Arizona republican., 1898-06-26

knOlIS on winch grew clumpS Of StunteC
 trees. Above one of them, q little nearer
 us than the rest. could be seen the
 chimney of the old house. as lonely {;
 habitatiOn as man could desire.
 There said I to my companion
 pointing to the spot. "'there is your idea
 hermitage"
 VI.
 What would have been the resul,
 upon Lny fortunes had the asylum
 seeker failed to be satisfied with the
 retreat selected is question over which l have since wasted much time. On the whole, it is probable that 1 should have seen little more of him, the chances be- ing that in a day or two he would have disappeared, leaving. perhaps. a sum of money sufficient in his eyes to compen- sate me for services rendered to tha. date. It is good evidence of the recls- lessness which then possessed me that. though contingency of this sort had been in my mind from the first, the thought of it had no deterring influence. As it was. however. he seemed to be content with the choice made for him and ready to carry out cur contract.
 The tasi, of settling him in his new abode proved to be unexpectedly easy. The owner of the old house was glad to dispose of it for song. throwing in :; patch of marshland along with the liT- tie hill cu which the building stood Though t was in need of repairs, and thnnr-l, ,r:,,I many q mark upon #. it was still . stout structure, with stanch beams ans. firm foundation. capable. apparently of withstanding the gales of a score 0: winters. It was built on the summit O. the hammock, which rose about 40 fee2 aboye the sca-level, a. rocky s;jua pushed up into the light. and air iron. some stratum buried under the low lands of the coast. Upon the rocks was a scaniy covering of soil. barely sufTi- cicnt fo give support to the fringe O: dwarfcd evcrgrecnS which surrouhdct. the dwelling. Ialf-way down | he sIcpt on the west or landwartt side was |, spring about which was patch of turf. t,.e only bit of green on the prem ;scs for the soil under the trees was dull brown in hue. and the ward ter races were top steep and stony to givv root to even the hardest of grasses. Te. the east, directly between the knoll and the beach, was a marsh, which also curved about the rocks to border their southern side. On the north tidal stream flowed so close to the base of the slope that one could step from boat to the lowest of the rocky led..es. To the west the land was level. but not marshy. and the line of a long abandoned wagon track could be traced straight across to the hill from which Lamar had gained his first view of his refuge. Rodney town was considerably more than a mile distant, but about halfway be- tween the village and the knoll were three or four Lighthouses. Their occu- pants would be I.amar's nearest neigh bors, at least on the land side. To the south, perched on another rocky point about a quarter of mile away, was the hut of family of fishermen, who were not likely to be intrusive.
 As has been said, the business of talk ing possession was simple matter, and the night after our arrival we passed in the house by the bay. Lamar showed amazing energy in making the place habitabie. and within week wonders were accomplished. A wagon-load of furniture ard fitting was secured from the village: turned glazier to replace the broken window -panes. whose ab sence had served at least to save the place from the reproach of musti- ness; and my employer developed no mean ability as a carpenter. To be sure, it was mere box of a house, making our labor so much the lighter, but I felt a good deal of pride in the results On the ground-foor was a Iving-roor,. with kitchen behind it, and a small room opening from the kitchen. Above were two rooms of fair size, both Of which, Lamar told me, he should re- quire for his own use. It had been agreed, soon ofter our arrival, that I should find quarters in one of the farm houses between the refuge and the will lage-an arrangement entirely to my liking, for the prospect of dwelling under the same roof with Lamar was not al turing. He was as unsympathetic as an iceberg, hardly more loquacious, and the mystery he maintained was not of the fascinating sort. In the week we passed together came to dis like him exceedingly. Sometimes, when a days labors were ended he would sit for hours puffing away at his cigar, the wreaths of smoke, but speaking not a word, and hardly bonor- ing me with glance. What his re- factions might be was beyond my power Of conjecture; yet I managed. with considerable satisfaction, to con vince myself that he had committed some crime of particular atrocity, and that he was no common political exile 1 Never, however, did he give me cause to suppose him to be sufferer from Whatever his reasons for flight might have been, he seemed now to regard himself as respited from pursuit, and his look lost something of | it's restlcssness, though it was evident | that he did not feel that his peril was |