Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1892-02-06

II hare been Ue7u tDtcked nldrl-rny soul
Is stained lCtth many crimes"
'Never was more glad of anything
in my life, said Don Maurizio. THE
whole matter has proved to be exactly
rs imagined" F."
"Do you mean" said Derwent, little
startled, that it was really Fernandez
who had the shooting done?"
Certainly" the other answered. 81
never had any doubt Of it. He is not
man to stop at trifes, that worthy Senior
Fernandez. The opportunity was SO
tempting TO punish you and throw the
odium of murder on Barrera. But he
overshot his mark; his instrument was
not Jealous enough in the first instance
and a little too jealous in the second.
That is always the difficulty in employ
ing instruments. Hereafter | should ad-
wise him to do his shooting himself"
But how was it2" asked Derwent.
How did he arrange the matterY
"The substance Of the dying mans
confession is this said Don Maurizio:
"He is notorious desperate, semi
outlaw, who if brigandage had not been
made so unpleasant and dangerous to
all concerned in it would have embraced
that profession. AS it is, he is known
to have been concerned in many crimes.
He is a cousin of the ranchero at whose
house you spent the night, and CHANGED
to be there on that occasion; although it
is not likely that you saw him. Fernan-
dez did, however. and probably his idea
flashed upon him at the sight of such an
instrument. The man says that he told
him guardedly, but in language suifi-
ciently clear to he understood, that you
carried money, and that he was at lib
erty to shoot and rob you. He was kind
enough to remark that it was not neces-
sary to kill you outright, although if
such an accident occurred he would not
deplore it. That accounts for the fact
that when the robber found You sense
less he dragged you back into the road
and left you alive. Had you been CON
scious he would no doubt have killed
you.
How could Fernandez be sure that
would give him an opportunity, by fall
ing behind the rest of the partyY
He reckoned. it is to be supposed, on
the GOODNESS between himself and you
and on the fact that you could not talk
TO Amanda or the noZos. A man in such
a case generally rides alone and is easily
left behind He told this poor tool of
his-whose name, by the way. is Lopez
that If he, Fernandez, We're with you
no harm was to be done, but if he found
you alone he might do what he pleased. +"
1.-The scoundrelv said Derwent be-
tween his teeth. "That meant that if
he found me plant tool | should be
spared. He offered me the mine, with
many plausible explanations again that
day, and again refused it. Then he
left me to the fate he had prepared-the
infamous scoundrelr'
Certainly an infamous scoundrel," :"
said Don Maurizio. "He left you coolly
to your fate, and when he found after
ward that things We're not going very
smoothly from his point of view, that
you had found a powerful friend-for |
may say that of myself-and that in
quiry was growing hot upon his tracks,
he met one day the man whom he had
tempted to put his life in jeopardy, and
taunted him with having done his work
so badly, with having spared your life.
You should have remembered, he said
to him, that dead men never tell any
tales. 1t is not likely that he meant by
this that the work should still be done
IN more satisfactory manner; but so
Lopez took it, He fancied that it might
be safer for himself if you We're out of
the way, and the result was simple. He
hung about the hacienda, discovered
that You were in the habit of visiting
the canada-a place that seemed made
for hls purpose-and watched for you
there with the Intention of putting an
end to Fernandez taunts. The rest we
know"
"Yes, said Derwent, "we know that
God sent an angel to frustrate his pur-
pose-why, he alone knowsI | am sure
my life seems unworthy of being saved