Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1899-12-07
PROLOGUE Continued.


Half an hour passed. but still the
watcher smoked and thought and still
his comrade lay as scnsalcsS as II log in
the hut.
Hell do. safe enough" muttered
Nat. at 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
che very eve of my intended departure.
1t would seem. almost, as though Fate
had marked him down for destruction,
for, by thunder! the world is too small
for us bOth-now"
He went to his PROSTATE mate and
shook him roughly: more as Il test OF
his real condition than with any OK
pectation of arousing him. Neither
move nor sound in response He next
NnbuttOned his shirt. and. from an in
ner pocket. sewn on to the flannel, eN-
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.. \. on
his arm dozens of times. Looks like
r.. n. upon Il log of wood. I'll just
make Il 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 Il door. and stepped
out into the open air. 1t was a chilly
night, but fine and bright with moon
light.
IAN the bettcr.' he growled to him
self. It'll make the job easier. ana
I'll strike Cooktown by daybrcak. :"
He re-entered the hut. and. after some
hesitation swallowed yet another dram
of brandy. 'My nerves are not what
Thought they WERE" he muttered. 'or
I wouldn't need printing with that
cursed stuff to do the trick. Now for
it!'
He was a strongly-built man. but the
task he had set himself taxed his pow
ers to the utmost. Selling Arnott by
the wrists, he balanced him upon his
bent back. in much the same way as a
y Jumper carries I; sack of coal; and.
. thus burtlened. he made his way, for
about Il furlony. down Il very rough.
une ven. ill-detined sort of pathway. \
small mound OF mullock. Surmounteu
by rudely constructed wndlass. indi-
Gated the position Of fine shaft. and.
with final effort. Nat Rainsforth sue
ceeded in depositing his unconscious
load upon the very edge of the yawn-
ing cavity.
"a an might easily slip just here
he n!uttered. stea;lying himself by the
windlass: land if he had no mate
handy to lower the rope and bucket. he
would stand Il poor show of ever get
ting out again. even if the shaft We're
dry and he broke no bones in the fall.
As it is. well, they say drowning is Il
painless way of passing in ones
checks, ard he's too dead drunk to feel
much, anyhow"
Still he hesitatel to finish the CHASTITY
work. The moon shone full upon the
UNCONSCIOUS mans upturned face. and
Rainsworth. callouS though he WAS,
ehuGdered at the thought of that face
lying livid and swollen in the tiood-w :l-
ter that had inundated the shaft. AS
he lay, upon the slope of the Eullock-
ground, one good push was all that
was needed to send him to destruction.
Twice Rainsforths sinewy hands
grasped his shoulders. but each time
he recoiled from the one brief effort
of strength that would stain his soul
with a foul murder. Indeed. for Il
time, it seemed that whatever there
was of good in the mans nature
would triumph over the diabolical I'M
pulses that had hitherto swayeil him.
But, as usually happens, the prompt
ings of evil prevailed in the end. and
with a savage imprecation Oh his own
weakness of purpose. he once more
gripped his victim and ielked him VIC
1ently 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 10 interference with his schemes
would ever again come from Luke
ArneWood, alias Loo ArnOtt.
(End of Prologue.)