years."
The girl exchanged a quick glance with her lover. She could see that Frank was annoyed by the light manner with which her father treated the alleged secret.
"Well, Professor," said the young man at last, "this, apparently, is the next folio, though the numbering of each has been destroyed," and he placed before the man in spectacles another scrap which presented the appearance as shown.
In an instant the old man became intensely interested though he endeavoured very cleverly to conceal the fact. He bent, and taking up a large magnifying-glass mounted in silver--a gift from Frank on the previous Christmas--he carefully examined each word in its order.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, "the first three lines, underlined as you see, are apparently a portion of some prophecy regarding the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, `the period of the Blood-debts,' after which comes the period when the oppression will lose its power, which means their release by Cyras. Come now, this is of some interest!"
"Read on, dad," urged the dainty girl, excitedly. "Tell us what you gather from it."
The pair were standing hand-in-hand, at the back of the old man's writing-chair.
"Not so quickly, dear--not so quickly. That's the worst of women. They are always so erratic, always in such an uncommon hurry," he added with a laugh.
Then, after a pause during which he carefully examined the lines which followed, he pointed out: "You see that somebody--not the writer of the document, remember--has stated that Moses' tablets `The Cha--', which must mean the Chair of Grace, between two cherubims of fine gold, a number of other things, including the Ark of the Covenant itself and the archives of the Temple down to B.C. 600 are--what?"
And he raised his head staring at the pair through his round and greatly magnifying-glasses.
"Doctor Diamond's theory is that the treasures of Solomon's Temple are still concealed at the spot where they were hidden by the priests before the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar."
The Professor laughed aloud.
"My dear Farquhar," he exclaimed, "on the face of this folio it would, of course, appear so. One may read it as a statement of fact that all the relics of the Temple and all the great treasures of the ages bygone--the Treasure of Israel--are concealed `beneath', somewhere--`which is a series' of something. To this, there are three entrances, one only being accessible. Then in the final lines, we have another prophecy that the tablets shall `remain in their hiding-place-- that is with the Ark of the Covenant--till the coming of the Messiah who alone may open the treasure-house, or place of concealment, in order that he may show proof of--', and the rest is lost." he added with a sigh of disappointment.
"I admit," said Frank, "that is one reading of it. But what is your reading--that of an expert?"
The old man merely shrugged his shoulders and said:
"I don't think that the Doctor's theory is the correct one. The belief that the Treasure of Solomon's Temple still exists is far too wild and unsubstantiated. Of course, it is not quite clear in history what became of the contents of the Temple, but I think we may safely at once dismiss any possibility of the relics of Moses as being intact after a couple of thousand years or so. Stories of hidden treasure have appealed to the avarice of man throughout all the ages, from the days of the Roman Emperors, down to the day before yesterday, when a ship went forth to search for the lost gold of President Kruger. There have been hundreds, nay thousands of expeditions to search for treasure, but in nearly every case the searchers have returned sadder and poorer men.
No, Frank," he exclaimed, decisively, "I don't think any one would be such an utter fool as to attempt to suggest that the Treasure of Israel still exists. At least no scholar would. Whoever would do such a thing would be a clumsy bungler, ignorant of both the Hebrew language and the history of the Hebrew nation. Doctor Diamond, from what you tell me, is, I gather, one of such."
"But they are not the Doctor's documents," Frank hastened to point out.
"As I've told you, a man dying in Paris ordered him to burn them. He did so, but they were not all consumed."
"The Doctor worked a trick upon a dying man," sniffed the Professor.
"Hardly played the game--eh?"
"I quite agree with you there," answered young Farquhar. "Yet, according to the Doctor's version, he was in no way responsible for the fact that only half the folios were consumed."
"Well, whatever it is," declared the Professor, very decisively, "it seems to be some rather clumsy `cock-and-bull' story. In what I've read. I, as a scholar, could pick many holes. Indeed, such a screed as this could never have been concocted by any one with any pretence of knowledge of old Testament history. There are certain statements which are utterly absurd on the face of them."
"Which are they?" inquired Frank eagerly.
"Oh--several," was the rather light reply. "As you are not a scholar, my dear boy, it would be useless me going into long and technical explanations. The disjointed bits of prophecy are, I admit, really most artistic," he added with a laugh.
If the truth be told, Arminger Griffin was concealing the intense excitement that had been aroused within him. He was making a discovery--a wonderful, an amazing discovery. But to this young journalist, who would merely regard it as a good "boom" for one of his irresponsible halfpenny journals, he intended to pooh-pooh it as a mere clumsy fairy tale.
"Well," he asked, a moment later, in an incredulous tone. "What else have you to show me?"
"No more typewriting," was Frank's reply. "The only other folio is one of manuscript, and it will probably interest you, for it contains two Hebrew words," and he placed before the great expert a half-consumed fragment of lined manuscript paper which bore some close writing in English of which the present writer gives a facsimile here.
"H'm," grunted the old man, after a swift glance at it. "A copy, evidently. The Hebrew words are too clumsily written. No scholar wrote them. Probably it's a translation from German or Danish--I think you said that the man who called himself Blanc, was really a Dane--eh?"
"Yes. He told Diamond that he came from Copenhagen," Farquhar replied.
But the old man was too deeply engrossed in the study of the neat manuscript. How he wished that the context had been preserved, for here, he recognised, was the key, or rather the commencement of the key to the whole secret. He was now anxious to get rid of Frank Farquhar, and be allowed to pursue his investigations alone. There was certainly much more in it than he had at first suspected.
With such a sensation as that contained in the half-burnt documents to launch upon the world, he would be acclaimed the most prominent scholar of the day. The whole of academic Europe would shower honours upon him.
"What does it mean about the `waw' sign?" inquired the young man. "Does that convey anything?"
"Nothing," laughed the Professor with affected indifference. "What can one make out of such silly nonsense? It says, apparently, that in Ezekiel the `waw' sign appears with great regularity. Well, so it does in all Hebrew texts. The letter `a' appears often in English doesn't it? Well, so does the Hebrew `w' or `v'. Therefore it's all bunkum-- that was my first impression--and I still retain it!"
Gwen looked genuinely disappointed. She had hoped that this wonderful manuscript which had fallen into her lover's hands would turn out, as he had declared it would, to be of utmost value, both to history and also of financial value to its possessors.
But her father, recognised as one of the first authorities of the day, had decisively condemned it as a clumsy fraud.
"The reference given in the manuscript is, I see, Ezekiel xli. 23,"
remarked the girl, and turning over the pages of the Bible which she still held in her hand she exclaimed:
"Here it is. Let me read it: `And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors. And the doors had two leaves _apiece_, two burning leaves; two _leaves_ for the one door, and two for the other _door_. And _there were_ made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as _were_ made upon the walls; and _there were_ thick planks upon the face of the porch without. And _there were_ narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.'"
"Yes," remarked the old man. "The first Hebrew word in the manuscript means either `palace' or `temple'. That occurs as the third word of the quotation. But there is no mention of `cupbearer'. If I recollect aright, there is a mention of the doors of the Temple in the First Book of Kings. I believe it's in the sixth chapter. Look, dear, and see if you can find it."
His daughter turned over the leaves quickly, found the chapter he had indicated, and scanned over the verses.
"Ah!" she cried, a moment later. "Yes. You are right, dad. Here it is, beginning at verse 31: `And for the entering of the oracle he (Solomon) made doors _of_ olive tree: the lintel _and_ side posts _were_ a fifth part _of the wall_. The two doors also _were_ of olive tree: and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid _them_ with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. So also made he for the door of the temple posts _of_ olive tree, a fourth part _of the wall_ And the two doors _were of_ fir tree: the two leaves of the one door _were_ folding, and the two leaves of the other door _were_ folding. And he carved _thereon_ cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.'"
"I looked up the reference in Ezekiel," remarked Frank, "but I could not understand it. Perhaps, you, Professor, may be able to throw some light upon it?"
The old man turned to the speaker, and held up his thin, almost waxen hands.
"How can I?" he asked with an air of bewilderment well feigned. "How can I possibly? The latter half of this fragment of scribble is a mere copy of a verse out of the Old Testament, and seems to have nothing whatever to do with the theory--whatever it may be--expounded in the upper part of the page."
"Then what is your candid opinion, dad?" asked Gwen, placing her hand softly upon her father's shoulder again as she stood behind him, and at the same time turning her eyes affectionately upon the tall, good-looking, young man at her side.
"My candid opinion, my dear," grunted the old Professor, "is that it is one of the many extraordinary theories we have had of hare-brained persons who have gained a smattering of Hebrew, and believe themselves to have discovered some very wonderful secret. To put it bluntly, Gwen--the whole thing is bunkum!"