"Even this division," said I, “leaves just above it gave it a rude resem- 50 me still in the dark." "It left me also in the dark," replied Legrand, "for a few days; during which I made diligent inquiry, in the neighborhood of Sullivan's Island, for any building which went by the name of the 'Bishop's Hotel'; for, of course, I dropped the obsolete word hostel.' 10 Gaining no information on the subject, I was on the point of extending my sphere of search, and proceeding in a more systematic manner, when one morning it entered into my head, quite suddenly, that this 'Bishop's Hostel' might have some reference to an old family, of the name of Bessop, which, time out of mind, had held possession of an ancient manor house, about four 20 miles to the northward of the island. I accordingly went over to the plantation, and reinstituted my inquiries among the older negroes of the place. At length one of the most aged of the women said that she had heard of such a place as Bessop's Castle, and thought that she could guide me to it, but that it was not a castle, nor a tavern, but a high rock. 30 "I offered to pay her well for her trouble, and, after some demur, she consented to accompany me to the spot. We found it without much difficulty, when, dismissing her, I proceeded to examine the place. The 'castle' consisted of an irregular assemblage of cliffs and rocks-one of the latter being quite remarkable for its height as well as for its insulated 40 and artificial appearance. I clambered to its apex, and then felt much at a loss as to what should be next done. "While I was busied in reflection, my eyes fell on a narrow ledge in the eastern face of the rock, perhaps a yard below the summit upon which I stood. This ledge projected about eighteen inches, and was not more than a foot wide, while a niche in the cliff blance to one of the hollow-backed chairs used by our ancestors. I made no doubt that here was the 'devil's seat' alluded to in the MS., and now I seemed to grasp the full secret of the riddle. "The 'good glass,' I knew, could have reference to nothing but a telescope; for the word 'glass' is rarely employed in any other sense by sea- 60 men. Now here, I at once saw, was a telescope to be used, and a definite point of view, admitting no variation, from which to use it. Nor did I hesitate to believe that the phrases 'twenty-one degrees and thirteen minutes,' and 'northeast and by north,' were intended as directions for the leveling of the glass. Greatly excited by these discoveries, I hurried home, 70 procured a telescope, and returned to the rock. "I let myself down to the ledge, and found that it was impossible to retain a seat on it unless in one particular position. This fact confirmed my preconceived idea. I proceeded to use the glass. Of course, the 'twentyone degrees and thirteen minutes' could allude to nothing but elevation so above the visible horizon, since the horizontal direction was clearly indicated by the words, 'northeast and by north.' This latter direction I at once established by means of a pocketcompass; then, pointing the glass as nearly at an angle of twenty-one degrees of elevation as I could do it by guess, I moved it cautiously up or down, until my attention was arrested 90 by a circular rift or opening in the foliage of a large tree that overtopped its fellows in the distance. In the center of this rift I perceived a white spot, but could not at first distinguish what it was. Adjusting the focus of the telescope, I again looked, and now made it out to be a human skull. "On this discovery I was so sanguine as to consider the enigma solved; for the phrase 'main branch, seventh limb, east side,' could refer only to the position of the skull on the tree, while 'shoot from the left eye of the death'shead' admitted, also, of but one interpretation, in regard to a search for buried treasure. I perceived that the 10 design was to drop a bullet from the left eye of the skull, and that a beeline, or in other words, a straight line, drawn from the nearest point of the trunk through 'the shot' (or the spot where the bullet fell), and thence extended to a distance of fifty feet, would indicate a definite point-and beneath this point I thought it at least possible that a deposit of value 20 lay concealed." "All this," I said, "is exceedingly clear, and, although ingenious, still simple and explicit. When you left the Bishop's Hotel, what then?" "Why, having carefully taken the bearings of the tree, I turned homeward. The instant that I left 'the devil's seat,' however, the circular rift vanished; nor could I get a glimpse of 30 it afterwards, turn as I would. What seems to me the chief ingenuity in this whole business, is the fact (for repeated experiment has convinced me it is a fact) that the circular opening in question is visible from no other attainable point of view than that afforded by the narrow ledge on the face of the rock. "In this expedition to the 'Bishop's 40 Hotel' I had been attended by Jupiter, who had no doubt observed, for some weeks past, the abstraction of my demeanor, and took especial care not to leave me alone. But on the next day, getting up very early, I contrived to give him the slip, and went into the hills in search of the tree. After much toil I found it. When I came home at night my valet proposed to give me a flogging. With the rest of the ad- 50 venture I believe you are as well acquainted as myself." "I suppose," said I, "you missed the spot, in the first attempt at digging, through Jupiter's stupidity in letting the bug fall through the right instead of through the left eye of the skull." "Precisely. This mistake made a difference of about two inches and a half in the 'shot'-that is to say, in the 60 position of the peg nearest the tree; and had the treasure been beneath the 'shot,' the error would have been of little moment; but the 'shot,' together with the nearest point of the tree, were merely two points for the establishment of a line of direction; of course the error, however trivial in the beginning, increased as we proceeded with the line, and, by the time we had 70 gone fifty feet, threw us quite off the scent. But for my deep-seated convictions that treasure was here somewhere actually buried, we might have had all our labor in vain." "I presume the fancy of the skullof letting fall a bullet through the skull's eye-was suggested to Kidd by the piratical flag. No doubt he felt a kind of poetical consistency in recover- 80 ing his money through this ominous insignium." "Perhaps so; still, I cannot help thinking that common-sense had quite as much to do with the matter as poetical consistency. To be visible from the devil's seat, it was necessary that the object, if small, should be white; and there is nothing like your human skull for retaining and even 90 increasing its whiteness under exposure to all vicissitudes of weather." "But your grandiloquence, and your conduct in swinging the beetle-how excessively odd! I was sure you were mad. And why did you insist on letting fall the bug, instead of a bullet, from the skull?" "Why, to be frank, I felt somewhat annoyed by your evident suspicions touching my sanity, and so resolved to punish you quietly, in my own way, by a little bit of sober mystification.. For this reason I swung the beetle, and for this reason I let it fall from the tree. An observation of yours about its great weight suggested the latter idea." 10 "Yes, I perceive; and now there is only one point which puzzles me. What are we to make of the skeletons found in the hole?" "That is a question I am no more able to answer than yourself. There seems, however, only one plausible way of accounting for them—and yet it is dreadful to believe in such atrocity as my suggestion would imply. It is clear that Kidd-if Kidd indeed secret- = ed this treasure, which I doubt notit is clear that he must have had assistance in the labor. But, the worst of this labor concluded, he may have thought it expedient to remove all participants in his secret. Perhaps a couple of blows with a mattock were sufficient, while his coadjutors were busy in the pit; perhaps it required a dozen-who shall tell?" ། EXPLANATORY NOTES NOTES AND QUESTIONS 1. In discussing "The Masque of the Red Death," in Junior High School Literature, Book Two, it was noted that Poe was a leader in the development of the short story. In general, his short stories fall into two classes: first, those in which he aims to produce upon the reader an overwhelming impression of horror or terror; and second, those in which he provides a mystery and its solution. "The Masque of the Red Death" is a type of the former and "The Gold Bug" is one of the best of the latter. "The Gold Bug" has in it a strong element of adventure, but Poe's chief interest was in the mystery, as is shown by the fact that the major climax of the story is reserved for the part in which is related the deciphering of the cryptograph. In general, a short story has an introduction, a main incident, a point of highest interest, or climax, and a conclusion, but in "The Gold Bug" each of the two main divisions of the story has these essential parts. 2. Poe received a prize of one hundred dollars for this story, which was first published in a newspaper. The story is the most famous of the many that have been written about Captain Kidd, the notorious Scottish pirate whose exploits for the most part are associated with the coast of the Carolinas, and who was hanged in London in 1701. Poe is therefore accurate in placing the scene of the story on Sullivan's Island, though his description of the island has been criticized for inaccuracies, in spite of the fact that he was stationed at Fort Moultrie in 1828. For the "gold bug" itself, Poe drew chiefly upon his imagination; there are various so-called "gold" bugs, but the peculiar markings of the bug in this story are not recorded in scientific books. Interest in scientific matters can be found in much of Poe's work. He was an expert in cryptography, and wrote an essay on the subject. QUESTIONS AND TOPICS What 1. Tell why the title is a good one. two distinct parts did you note in the story? Which of these was the more interesting to you? Where does the one end and the other begin? 2. Which paragraphs serve as an introduction? What information do these paragraphs give you? The island is lonely, yet inhabited; is this detail essential to the story? Who is the most important character? What did he like best to do? Who accompanied him on his excursions? Do you feel sure that you understand what sort of man Legrand was? Do any details suggest that he was a trifle unbalanced? 3. In a good short story there are no unnecessary details; account for Poe's emphasis on the chilliness of the weather in the description of the first visit; recount the circumstances by which he leads naturally to the necessity for paper; the friend is chilly and retains his seat by the fire-show that Poe planned this detail; the dog enters and caresses him-show the necessity for this detail; note the long conversation emphasizing Legrand's behavior in reference to the death's-head and give the purpose of this detail. Is this the first hint of mystery? In your first reading of the story, where did you begin to suspect the object of the expedition? Where is it first mentioned in the story? 4. A good story teller holds interest by arousing curiosity and creating suspense; note in the second visit all the details by which Poe accomplishes these objects. Does it make this part of the story more interesting, or less so, to have the friend and Jupiter (and the reader) left in doubt as to what is in Legrand's mind? What is the most interesting point in the account of the expedition? What devices does Poe use to heighten interest at this important point, from the howlings of the dog to the finding of the treasure? In the conclusion of the first part, an appearance of truth is given by exact statements of number and quantity; what effect had these details upon you at first reading? 5. Is it essential that Poe should make Legrand certain that there had been no figure on the "paper" when he made his drawing? Explain all the steps by which Legrand brought to light the cryptograph on the parchment. Is the presence of the parchment in Legrand's pocket satisfactorily accounted for? Do you think all the details connected with the bringing to light of the original designs and figures upon the parchment are probable? Explain how Legrand determined that the figure 8 of the cryptograph represented the letter e. Why are not all the details of the solution given? What is the most interesting point in Legrand's account of how he solved the mystery? 6. The conclusion relates the events following the discovery and verification of the cryptograph, and explains some of the mystify ing incidents connected with the discovery of the treasure; in your first reading of the story, what details and incidents puzzled you? Are they all satisfactorily explained? 7. Do all points in the story seem probable to you? For example, does it seem probable that Captain Kidd would have hidden his treasure in the place described? If So, do you think of him as locating the tree from the "devil's seat," or locating the seat from the tree? Does it seem probable to you that the circular rift, or opening, through which the skull could be seen would remain unchanged after such a lapse of time? 8. Much of the story is made up of conversation; which do you like the better, stories that contain much dialogue or those that are mainly narration? Is the dialogue in this story lifelike? Is Jupiter more or less lifelike in conversation than Legrand and his friend? 9. Did you enjoy the story? Did it mystify you? Did you want to lay it aside before you had finished it? Does this story meet the test of literature about which you read in the Introduction on page 9? What other stories of mystery have you read? How do they compare with this story? Theme Topics. 1. Hunting Captain Kidd's treasure; 2. What I found in a hermit's cabin. Class Reading. The first visit; the invitation; the expedition sets out; the finding of the tree; Jupiter climbs the tree; digging for the treasure; the finding of the treasure; how the cryptograph was brought to light. Library Reading. "The Adventure of The Speckled Band," A. Conan Doyle (in Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). |