Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1896-06-10

/ q letter. ana as Nell 1dNSOu cOulu HOl
read she let it lie there untouched. But
from that hour murder lay in her pas
sionate heart.
That evening, as she entered Bod
Lawson's humpy, her husband, big,
heavy featured man, looked up and
saw the CHASTITY pallor of her face.
why, what's the matter wi zee,
Nell? 'Ee be lookin quite sickloike
lately. Tell zee what, Nell, zee wants a
cheange."
"Mulliner's be dull pleace," she
answered mechanically.
AYE, lass, dull as hell in a fog. Meb-
be I'll take ZEE somewheres for spell !"
For nearly another week she nursed
her hatred and planned her revenge,
and Haughton, as he saw the dark rings
forming under her eyes, and the cold,
Gstless manner as she went about her
work, began to experience a higher
phase of feeling for her than that of the
mere passion which her beauty had first
awakened in hin. long months before.
1t was O'Clock on Sunday afternoon.
The fierce, binding sun had just disap-
peared behind the hideous basalt range
30 miles away from the Big Surprise,
when Nell Lawson put on her white
sun hood and walked slowly toward the
old alluvial workings. When well out
of sight from any one near the battery,
she turned off toward the creek and
made for big Leichhardt tree that
stood ON the bank. Underneath it and
evidently waiting for her was black
fellow, a truculent looking runaway
! trooper named Barney.
"You got him that fellow, Barney?"
she asked in low voice.
"Yo al" he replied, keeping one
hand behind his back. where that
plenty fellow money you yabber me yes
treday?''
Here" and she showed him some
silver; 40 fellow shilling"
Barney grinned, took the money and
then handed her an old broken handled
crockery teapot, which, in place of a
lid, was covered over with piece of I'll
tree bark firmly secured by a strip of
dirty calico.
AS soon as the black fellow had gone
she picked up that which he had given
her and walked quickly along the track
till she reached the old mail tin. She
stood awhile and listened. Not sound
disturbed the heated, oppressive silence.
Placing the teapot on the ground, she
lifted the stiff, creaking lid of the tin
and pushed it we'll back Then, taking
up the teapot again, she placed one hand
firmly upon the ti-tree bark covering the
top, while with the other she unfastened
the strip of rag that kept it i'll position.
In another moment, grasping the broken
spout in her left hand, she held it over
the open tin, and with rapid motion
turned it upside down and whipped
away her right hand from the piece of
bark.
Something fell heavily against the
bottom of the tin, and in an instant she
slammed down the lid and threw the
empty teapot in among the powders,
where it smashed to pieces Then, an
evil smile on her dark face she placed
her ear to the side of the tin and listen
ed. A faint creeping, crawling sound
was all she heard In another minute,
with hand pressed tightly against her
wildly beating heart, she fled homeward
"This will be my last ride over, dear
Ted, was the beginning of the letter to
Ballantyne that lay in Kate Claiming S
bosom. Father is very i'll, and can
not leave him. Do let me tell him and
ask his forgiveness. 1t is so miserable
for me to keep up this deceit. "
Darkness had set in by the time she
had got the mail from the landlord of
the Booming Nugget and turned her
horses head into the track that led over
the ridge to the old workings.
Two hours before daylight Kate Chan
ning's horse walked riderless up to the
slip rails of Calypso Downs, and the
stockman who had kept awake awaiting
her return went out to let his young
mistress in.
"Got throwed somewhere, suppose, "
he grumbled after examining the horse.
"This is nice go. It's no use telling
the old man about it. He's too sick to
be worried just now anyway"
Taking black boy with him and
leading Kate's horse he set out to look
for her, expecting, unless she was hurt,
to meet her somewhere between the sta
ton and Mulliner's Camp. Just as day
light broke the black boy who was lead
ing stopped.
Young missus been tumble off horse
here" And he pointed to where the
scrubby underground on one side of the
track was crushed down and broken as
if by fall.
The stockman nodded. Horse been
shy, think it, Billy, at that old fell
low postoffice there" And he pointed
to the old mail tin, which was not ten
feet from where Billy said she had fall
en- off.
"Go ahead, Billy" said the stock
man. II believe young missus not catch
him horse again, and she walk along to
Mulliner's.
"Yo al" answered the black boy