The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-11-07

woefully tired, with eyes blood-shot for
want of sleep, and yet, thanks to the fas-
cination of his watch, intensely wakeful,
witnessed through his peep-hole the usual
programme of the "Eldorado's" midnight
entertainment-the usual programme,
that is, with for once totally different
ending.
While he lay with his aching eyes fixed
upon his masters bowed figure sewing as
patiently and slowly as ever, he felt that
sleep was about to conquer him at last.
The gems still continued to dazzle; the
den with his solitary inmate began to re-
cede and grow indistinct, until somehow
the ccene was changed to Hugh's old
home in far away England, and it was
Sir Lewis Mostyn, his little-loved elder
brother, who bent over the leathern belt
and sewed into it the precious stones.
And by-and-by there glided in form
like the wife Hugh had left behind in
England, richly attired, radiant, beauti-
full, wearing necklace of the largest and
finest of diamonds, and carrying in her
arms their child; and she took the belt
from her brother-in-law's unwilling fin
gers, and said:
"It is all ours now, and nothing will be
left to you, you hard-hearted old man
that you are"
For by some means Sir Lewis had be-
come aged and withered, and altogether
the living image of Macpherson, the mis-
er. Then, as Hugh's wife bound the belt
about her body, there burst over all the
scene a golden radiance, ruddy glare,
that filled the place with light, and again
she spoke and said:
Eyes, it is all ours now, nothing is left
to you, and Mostyn Hall is on fire, on
fire, on fire!"
And the aged Sir Lewis, with trem-
bling lips, like a faint echo repeated after
her:
"On firew
Then the ruddy glare grew fercer, and
there were heard distinct sonnds as Of
roaring flames and crashing timbers and
shouts of "fire! fire! firey' which came
nearer and nearer. And Hugh, jumping
up with cry and wide awake, saw the
radience he had dreamed of shining bril-
liantly throegh the windows of the GEL
dorado" and making the black nigh
glaringly red.
His first thought was that Macpherson
had at last upset his lamp, and set tn,
den in blaze; but glance through
the peep-hole showed things all right il
that direction, and Sadie, fully alive t.
the situation as far as concerned himself
noiselessly and with wonderful celerit,
divesting himself of his upper strata o
clothing, buckling on his balt, replacing
his coat Scs and, ,siast u all, girding OIL
l his .braGe seven-shooters. The roar o
\ whirling f1ames the shouts Of men, ant
din Of falling timbers grew louder, wild
er, nearer, and Hugh, feeling that h
ought to be doing something, fell to bal
tering at the sanctum's bolted door, al
the while he excitedly cried:
"Mackpherson, awake, get up! Woul
you die like dog, man? Nuggetville'
on fire!"
|: "All right" returned the cool, self-po'
sessed voice within. "Have yer neve
seen a mining city burnt up before, tha
yer shout and yell like an insand grease
driving mules into a corral? / guess W
amt got no kegs O gunpowder on tn
restaurant, nor they hasn't next doc
neither. TAX up yer blankets and sto
into them and into yer pockets as man
bottles o whisky as yer kin; and recko
we'll make tracks right away"
I So saying he issued from the den, an
the two men umbarred the door and e
capped.
.t fro BE CONTINUED.