Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1899-12-14
Continued.

Half an hour passed, but still the
watcher smoked and thought, and still
his cemrade lay as senseless as a log in
the hut.
Nat, ct length, IF he gets the chance.
And that, to me, means the utter ruin
of all my plans; and, quite possibly,
his marriage with Ruby! The fool. the
babbling, laundering fool! To boast of
his hopes and prospects to me, upon
the very eve of my intended departure!
1t would seem, almost, as though Fate
had marked Rim down for destruction,
for, by thunder! the world is too small
for us ~both-nowI'
He went 10 his PROSTATE mate and
shook him roughly; more as a test OF
his real condition than with any eX-
pectation Of arousing him. Neither
move nor sound in response. He next
unbuttoned his shirt, and, from an in
ner pocket, sewn on TO the flannel, ex-
tracted a small bundle Of letters wrap
ped in oiled silk. As he did so, he no
ticed some %tattooing upon his victims
breast.
That's odd" he muttered. Long as
we've been together l never noticed it
before, though I've seen the l.. A. on
his arm dozens OF times. Looks like
X. y, upon a log of wood. I'll just
make a copy Of it,"
This he did skilfully enough in pen
ell upon an envelope. He then searched
him carefully for any further proof of
his identity, but in vain,
He pulled aside the canvas screen
that did duty for a door, and stepped
out into the open air. 1t was a chilly
night, but fine and bright with moon
light.
"All the betterr.' he growled 70 him
self. It'll make the job easier, ana
I'll strike CooktOwn by daybreak."
He re-entered the hut, and. after some
hesitation swallowed yet another dram
Of brandy. my nerves are not what
I thought they WERE" he muttered, "or
I wouldn't need printing with that
cursed stuff to do the trick. Now for
itr'
He was n strongly-built man. but the
task he had set himself taxed his DOW
ers to the utmost. Selling Arnott by
the wrists, he balanced him upon his
bent back, in much the same way as Il
Jumper carries a sack of coal; and,
thus burtEened, he made his way, for
about a furlong, down q very rough,
uneven, ill-defined sort of pathway. A
small mound Of mullock, surmounteQ
by a rudely-constructed windlass, indi-
Gated the position of the shaft, and,
with a final effort, Nat Rainsforth sue
ceeded in depositing his unconscious
load upon the very edge Of the yawn-
Ing cavity.
"a mar might easily slip just here"
he mUttered. steadying himself by the
w~indlass; land If he had no mate
handy to lower the rope and bucket, he
would stand a poor show Of ever get
ting out again. wen If the shaft were
dry and he broke no bones in the fall.
As it is, well, they say drowning is a
painless way of passing in ones
checks, ard he'sSoo dead drunk to feel
much, anyhow"
Still he h~esitated to finish the CHASTITY
work. The moon Shone full upon the
unconscious mans upturned face, and
Rainsworth, callouS though he was,
shuGdered at the thought OF that face
lying livid and swollen in the fiood-wa-
ter that had inundated the shaft. AS
he lay, upon the slope of the mullock.
ground, N good push was all that
was needed to send him to destruction.
Twice Rainsforth's sinewy hands
grasped his shoulders, but each time
he recciled from the one brief effort
of strength that would stain his soul
with a foul murder. Indeed. for n
time, it seemed that whatever there
was Of good in the mans nature
would triumph over the diabolical i'm
pulses that had hitherto swayed him.
But, as usually happens, the prompt
ings of evil prevailed in the end, and
with a savage ~imprecation on his own
weakness of purpose. he once more
gripped his victim and jerked him vio-
lently forward. A hollow, family
borne splashing sound, as the falling
body struck the water at the bottom
Of the shaft; and Nat Rainsforth knew
that no interference with his schemes
would ever again come from Luke
Arnewood, alias Loo Arnott.
END of Prologue)