him home. While I was pondering upon what was best to be done, Jupiter's voice was again heard.

"Mos' 'feerd for to ventur' 'pon dis limb berry far'tis dead limb putty much all de way."

"Did you say it was a dead limb, Jupiter?" cried Legrand in a quavering voice.

"Yes, massa, him dead as de door-nail-done up for sartain — done departed dis here life.”

"What in the name of heaven shall I do?" asked Legrand, seemingly in the greatest distress.

"Do!" said I, glad of an opportunity to interpose a word, "why, come home and go to bed. It's getting late, and, besides, you remember your promise."

Jupiter," cried he, without heeding me in the least, "do you hear me?"

"Yes, Massa Will, hear you ebber so plain."

'Try the wood well, then, with your knife, and see if you think it very rotten."

"Him rotten, massa, sure 'nuff," replied the negro in a few moments, "ut not so berry rotten as mought be. Mought ventur' out leetle way 'pon de limb by myself, dat's true."

"By yourself! — what do you mean?"

Why I mean de bug. 'Tis berry hebby bug. S'pose I drop him down fus', and den de limb won't break wid jis' de weight ob one nigger."

"You scoundrel!" cried Legrand, apparently much relieved, "what do you mean by telling me such nonsense

as that? As sure as you let that beetle fall! - I'll break your neck. Look here, Jupiter! do you hear me?"

"Yes, massa, needn't hollo at poor nigger dat style." "Well! now listen! - if you will venture out on the limb as far as you think safe, and not let go the beetle, I'll make you a present of a silver dollar as soon as you get down."

"I'm gwine, Massa Will -'deed I is," replied the negro very promptly. "mos' out to de eend now."

66

Out to the end!" here fairly screamed Legrand, “do you say you are to the end of that limb?"

"Soon be to the eend, massa, -o-o-o-o-oh! what is dis here 'pon de tree?"

"Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?

66

"Why, 'tain't noffin' but a skull - somebody ben lef' him head up de tree, and de crows done gobble ebery bit ob de meat off."

"A skull, you say! - very well! How is it fastened

to the limb? What holds it on?"

"Sure 'nuff, massa; mus' look. Why dis berry curous sarcumstance, 'pon my word-dere's a great big nail in de skull, what fastens it on to de tree."

"Well now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you — hear?"

"Yes, massa."

do you

"Pay attention, then! Find the left eye of the skull.” "Hum! hoo! dat's good! why dar ain't no eye lef' at

all."

"Hang your stupidity! do you know your right hand from your left?"

"Yes, I knows dat 'tis my lef' hand what I chops de wood wid."

"To be sure! you are left-handed; and your left eye is on the same side as your left hand. Now, I suppose, you can find the left eye of the skull, or the place where the left eye has been. Have you found it?"

Here was a long pause. At length the negro asked,

"Is de lef' eye ob de skull 'pon de same side as de lef' hand ob de skull, too? - cause de skull ain't got a bit ob a hand at all-nebber mind! I got de lef' eye now here de lef' eye! what mus' do wid it?

"Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string but be careful and do not let go your hold of

will reach

the string."

"All dat done, Massa Will; mighty easy t'ing for to put de bug fru de hole-look out for him dar below!" During this colloquy no portion of Jupiter's person could be seen; but the beetle, which he had suffered to descend, was now visible at the end of the string and glistened, like a globe of burnished gold, in the last rays of the setting sun, some of which still faintly illumined the eminence upon which we stood. The scarabaeus hung quite clear of any branches, and, if allowed to fall, would have fallen at our feet. Legrand immediately took the scythe, and cleared with it a circular space, three or four yards in diameter, just beneath the insect, and, hav

ing accomplished this, ordered Jupiter to let go the string and come down from the tree.

Driving a peg, with great nicety, into the ground at the precise spot where the beetle fell, my friend now produced from his pocket a tape-measure. Fastening one end of this at that point of the trunk of the tree which was nearest the peg, he unrolled it till it reached the peg, and thence farther unrolled it, in the direction already established by the two points of the tree and the peg, for the distance of fifty feet-Jupiter clearing away the brambles with the scythe. At the spot thus attained a second peg was driven, and about this, as a center, a rude circle, about four feet in diameter, was described. Taking now a spade himself, and giving one to Jupiter and one to me, Legrand begged us to set about digging as quickly as possible.

The night was coming on, and I felt much fatigued with the exercise already taken; but I saw no mode of escape and was fearful of disturbing my poor friend's equanimity by a refusal. Could I have depended, indeed, upon Jupiter's aid, I would have had no hesitation in attempting to get the lunatic home by force; but I was too well assured of the old negro's disposition to hope that he would assist me, under any circumstances, in a personal contest with his master. I made no doubt that the latter had been infected with some of the innumerable Southern superstitions about money buried, and that his phantasy had received confirmation by the finding of the scara

baeus, or, perhaps, by Jupiter's obstinacy in maintaining it to be "a bug of real gold." A mind disposed to lunacy would readily be led away by such suggestions-especially if chiming in with favorite preconceived ideas — and then I called to mind the poor fellow's speech about the beetle's being "the index of his fortune." Upon the whole, I was sadly vexed and puzzled, but, at length, I concluded to make a virtue of necessity -to dig with a good will, and thus the sooner convince the visionary, by ocular demonstration, of the fallacy of the opinions he entertained.

The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal worthy a more rational cause; and, as the glare fell upon our persons and implements, I could not help thinking how picturesque a group we composed, and how strange and suspicious our labors must have appeared to any interloper who, by chance, might have stumbled upon our whereabouts.

We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was said; and our chief embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog, who took exceeding interest in our proceedings. He, at length, became so obstreperous that we grew fearful of his giving the alarm to some stragglers in the vicinity; or, rather, this was the apprehension of Legrand; - for myself, I should have rejoiced at any interruption which might have enabled me to get the wanderer home. The noise was, at length, very effectually silenced by Jupiter, who, getting out of the hole with a dogged air of delibera