Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-10-10

for. now Joined In the conversation,
and stepping forward interrupted Lizzie,
and said, Excuse me, Mr.. Holden, but
90 I happened to be at Jordan & Msrshs
when Miss Mason tainted, perhaps l can
give you the information you desire"
He recognized me and thanked me,
though at the same time ] could see
that he was annoyed at my presence.
"The illness Is nothing to be alarmed
at or startled about" said, merely
little fainting attack, the result Of shock;
she must be much better. as she has gone
vut-"
"Yes, Of course. Excuse me II ! seem
inquisitive, but l am very much inter
ested In Miss Mason's welfare. May ask
what caused the shockf
"Why, certainly" replied, growing
more and more surprised as the conver-
sation continued. "She received pack
age the contents Of which seemed to
startle her"
Eyes, 1 know; 1t was sample Of rib.
bon."
How the devil did you know 1t thought
thought to myself, but ] did not say so.
"Red ribbon, wasn't itY he continued.
"But Of course 1t was"
"No," replied, "it was purple"
II Ihad struck him blow in the face
he could not have been more startled.
He turned very pale and staggered like
. drunken man. looked ct him, too as
tonished to speak. "PurpleS" he gasped;
then, without giving me time to speak,
hs continued: There must be some
dreadful mistake; You say she went outS'
"Miss Mason? Yes"
"Where did she goi Do you known
81 was told she had gone to Maiden on
business by this girl here"
''Good Godi she'll kill herself IL can't
get there first to stop heri Where can ]
get cab? Tell me quick"
"Here's mine-you are welcome to it;
can give you any assistance7"
''No, nothing; l am the only one who
can save her. This is an awful sort Of
marriage day for her though, poor girl. !"
Marriage dayi Who was going to
marry herr
"I was" he cried, and jumping into
the cab ratified away mp the street and
out Of sight in moment.
was astonished. am not generally
1T takes too much exertion. l looked
ut the servant and saw that she was as
astonished as ! was, fox she stared after
the carriage for q moment and then
laughed. That was the difference be-
tween her astonishment and mine.
tried to think out some solution for the
mystery, and she. like all uncultivated
people, and the majority Of women,
laughed at what she could not under
stand.
Her laughter grated on me, and said
somewhat sharply: II see nothing to
laugh at. Do your
"The young gent used to be mighty
sweet on her a while ago. but he hain't
been near her for more'n three months,
and now jist because she amt ct home
he gets riled," she replied and laughed
again.
Iwalked away thinking and very much
puzzled. was already becoming sus-
picious Of the whole matter. Were all
these things that had happened coinci-
dences, I thought not But II they
were not then they depended on each
other, and how that was possible could
not understand. Could it be that had
been used as q tool in this matter by
Miss Ormsby. and that the package con-
tained something more than knew Of?
But what possible connection could there
be between the beautiful Miss Ormsby
and the little shop girli Why should
Mr. Holden be going to marry Q girl
whom he had not seen for three months?
Why should she kill herself, and how
could he prevent 1t? And lastly, what
had the scrap Of purple ribbon got to do
with the affsir, anyhow For there was
no doubt In my mind that 1t was the link
that bound the whole mystery together.
The saying that II there is any mis-
chief brewing there Ia always . woman
in the case, 10 trite enough to be sure;
and ! have invariably found it to be true.
Who was the woman?
Every indication SO far pointed to but
one, and that was Miss Ormsby.
Tbsre was but one break In the chain
Of the evidence that marked her out as
being at tho bottom of the matter, and
that was the absence Of any motive FOR
getting rid Of the shop girl in Jordan q
Marsha
Evidently must try to 6nd out what
could from Miss Ormsby. That, how
ever. was no easy matter, for knew her
character well enough to know that
could not make her tell me what she did
not choose to, though began to have an
unpleasant feeling that she might be re-
sponsible for a. Well, ! would wait
till heard something more from NAL
den, and meantime would make party
call that owed to Miss Ormsby.
| ITO BE CONTINUED