one; and yet their rocks produced nothing
else.

It was evident, nevertheless, that they possessed abundance of money.
For, in summer, the old women of Dago (but never the young girls)
would carry great baskets of fruit and flowers to the locked door
which guarded the entrance to the courtyard of the tower. Some one
would then appear in response to their knocking, open a small window
in the door, receive the baskets of flowers, and hand out real money
in exchange for them. No; that was no spurious coin. At one time it
was a Russian imperial, at another an English sovereign, while
sometimes it was German thalers and Spanish dollars, intermixed with a
few Venetian zecchini, that were given in payment. But who within, it
was often wondered, could require flowers? And if they had money to
give in exchange for flowers, then why not for food also?

At length the spiritual overseer of the island, the Very Reverend
Jeremiah Waimoener, resolved to ascertain by personal inquiry what
manner of men really dwelt in that mysterious edifice. With this
object he one day made bold to call upon its self-imprisoned
proprietor.

He was at once admitted. Strange to say, although he came quite alone,
his eyes were not even bound--as he had fully convinced himself they
would be--before he was conducted to the Master's presence. He was
allowed to look all around and see everything. On returning home there
would be absolutely nothing to prevent him telling everybody that the
tower, with all its inner staircases, was built of massive stone, and
that it was divided internally into very many stories. On reaching the
twelfth story the reverend gentleman was received by the Master of the
tower. This portion of the building had the appearance of an
observatory, and was surmounted by a lofty dome. The room was
six-sided, and had three large windows looking towards the sea, the
three opposite walls being covered with wainscot. Everything in the
room indicated that it served as the study of a man of science. There
were astronomical instruments, musty books, and numerous chemical
tubes and retorts. In addition there were all kinds of superstitious
designs, alchemistic abracadabras and symbols, in which no man of
sense any longer believes.

The Master himself was a grave-looking personage, whose features never
betrayed the slightest emotion either while speaking or listening. He
requested his visitor to be seated beside him on a semicircular bench
w