destruction.Then under Cyrus, the Israelites returned from their captivity, and byhis decree another temple was built by Zerubbabel, the prince of Judah,who was leader of the migration. Cyrus caused his treasurer Mithredathto deliver up the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away fromJerusalem, five thousand four hundred in number, to Zerubbabel to bere-consecrated to the service of Jehovah."
"Is it to this second temple which our manuscript relates, do youthink?" queried Frank. "Or is it to Solomon's temple?"
"Of the temple of Zerubbabel we have but few particulars," answered theProfessor, "and no description that would enable us to realise itsappearance. But there are some dimensions given in the Bible andelsewhere which are extremely interesting as affording points ofcomparison between it and the temple of Solomon and Herod after it. Thefirst and most authentic are those given in the Book of Ezra [Ezra vi,3-4] when quoting the decree of Cyrus, wherein it is said: `Let thehouse be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let thefoundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof three-scorecubits, and the breadth thereof three-score cubits, with three rows ofgreat stones and a row of new timber.' Josephus quotes this passagealmost literally, but in doing so enables us with certainty to translatethe word here called `row' as storey, as indeed the sense would lead usto infer--for it could apply only to the three storeys of chambers thatsurrounded Solomon's, and afterwards Herod's temple, and with this againwe come to the wooden talar which surmounted the temple and formed afourth storey. It may be remarked that this dimension of sixty cubitsin height accords perfectly with the words which Josephus puts into themouth of Herod when he makes him say that the temple built after theCaptivity wanted sixty cubits of the height of that of Solomon. For ashe had adopted the height of a hundred and twenty cubits in theChronicles for that temple, this one remained only sixty. This templewas still standing in Herod's time, and was repaired by him. Hecataeusmentions that the altar was twenty cubits square and ten high. But heunfortunately does not supply us with the dimensions of the templeitself. Therefore if the priests and Levites and Elders of familieswere disconsolate at seeing how much more sumptuous the old temple wasthan the one which on account of their poverty they had just been ableto erect, [Ezra, iii, 12-13; Joseph Ast., xi, 4, 2] it certainly was notbecause it was smaller, as almost every dimension had been increasedone-third; but it may have been that the carving and the gold and otherornaments of Solomon's temple far surpassed this, and the pillars of theportico and the veils may all have been far more splendid, so alsoprobably were the vessels; and all this is what a Jew would mourn over,far more than mere architectural splendour."
"It is a pity we do not know more about this second temple," remarkedGwen, in a tone of disappointment and regret.
"For our present purpose its history, down to the taking of Jerusalem byTitus, does not concern us, my dear," remarked the old scholar, drawinghis hand rather wearily over his white brow. "The problem before usevidently has to do with the days of Jehoiakim, prior to the advance ofNebuchadnezzar. Later facts and traditions do not concern us at themoment. I think, however, I have given you an outline of the variedhistory of the temple and its treasures based upon the very latestreadings of Egyptian, Assyrian and other inscriptions, sufficient toshow you quite plainly that Solomon's treasure could not possibly haveexisted in the reign of Jehoiakim, and that the theory of this friend ofyours, Diamond, is utterly and entirely without the foundation oftradition or of ancient legend."
"Well," remarked the young man, "such an opinion coming from your mouthis, of course, final, Professor. Yet you must admit that the statement,even as it stands, is full of interest."
"Full of very cleverly conceived mystery--and mystery is alwaysattractive," laughed the Professor, looking at him through his big,round, highly magnifying spectacles.
In the statement he had made there was one discrepancy, one that only ascholar would notice. He had purposely withheld one Biblicalreference--one which, above all, had caused him to reflect and believethat the writer of the half-burnt screed was correct, that the secretand its key were actually genuine.
But it was his fixed intention to turn Frank Farquhar from furtherinvestigation, and to laugh at Doctor Diamond as a fool, ignorant of anyknowledge of the history of the Hebrew race.
A silence fell. Gwen Griffin and her lover were both staring straightat the fire without uttering a word.
The old man sat watching the effect of his words upon the pair, andbefore Frank left, he handed back to him the charred remnants which hehad received from the photographer.
But his thoughts were of that other man--the short, white-beardedforeigner, his rival--who was so busy with his researches, the strangerfrom across the Channel who also held the remarkable secret.
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
THE GREAT GOD GOLD.
After dining at the club Frank Farquhar strolled round to Half MoonStreet, and throwing himself into an armchair before the fire, gavehimself up to reflection.
He was recalling what the Professor had said. It was true that allstories of lost treasure were nowadays received with incredulity, andsurely this was the most amazing and most wonderful of them all.
Arminger Griffin, Regius Professor of Hebrew, treated the whole matteras a huge joke. Historical fact was wholly against the suggestioncontained in these half-burned scraps which, before his departure fromPembridge Gardens, the Professor had handed back to him. Ah! if theycould only reconstruct the context of those disjoined words.
He took a cigar and lit it. But a moment later he tossed it impatientlyinto the fire. It tasted bitter. The Professor had dashed all hishopes to the ground, for was not his opinion on such a matter final.
As he bade good-night to Gwen in the hall and held her soft hand in hisshe had whispered to him words of encouragement. "Father is reallydevoid of any romance," she declared. "There may be something in thesecret after all. Could you not endeavour to find the person who madethat remarkable declaration?"
Her suggestion he was now carefully considering.
The stranger who had died in Paris was apparently not the person whomade the declaration. The latter was in all probability alive. If so,could he not furnish many more facts than the scrappy information theyat present possessed?
Yet what right had Doctor Diamond to the secret--and for the matter ofthat, what right had he himself?
That the hard-up stranger in Paris feared lest the documents should fallinto other hands was shown by his last act of causing them to be burned.Such a course made it appear as though the stranger had no right to thepossession of the papers. In all probability he had not!
Gwen's suggestion, however, appealed to him. Yet to find that one manin the whole world who knew the truth would, he foresaw, be a workfraught with greatest difficulty. The only manner by which he could beapproached, if found, would be upon pretence of restoring to him thecharred remains of his valuable statement.
The telephone-bell rang, and he rose and answered it. The editor of oneof the great daily journals controlled by his brother-in-law, SirGeorge, spoke from the office in Fleet Street, at that hour of theevening a hive of industry. A question of policy had arisen, and theeditor, one of the shining lights of modern journalism, consulted Frankas representative of the proprietor, Sir George being still in Egypt.
Frank, after a brief conversation, left the matter entirely in theeditor's hands, and replacing the receiver walked back from the bigroll-top writing-table to the fireplace, where he stood with both armsleaning on the mantelshelf gazing thoughtfully into the blazing coals.
A few moments later his man entered saying:
"A gentleman to see you, sir--Doctor Diamond."
Frank started. His visitor was the very man of all men he wished mostto consult, therefore he gave orders for him to be shown in at once.
"Why, my dear Doctor," cried the young fellow, as the ugly little oldman entered, "this is a real surprise! I thought of running down toHorsford to see you in the
morning. Take off your coat and sit down. Iwant to have a serious chat with you."
"I got no reply to my two letters, Mr Farquhar," said the crook-backedlittle man in explanation of his visit. "So I thought I'd just run upand see how you are progressing with our business."
Frank helped him off with his shabby frieze coat and, having installedhim comfortably by the fire and given him a cigar, replied:
"Well, Doctor, the fact is I did not reply to your letters because I hadnothing definite to report. I trust you will not attribute my silenceto any want of courtesy. I have been busy over the matter ever since Ireturned to London."
"And with what result?" asked the crafty-eyed little man.
"Nothing very satisfactory, I regret to say," was the young man'sanswer. "Yet I am not discouraged. Professor Griffin, before whom Ihave