The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-11-19

been before me, 1 could not have felt
much greater reluctance to go forth
and meet them.
My surroundings were, as / expected.
decidedly suspicious. Though the items
which made up my evidence were in
nocent enough individually, yet, looked
at collectively, they could not but ap-
pear peculiar: seen in that country, at
that hour of night, and at that dis
lance from anything like civilized re-
strictions. In the first place the entire
incongruity of the man himself with
his surroundings, was something that
demanded explanation, for here in a
place which would naturally suggest
to your mind a host either of the
strictest hermit type, shaggy of hair
and eloquent of some gloomy past. or
toil-stained miner, welded to his pipe
and glass, / found a man of town
speech. one lately, from the hands of a
thoughtful tailor. and bringing with
him into that wilderness all the
troublesome necessities Of civilized life;
for example, the soft rug flung down
before the glowing crate, the books
and papers tossed everywhere about
and, above all. the snowy whiteness of
exquisite table linen showing upon
some shabby old mahogany in the room
beyond.
All these marked the gentleman of
taste. Then why the comparative bar
barity of his retirement, why the I'M
usual characterization of pistols upon his
mantel shelf, why his haste and en-
barrassment. and why the man -eating
look of his great bloodhound that kept
privately testing the sharpness of his
yellow fangs on the legs of my trous-
ers?
You may suppose that I did not re-
mo in, icin n ell INV
self extensively curious as / noted all
these little facts. No. Again my pr-
vate theatricalS came to my aid. In
the days gone by / had been so accus-
toned to carrying on long monologueS
within three feet OF the stage villain
and keeping accurate watch of the cue
at which he was to lay me unconscious
at his feet, while, to the audience, 1 APP
peared perfectly blind to his existence,
that at that trying time 1 was en-
abled to make all my observations and
silently kick the ugly brute who had
marked me as suspicious, without
drawing down upon my head anything
like doubtful scrutiny from the black,
restless eyes of my mysterious enter
tainer.
He gave me his name as Brown"
which was so glaringly commonplace
that l privately rejected it, and could
only be thankful that. in his preoccu-
patton. he paid no heed to mine. 1
seemed to be d medical man to him,
and nothing else. When / could make
no farther excuse for delay we went out
through a windy passage and began
mounting some stairs: scandalous, stairs
they were. too. crooked and steep. and
so badly lighted 7 came near raking
down my companion in a general crash
before l grew accustomed to the semi
darkness. He bore with me patiently.
however. We are dreadfully primitive
here he said. lightly. but as yet cleo
tricity has only climbed the mountains
in its natural state"
AS he spoke we reached an upper hall
where everything was in total darkness,
and when l paused, half expecting the
cold muzzle of a revolver to be clapped
against my head, he took me gently by
the arm and led me like some shamb-
ling dotard down it's winding length,
nor seemed to notice how ] dragged my
feet cautiously along the carpeted way
and dug my heels at each fresh turn,
so full was l of remembered tales of
yawning pits into which victims. such
as /, were made to fall. Some of these
pits had been lined with naked blades.
and / seemed to feel their sharp edges
spearing at my joints 1t was with a
gasp of relief I paused with my guide
at the extreme end of the passage.
where. after clicking sound which 1
could have sworn was the turning of a
key in the lock- he swung a door open
before me. and was gently pushed into
the apartment of my patient.
While l was downstairs in the pres