menu_book Chapter 5

International Short Stories, Volume 1, American Stories. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. International Short Stories, Volume 1, American Stories, edited by William Patton. Section 5. The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe. Part II.

"'What's the matter now, massa?' said Joop, evidently shamed into compliance. "'Always want for to raise fuss with old nigger. Was only fun in anyhow. Me feared de bug. What I care for de bug?'

Here he took a cautious hold of the extreme end of the string, and maintaining the insect as far from his person as circumstances would permit, prepared to ascend the tree. In youth, the tulip tree, or liriodendron, tulipipherum, the most magnificent of American foresters, has a trunk peculiarly smooth and often rises to a great height without lateral branches. But in its riper age the bark becomes gnarled and uneven, while many short limbs make

their appearance on the stem. Thus the difficulty of ascension in the present case lay more in semblance than in reality. Embracing the huge cylinder as closely as possible with his arms and knees, seizing with his hands some projections, and resting his naked toes upon others, Jupiter, after one or two narrow escapes from falling, at length wriggled himself into the first great fork, and seemed to consider the whole business as virtually accomplished. The risk of the achievement

was in fact now over, although the climber was some sixty or seventy feet from the ground. "'Which way must go now, Massowill?' he asked. "'Keep up the largest branch, the one on this side,' said Legrand. The negro obeyed him promptly, and apparently with but little trouble, ascending higher and higher, until no glimpse of his squat figure could be obtained through the dense foliage which enveloped it. Presently his voice was heard

in a sort of hallo. "'How much further I's got to go?' "'How high up are you?' asked Legrand. "'Ever so fur,' replied the negro. "'Concee de sky, through de top of de tree.'

"'Never mind de sky, but attend to what I say. Look down de trunk, and count de limbs below you, on de side. How many limbs have you passed?' "'One, two, three, four, five. I done passed five big limb, master, upon this side. Then go one limb higher.' In a few minutes the voice was heard again, announcing that the seventh limb was attained. "'Now, Joup!' cried Legrand, evidently much excited.

"'I want you to work your way out upon that limb, as far as you can. "'If you see anything strange, let me know.' By this time what little doubt I might have entertained of my poor friend's insanity was put finally at rest. I had no alternative but to conclude him stricken with lunacy,

and I became seriously anxious about getting him home. While I was pondering upon what was best to be done, Jupiter's voice was again heard. "'Most feared for to venture upon this limb very far, tis dead limb putty much all the way.' "'Did you say it was a dead limb, Jupiter?' cried Legrand in a quavering voice. "'Yes, massa, im dead is the doornail, done up for sartin', done departed this 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. Come now. That's a fine fellow. 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 ever so plain. "'Try the wood well, then, with your knife, "'and see if you think it very rotten.' "'Him rotten, Massa, sure enough,' replied the Negro in a few moments. "'But not so very rotten as mought be.'

"'Mought venture out little way upon the limb by myself, that's true. "'By yourself, what do you mean?' "'Why, I mean the bug. "'Tis very heavy bug. Suppose I drop him down first, and then the limb won't break with just the weight of one nigger.

You infernal scoundrel! cried Le Grand, apparently much relieved. What do you mean by telling me such nonsense as that? As sure as you drop that beetle, I'll break your neck. Look here, Jupiter, do you hear me? Yes, Massa, needn't holler at poor nigger that 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. Most out to the end now. Out to the end? here fairly screamed Legrand. Do you say you're out to the end of that limb? Soon be to the end, Massa. Oh, Lord Gala, mercy, what is this here pondy tree?

Well cried Le Grand highly delighted. What is it? Why taint nothing but a skull Somebody been left him head up the tree and the crows done gobble every bit of the meat off a skull you say Very well. How is it fastened to the limb? What holds it on? Sure enough Massa must look Why this berry curious

Circumstance upon my word there's a great big nail in de skull, what fastens Abidon to de tree. Well, now, Jupiter, do exactly as I tell you, do you hear? Yes, Massa. Pay attention, then.

Find the left eye of the skull. Hmm. Oh, that's good. Why, de ain't no eye left at all. Curse your stupidity.

Do you know your right hand from your left? Yes, I knows that, knows all about that. Tis my left hand what I chops de wood with. "'To be sure, you're 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 the left eye of the skull upon the same side as the left hand of the skull, too?

"'Cos the skull ain't got not a bit of hand at all. "'Never mind. I got the left eye now. "'Here the left eye. What must do with it?' Let the beetle drop through it, as far as the string will reach. But be careful, and not let go your hold of the string.

All that done, Master Will, mighty easy thing for to put the bug through the hole. Look out for him there 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 Scarabeus 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, having 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 further 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, 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. To speak the truth, I had no especial relish for such amusement at any time, and at that particular moment would willingly have declined it, for the night was coming on, and I felt much fatigue 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 fantasy had received confirmation

by the finding of the Scarabeus, 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 the goodwill,

and thus the sooner to convince the visionary by ocular demonstration of the fallacy of the opinion he entertained. The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal worthy of 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 labours must have appeared to any interloper who by chance might have stumbled upon our whereabout. We dug very steadily for two hours, little was said,

and our chief embarrassment lay in the yelping 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 deliberation, tied the brute's mouth up with one of his suspenders, and then returned with a grave chuckle to his task.

When the time mentioned had expired, We had reached a depth of five feet, and yet no signs of any treasure became manifest. A general pause ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was at an end. Le Grand, however, although evidently much disconcerted, wiped his brow thoughtfully and recommenced.

We had excavated the entire circle of four feet diameter, and now we slightly enlarged the limit and went to the further depth of two feet. Still nothing appeared. The gold-seeker, whom I sincerely pitied at length, clambered from the pit with the bitterest disappointment imprinted upon every feature, and proceeded slowly and reluctantly to put on his

coat, which he had thrown off at the beginning of his labor. In the meantime I made no remark. Jupiter, at a signal from his master, began to gather up his tools. This done, and the dog having been unmuzzled, we turned in profound silence toward home. We had taken perhaps a dozen steps in this direction, when, with a loud oath, Legrand strode up to Jupiter and seized him by the collar. The astonished negro opened his eyes and mouth to the fullest extent, let fall the spades,

and fell upon his knees. You scoundrel, said Legrand, hissing out the syllables from between his clenched teeth. You infernal black villain! Speak, I tell you! Answer me this instant without prevarication! Which—which is your left eye? Oh, my golly, Massa Will! Ain't this here my left eye for attain? roared the terrified Jupiter, placing his hand upon his right organ of vision, and holding

it there with a desperate pertinacity, as if in immediate dread of his master's attempt at a gouge? I thought so. I knew it. Hurrah! vociferated the Grand, letting the negro go, and executing a series of curvets and caracals, much to the astonishment of his valet, who, arising from his knees, looked mutely from his master to myself, and then from myself to his master. Come, we must go back, said the latter. The game's not up yet. And he again led the way

to the tulip tree. Jupiter, said he, when we reached his foot, come here. Was the skull nailed to the limb with a face outward, or with a face to the limb?

The face was out, Massa, so that the crows could get at the eyes good without any trouble. Well, then, was it this eye or that through which you dropped the beetle?

Here Legrand touched each of Jupiter's eyes. Twas this eye, Massa, the left eye, just as you tell me. And here it was his right eye that the negro indicated. That will do. We must try it again.

Here, my friend, about whose madness I now saw, or fancied that I saw, certain indications of method, remove the peg which marked the spot where the beetle fell, to a spot about three inches to the westward of its former position. Taking now the tape measure from the nearest point of the trunk to the peg as before, and continuing the extension in a straight line to the distance of fifty feet, a spot was indicated,

removed by several yards from the point at which we had been digging. Around the new position a circle, somewhat larger than in the former instance, was now described, and we again set to work with the spade. I was dreadfully weary, but scarcely understanding what had occasioned change in my thoughts. I felt no longer any great aversion from the labor imposed. I had become most unaccountably interested, nay, even excited. Perhaps there was something

amid all the extravagant demeanor of Legrand, some air of forethought or of deliberation which impressed me. I dug eagerly, and now and then caught myself actually looking with something that very much resembled expectation for the fancied treasure, the vision of which had demented my unfortunate companion. At a period when such vagaries of thought most fully possessed me, and when we had been at work, perhaps an hour and a half, we were

again interrupted by the violent howlings of the dog. His uneasiness in the first instant had been evidently but the result of playfulness or caprice, but he now assumed a bitter and serious tone. Upon Jupiter's again attempting to muzzle him, he made furious resistance, and leaping into the hole, tore up the mould frantically with his claws. In a few seconds he had uncovered a mass of human bones, forming two complete skeletons. Intermingled with several

buttons of metal, and what appeared to be the dust of decayed woolen, one or two strokes of a spade upturned the blade of a large Spanish knife, and as we dug further three or four loose pieces of gold and silver coin came to light. At sight of these the joy of Jupiter could scarcely be restrained, but the countenance of his master wore an air of extreme disappointment. He urged us, however, to continue our exertions, and the words were hardly uttered when I stumbled and fell

forward, having caught the toe of my boot in a large ring of iron that lay half buried in the loose earth. We now worked in earnest. Never did I pass ten minutes of more intense excitement. During this interval we had fairly unearthed an oblong chest of wood, which from its perfect preservation and wonderful hardness had plainly been subjected to some mineralizing process, perhaps that of the bichloride of mercury. This box was three feet and a half long,

three feet broad, and two and a half feet deep. It was firmly secured by bands of wrought iron, riveted and forming a kind of open trellis work over the hole. On each side of the chest, near the top, were three rings of iron, six in all, by means of which a firm hold could be obtained by six persons. Our utmost united endeavors served only to disturb the coffer very slightly in its bed. We at once saw the impossibility of removing so great a weight. Luckily,

the sole fastenings of the lid consisted of two sliding bolts. These we drew back, trembling and panting with anxiety. In an instant, a treasure of incalculable value lay gleaming before us. As the rays of the lantern fell within the pit, there flashed upward a glow and a glare from a confused heap of gold and of jewels that absolutely dazzled our eyes. I shall not pretend to describe the feelings with which I gazed. Amazement was, of course,

predominant. Le Grand appeared exhausted with excitement and spoke very few words. Jupiter's continents wore for some minutes as deadly a pallor as is possible, in the nature of things for any negro's visage to assume. He seemed stupefied, thunder-stricken. Presently he fell upon his knees in the pit,

and, burying his naked arms up to the elbows in gold, left them there remain, as if enjoying the luxury of a bath. At length, with a deep sigh, he exclaimed, as if in a siloequy. "'And this all come of the gold-bug, the putty gold-bug, the poor little gold-bug, what I boozed in that savage kind of style. Ain't you shame with yourself, nigger? Answer me dat.'

It became necessary at last that I should arouse both master and valet to the expediency of removing the treasure. It was growing late, and it behooved us to make exertion that we might get everything housed before daylight. It was difficult to say what should be done, and much time was spent in deliberation, so confused were the ideas of all. We finally lightened the box by removing two-thirds of its contents, when we were enabled with some trouble to raise it from the hole. The articles

taken out were deposited among the brambles, and the dog left to guard them with strict orders from Jupiter, neither upon any pretense to stir from the spot, nor to open his mouth until our return. We then hurriedly made for home with the chest, reaching the hut in safety. But after excessive toil at one o'clock in the morning, worn out as we were, it was not in human nature to do more immediately. We rested until two, and had supper, starting for the hills

immediately afterward, armed with three stout sacks, which by good luck were upon the premises, a little before four we arrived at the pit, divided the remainder of the booty as equally as might be among us, and leaving the holes unfilled, again set out for the hut, at which for the second time we deposited our golden burdens, just as the first faint streaks of the dawn gleamed from over the treetops in the east. We were now thoroughly broken down,

but the intense excitement of the time denied us repose. After an unquiet slumber of some three or four hours' duration, we arose, as if by preconcert, to make examination of our treasure. The chest had been full to the brim, and we spent the whole day and the greater part of the next night in a scrutiny of its contents. There had been nothing like order or arrangement. Everything had been heaped in promiscuously. Having assorted all with care, we found ourselves

possessed of even vaster wealth than we had at first supposed. In coin there was rather more than four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, estimating the value of the pieces as accurately as we could by the tables of the period. There was not a particle of silver. All was gold of antique date and of great variety, French, Spanish, and German money, with a few English guineas, and some counters of which we had never seen specimens before. There were several very large

and heavy coins, so worn we could make nothing of their inscriptions. There was no American money. The value of the jewels we found more difficulty in estimating. There were diamonds, some of them exceedingly large and fine, a hundred and ten in all, and not one of them small. Eighteen rubies of remarkable brilliancy, three hundred and ten emeralds, all very beautiful,

and twenty-one sapphires with an opal. These stones had all been broken from their settings and thrown loose in the chest. The settings themselves, which we picked out from among the other gold, appear to have been beaten up with hammers, as if to prevent identification. Besides all this, there was a vast quantity of solid gold ornaments,

nearly two hundred massive finger and earrings, rich chains, thirty of these if I remember, eighty-three very large and heavy crucifixes, five gold sensors of great value, a prodigious golden punch bowl ornamented with richly chased vine leaves and bacchanalian figures, with two sword handles exquisitely embossed, and many other smaller articles which I cannot recollect. The weight of these valuables exceeded three hundred and fifty pounds of bois du poids,

and in this estimate I have not included one hundred and ninety-seven superb gold watches, three of the number being worth each five hundred dollars if one many of them were very old and as timekeepers valueless the works having suffered more or less from corrosion but all were richly jeweled and in cases of great worth we estimated the entire contents of the chest that night at a million and a half dollars and upon the subsequent disposal of the trinkets and jewels a few being retained for our own use It was found that we had greatly undervalued the treasure. When at length we had concluded our examination, and the intense excitement of the time had in some measure subsided, Le Grand, who saw that I was dying with impatience for a solution of this most extraordinary riddle,

entered into a full detail of all the circumstances connected with it. "'You remember,' said he, "'that night when I handed you the rough sketch I had made of the Scarabeus, You recollect also that I became quite vexed at you for insisting that my drawing resembled a death's head when you first made this assertion. I thought you were jesting, but afterward I called to mind the peculiar spots on the back of the insect, and admitted to myself that your remark had some little foundation in fact. Still, the sneer at my graphic powers irritated me, for I am considered a good artist, and therefore, when you handed me the scrap of parchment, I was about to crumple it up and throw it angrily into the fire.

"'The scrap of paper, you mean,' said I. "'No. "'It had much of the appearance of paper, and at first I supposed it to be such. "'But when I came to draw upon it, I discovered it at once to be a piece of very thin parchment. "'It was quite dirty, you remember.

"'Well, as I was in the very act of crumpling it up, my glance fell upon the sketch at which "'you had been looking, and you may imagine my astonishment when I perceived, in fact, the figure of a death's head just where it seemed to me I had made the drawing of the beetle. For a moment I was too much amazed to think with accuracy. I knew that my design was very different in detail from this, although there was a certain similarity in general outline.

Presently I took a candle, and seating myself at the other end of the room, proceeded to scrutinize the parchment more closely. Upon turning it over, I saw my own sketch upon the reverse just as I had made it. My first idea now was mere surprise at the really remarkable similarity of outline, at the singular coincidence involved in the fact that, unknown to me, there should have been a skull upon the other side of the parchment, immediately beneath my figure of the Scarabeus,

and that this skull, not only in outline but in size, should so closely resemble my drawing. I say the singularity of this coincidence absolutely stupefied me for a time. This is the usual effect of such coincidences. The mind struggles to establish a connection, a sequence of cause and effect, and being unable to do so suffers a species of temporary paralysis. But when I recovered from this stupor, there dawned upon me gradually a conviction

which startled me even far more than the coincidence. I began distinctly positively to remember that there had been no drawing upon the parchment when I made my sketch of the Scarabeus. I became perfectly certain of this, for I recollected turning up first one side, and then the other, in search of the cleanest spot. Had the skull been there, of course, I could not have failed to notice it. Here was indeed a mystery, which I felt it impossible

to explain. But even at that early moment there seemed to glimmer faintly, within the most remote and secret chambers of my intellect, a glow-worm-like conception of that truth, which last night's adventure brought to so magnificent a demonstration i arose at once and putting the parchment securely away dismissed all further reflection until i should be alone end of section five