Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1902-10-03

eAAAA nv A'A1bh Ah1 @A1'A f'ShH 49,
controls ii. The moment has not yet
arrived In a few minutes. when the
Waterman will have left for his even
Ing meal, when the bank will be entire
ly deserted, he viii unlock the door.
and. threading the labyrinth Of pas
sages with which he Is SO familiar as
to very nearly be able TO traverse them
blindfolded. gain u courette. Once
there he Is absolutely certain of get
ting away without attracting attention.
But he must wait. He calls to mind
the Instructions of his accompllces;
the machinery is not to be started I'M
I'll the moment when his retreat is as
sured. Ten minutes will elapse between
the first click of the cloekwork and
the exploslon--bound 10 be a catastro-
phe so terrific that all trace of robbery
Will be obliterated. His share of the
plumber will be fortune in itself. He
has remembered the smallest details Of
the directions given and will adhere
to them strictly. To himself he says
that the most difficult part Is done. The
essential feature was TO penetrate the
place. Favored by circumstances, that
was accomplished. and his optimistic
mind can now conjecture nothing to
prevent the balance of the well-laid
plans being carried out.
His eyes fall on the brass cylinder
lying so lnoffensively on the table. 1t
will only be necessary to declench the
small spring that protrudes above the
lid and nothing short of a miracle can
prevent the blind mechanism from fin
ishing lts awful work. The fact has
been impressed upon his mind. There
will be crushing of a glass tube. and
then-a smile lights up his face, fore
seeing the ensuing excltement-the ter
ror-stricken mob--and he7 Ali he will
be already far away, with the fortune
In the servlette close beside him.
1nstinctlvely his hand seeks his
pocket to assure himself once more of
the presence of the key, that insignif-
cant but only channel between this sub
terranean chamber and the outside
world. A bagatelle, but it, and It
alone, will open the heavy door, a feat
of which none of his many tools is
capable. But the key Is there, safely
enough, within his reach; he feels it
under his tingers-thin, almost fragile,
but how powerful! By means of this
he will escape with the millions that
lie covered before him-the beautiful
millions that are TO make him rich and
bestow happiness and pleasure upon
him, causing the jealousy of some, the
esteem and regard of others; that are
to make a reality tomorrow, tonight,
now, of a thousand dreams.
He consuts his watch. The moment
of action has arrived 1t is. perhaps.
with more than a little nervousness
that he takes from his pocket the key
of freedom. fits 1t into the keyhole,
and then returns to the table. A mere
touch suffices to unfasten the sprlng
that controls the Internal machine. An
irregular clapping sound, which soon
resolves itself into the continuous graf
Ing Of the cog wheel. The action of
the thing reminds him of a mechanical
toy that he had once when a child.
Now he makes haste to escape
Standing before the door, the heavy
serviette within his reach. he turns
the key in the lock, but resistance
seems to arrest the movement of the
bolt He presses more heavily on the
key-it is yielding, but the key bends
A cold sweat on his forehead. he gent
ly, slowly tries to disengage the key
A hoarse cry strangles HINT has
broken in the lock!
He does not move, but stands fac
ing the impossible door, stunned. I'M
able to think, to understand Aud in
the silence two distinct sounds are per-
eeiyable-the beating of his heart with
in his breast and nearby ON the yable
the uninterrupted ticking of the clock
work
The man turns, his eyes large with
fear He sees the brass cylinder from
whence comes that regular sound and
the full comprehension of his fate
dawns upon him. \ look of terror
passes through his eyes To attempt
To stop the movement of the engine Is
out of question. The least jar would
simply hasten the explosion. OF this
he is absolutely certain The door re
mains. but lmpenetrable and, by pro
fess0n. he knows thai any attempt in
that direction is futile. He would cry
aloud, but a stupor paralyzes him. Be
sides, IL would avail him nothing. Now
he is condemned to die there. 10 die an
atroclous death that lie has himself
prepared No one could hear his call.
and II by any chance the faint echo
should attract some passerby il would
be impossible for any one TO reach
him. In few minutes all win be
over.
His eyes rest upon the serviet,c
wherein he has wrapped chat fortune
heneeforth useless lie notices the
strap, and remarks upon the bright
Hess Of the buckle. lie observes all
the surrounding details. Ills attention