Mohave County miner., 1891-02-14
A BAG OF DIAMONDS.

He had screwed his courage 70 ths
sticking point
After all. what good 10 the old man
wAs that bag OF gems? What good
except 10 count over. mark their
twinkling facets, gIoat over their
value. and laugh at those who might
covet them. Palsied singers would
shake as tho strings OF the chamoiI-
skin treasury were raptnrously united,
and moments life and energy fash
into pinched cheek and faded eye, as
every evening the revelation Of untold
wealth woke Ia withered heart lis
only surviving passion. But what
good to the world or TO the man wis
that brief minute OF ecstacy? Was II
not paid for hundredfold by nights
Of fear and forebodlngs OF robbery that
made life perpetual horror7 How
often had Paul heard his uncle wake
from his noontide nap with "A dream
ing cry: "My diamonds, my diamondsl
Is that you, Paal' thought it was
a robbsrn
His thoughts were 10 come true 10
night Paul tried 70 persuade him
self that the treasures he had set his
heart on belonged TO him as much as
II they had been lying in mine, the
prize Of the first finder
Then came another thought His
own poverty aud his great love. His
uncle's ward was as poor as himself =
poor, proud, aud beautiful Such
flowers only grow Ia hard and solitary
places, In the nipplng air, and TN
crowded even by the obtrusiveness OF
love. Straight. slender. full-hped as
a rose, with big soul beamlng in her
face and eyes, with meek, silent ways,
ard bearing unfinchingly the blows
of an old mans brutal tongue. this
girl bad presented to the poets mind
the image of power. OF profound pas
sion, OF untiring constancy, such as
had enchanted him and transformed
his life. She had been first shy 10
him. then wistfully tender as ahe
pitled him II was in the arbor at The
foot OF the garden where he was seated
now, behind the hedge OF clipped yew,
that she had nestled close Ia his arms,
and they had known the first moment
OF happiness In their deserted lives
I'VE must be patient Paul.
Patient, did she say? They had
been SO long enough. His plans were
ripe now, and he was watching the
light in his uncle's window. The old
man would sleep well--he had taken
care OF that tonight. II he awolSe?
Well, that too was provided for. Old
men are not hard to smother. The
night dark and damp. suited dark
thoughts. And the sting OF long op-
preston. the blind feeling after re-
yenge for years Of cruel sights and in =
sults, had long engendered such
thoughts. And now came vision Of
an earthly heaven. the hope Of new
life beyond the Geas.
Yes, will fly with you at any time
you ask the girl had said resolutcly.
I'VE shall be happy. rich or poor
No, not poor. He would provide
against that
The lights 10 the windows OF the
mansion had gone out. Even the win
dows on the ground floor, which open
on the piazza, are dark. That 70 his
uncle's room. Paul rises from his
seat The dripping jasmine spray
that strikes his cheek as be leaves the
little summer-house makes his heart
stop for a momsnt. He fears even the
faint crunch of his footsteps on the
gravel. There Is dog baying in the
distance, as IL conscious that thieves
are about
He steals past the big pear tree at
the corner OF the piazza, and tramp
ling In the soft mold Of the flower gar
den, where her jonquils and tulips
grow, he creeps breathlessly to the
back porch. The outer door is quick
ly opened. He thrusts out his hand TO
find the knob OF the house door. and,
taking latch-key from his vest
pocket, he opens 1t too. At the end
Of the hall is his uncle's room. The
house is silent But hark! did he hear
football? II must be heavy football
that is heard on the thick carpet aud
steady floor OF oak. He had never
before explored this old rambling
dwelling in darkness. 1t was always
to him sad and dreary place; place
of faded hangings, old-fashioned and
tasteless bric-a- brac, paintings insipid
in their tarnished frames, and books
that echoed The fancy and opinion OF
a dead Observation-Disclosures as yes
terday's news.
He has reached his uncle's door.
There he produces dark lantern from
under his cloak. Drawing up the
slide for moment he flashes the cone
of light over the hall and up the stair
case. II lights up for a moment
oaken wainscoting, crowded hat-rack,
the antlers overhead, and the statue OF
Cupid. pallid as ghost, and then falls
on the staircase. As 1t does so he
snaps down the slide, and ali Is dark
ness again.
/ Wee oil is dn.l,na,s M n,,iat fTIa rn