Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-08-26

mountains. 1t was a death-warrant.
The bottom fell out of the boom and
Kalgoory died. Then Sir Robert
Broadley, the millionaire, bought
everything in sight, declared that
possible or impossible railway was
about to be, and Kalgoory came to
life.
Lord, how it did rain! l heard later
that over in Sydney they had been
praying for rain for one solid week.
1t came all right, but there was an err
ror in billing, for in Sydney they
never got a drop of it till goodness
knows how long later.
The inn which struck was no place
like home. 1t was only a cook-while-
you-wait shack for transients who
were better used and satisfied to do
their sleeping in the open. 1t was
kept by a half-caste-a fellow cast
halfway between human effort and
an ape-who had precious little va
riety in his larder and less in his vo-
cabulary. There were two more fugi-
tives from the injustice of the ele-
ments already established there. One
was young priest on his way to con-
tend with the flesh and the devil up
at Ka4goory, who gave his time to re-
ligious mutterings and paid little at
tention to the rest of us. But the
other was a paragon! a marvel of
good nature and of unlimited re-
sources. But for him there would
have been hardly an obituary left of
me by the end of three mortal days
and nights while the heavens stayed
wide open and we huddled in the leak
ing inn His other name was hard
to remember, so I called him the
Elixir of Life.
On my third afternoon at the inn,
the fourth day of the storm, it re-
ceived a knockout from the north
west. and the mud-plastered postman
stopped for a drink on his way-four
days later-to Kalgoory. The Elixir
and contributed bob apiece for an
ancient newspaper he had about him
and settled ourselves to read Many
a fresh Australian daily is dead loss
at a penny, but this was cheap at two
bob. It startled us from our stagna-
ton with a thunderbolt-the murder
of Str Robert Broadley, up at Kali
goory, four days before; telegraphed
to the coast and printed, then brought
back to us as vital news only a days
ride from where it happened. There
was no evidence of robbery except
that the assassin had cut off the little
finger of his victim, upon which he
was known to have worn unique and
beautiful diamond ring. The people
looked upon Sir Robert as their deliv-
the criminal a real American lynch
ing. spiced with aboriginal Australian
tortures, when they laid hands on
him. which was sure to be soon, for
the villain could not have got far
away. Every outlet from the noun
tains was now effectively guarded,
and a minute description was given of
g. stranger who had been seen follow
ing Sir Robert just before the deed
and since had disappeared.
My personal interest conferred in the
effect It would have upon the pro-
posed railway, and I was bordering 1t
when the outer door opened again
The storm was subsiding as rapidly
as 1t came, but the fellow who en-
tered had evidently been out in the
whole of it. He grunted kind of sal
utation and staggered to a rude bench
before the open fire, where he
dropped like dead log, calling to the
ape-faced landlord:
eli! you black devil! Whisky! A
joyful! Damn quick"