The evening times., 1899-06-28
THE DEAD MANS EYES.

virginia City, New, IN the uuen Gays o.
the great Comstock Lode:
A man strolled down C Street one june
evening and then struck into trail which
led upward along the slant Of Mount Da'
wilson. He was a large. broad-shouldered
full bearded man. At point where the
trail diverged he stopped as If for short
| rest, and, with his hat in his hand, turned
to view the scene below him.
The sun was approaching the horizon.
Everywhere the sky was cobalt blue
save in the far distance. where 1t changed
to delicate purple and gradually melted
into long, low streaks Of red, gold and
shimmering crimson. Looking down the
long canyon. Sugar Loaf stood darkly sill
houetted against the brilliant background.
| and past it-miles further down and away
the plains lay sleeping in the evening
haze. In the middle distance the big, red
buildings of the shafts and mills. with
their tall steamboat smokestacks, were
sharply outlined; on every side the white
dumps seem to flow out of the sagebrush
hills, and beneath him clustered the mot
ley and jumbled mass OF houses tackled to
the steep mountain side-Nevada's chief
city. ttt
Another man trudgeds up the trail and
paused when he dezcried. the figure ahead
Of him. He was not cast in the heroic
mold Of the frst. His face betrayed the
Latin blood. There was a look of vindic-
tive envy In his small, beadlike eyes as he
watched the contented man above him.
He wondered il all the things they said
about Jim Sanders were true. Why was 1t
he had no partner and worked his claim
alone? Was there any truth in the rumor
that Jim's claim was paying well and that
he was keeping his money hid instead Of
banking 1t? AS to his own claim-well,
Gus was good and uncomp!aining work
er. and the cabin was all right to sleep in.
Mining was gamble anyway, and SO was
faro. Still, one knew there was money in
faro, if the cards came rightly. But this
evening Jose Casadra was broke. week
before he had won thousand dollars at
a single sitting.
After little while the object OF his gaze
moved on, and Casadra followed, keeping
well in the rear. When he arrived at San
ders' cabin Jim stood in the doorway.
Hello. Joe:'
Hello, Jim!'
How they comin'?"
Damned bad" savagely.
Better leave the chips alone, Joe
there's nothing in it, said Jim. philo-
sophically. why don't you help the poor
Dutchman cut? More money in that
Joe?"
Advice is cheap replied casadra, ILL
naturedly. Dye think ye'd be wiliin' TO
give me anything else:"
Il might" said Jim. calmly knocking the
ashes out of his pipe against his boot heel
Then lend me $780,
NO. Joe, won't; it wouldn't do ye any
good
To hell with you and your advice," ex-
claimed Casadra, angrily, striding swiftly
away and up the trail tc the cabin he
shared with Gus.
The next morning, on his way to town.
he stopped at Jim's cabin. In his mind
was half-formed resolution to say some
commonplace thing to Jim which the lat
ter might accept as an apology for his
rudeness of the previous evening. There
was no sense in making an enemy of him.
He threw away his cigarette and hesitat-
ingly approached the door. which stood
ajaT, and looked in. What he saw startled
him. Jim was lying on his side on the
bed. with one arm thrown up over his
head. His big grey eyes were wide open.
and seemed to be looking Casadra full in
the face.
'Mornin', Jim"
There was no response-not even the
culver of an eyelid. Casadra watched him
uneasily for a moment. and then turned
and went on his way to the town. He
wondered If Jim always slept in such a
queer fashion, and if such a sleep was a
sound one. II was late in the night when
he passed the cabin again. The door was
still ajar, and all was dark within.
The following day., shortly after sunrise,
found him before the partly opened door.
He had a premonition OF what he would
see as he suddenly pushed it wide open.
Jim was still lying on his side with his
arm over his head. the open eyes fixed on
the doorway. In two steps Casadra was
beside him. He put out his hand. invol-
UNFAIRLY withdrew II for a second and
then. with an effort, placed 1t on the fore
head of the man in bed. The touch was
icily cold. Down over the heart went the
hand; there was no response from that
fountain head. Wen Jose knew he was
not looking upon sleep. Murder or suicide?
He threw off the bedclothes. expecting to
see blood, but there was none. Just then
he saw sheet of writing paper lying on
a table by the bedside. Picking it I'D
eagerly. he read:
Dear Brother: / have been taken sud-
denly i'll tonight. If-the worst should hap
pen. when you come on. 60 at once into
the shaft In the second drift. exactly
twenty-four feet from the shaft dig"
In an instant the paper was crushed in
his hand and thrust in lis shirt BOSOM
Furtively he looked around. as if in fear
of being detected. He never thought OF
the body in the bed until his wandering
gaze fell upon the pallid face and the dis
tended eyes staring fixedly at him. Ner-
vously he moved TO the door: the, eyes
followed him. He stepped almost behind
the bed. and yet felt himself within range
of the awful vision. Many dead men he
had hafars hr,f baI IL
closed their eyes for them. These eyes
seemed to move like those of some old
portrait.
1t was late in the afternoon when he
notified the coroner of his discovery The
body was taken down to the undertaken
and the coroner decided that an inquest
unnecessary. Sanders belonged to a Ma
sonic order that took charge of the fu-
neral arrangements. The fact that Casa
dra left Virginia the night of the day the
body was discovered was noted by some.
but no especial significance was attached
to his departure.
Two months later in a gambling house
at Ell Paso:
A crowd of men sitting and stand ng
three deep about the faro table: the dealer
pushing the cards out of the nickle-plated
box. unconcernedly paying the lucky bets
and sweeping away the others; everyone
oppresslVeiy silent; all eyes on the differ
ent stacks of chips and the fateful box be-
fore the dealer; the money drawer of the
table pulled far out disclosing the shining
twenties: and Jose Casadra keeping
cases." betting heavily, and losing.
But he was too old a gambler to ietray
by an expression which way the weather.
vane of fortune pointed. and when he had
lost three heavy bets in succession not a
muscle Of his face changed as he calmly
put large stake on the ace to win and
"coppered'' the king for an equal amount