The Washington herald., 1915-09-29
DAILY SHORT STORY.
VERA'S TRUSTEE.
By CLARIssA MACkIE.

spent money reckleSSiy. SO tndl WHEN
Henry Hendricks money vanished. to-.
gether with most of Vera's fortune, that
unfortunate gentleman promptly took
himself out of the world. leaving his
widow to open a fashionable boarding
house In the suburbs.
AS for Vera she had decided to go
West and claim possession OF the oid
Golden Eagle mine, which her father mad
left In trust for her. The Western trus-
tee was his old friend. Anthony Burgess,
and 1t was through Anthony Burgess
that Vera received the semi-annual divi-
dends which now constituted her sole in
come.
But. my dear child protested Mrs.
Hendrick tearfully, you can't go out
there alone, Why, you've never even
seen this Burgess man.
That he was fathers friend speaks
sufficiently in his favor, Aunt Emily,
and besides. I shall only stop in Eagle
City a short time. There is an excellent
hotel there"
Il am afraid to have you travel alone.
objected Mrs. Hendrick.
Nonsense: am 81. and father trusted
me thoroughly. You forget that I once
spent six weeks at Eagle City.
But your father was with you
Yes, Aunt Emily. but l shall get
there might be some business connected
with the mine that might learn-that I
might become a real business woman-
not a drone living on the income father
left me. l want to be useful
Have your own way, cn;ld." sighed
the widow plaintively. II can't say too
much, Vera. because my poor Henry
slipshod business methods lost your for
tune as well as our own. j told your
father not to make Henry your trustee.
As for the other trustee-have you ever
seen Mr.. BurgessT
He was in Mexico when father and
I were in Eagle City"
Il hope he is Trustworthy" was Mrs.
Hendricks final remark.
Eagle City basked In the warmth of an
Indian summer day. Vera loved the
fresh. sweet mountain air and the low
lying haze REDEEMED by the sun. There
was a lingering breath Of summer on the
land.
"Bursess?" repeated the lantern-jawed
stage driver as Vera made inquiries.
Anthony Burgess? Oh. he lives iover
beyond the mountain.
How shall reach his place."
stopping in the city,?
Yes: take me to the best hotei.
please"
aThat will be Mrs. Lizzie Smiths.
ma am To get to Burgess you'll have to
get a hoss. Can you ride?
"Oh, yes"
Then going will be easy. A good hoss
wifi take you and most anybody will
pint out the trail to the Golden Eagle. !
suppose you've heard of the lucky strike
thcre?"
No. Do you mean that they have dis
covered more gold?''
That's right. Struck the richest vein
ever found hereabouts. Seems it's faded
out in Burgess own mine. the Double
Eagle, and the lead has been uncovered
In the Golden Eagle. There's been a reg
ular stampede for these parts In the past
week"
"And the new discovery has made Mr..
Burgess poor?" asked Vera.
Almost He wasn't expecting it. you
see. ma'am. and he's been laying out a
lot of money OH his own mine; he's trus-
tee for some folks back East who own
the Golden Eagle. II he was anything
except the straightest man God ever
made he could help himself out of the
Golden Eagle and nobody would ever be
the WISER
Vera was thoughtful the rest Of the
day. She spent a restful night at the
Mrs. Smiths homelke hotel, and the
next day she hired horse to ride over
the mountain.
You'll not want to go alone, Money.
admonished Mrs Smith.
Vera displayed the little six-shooter
which her father had taught her to use
81 am not afraid" she laughed. and
rode away.
Down the street she met the stage
driver; he pulled In his steaming horses
and held up a warning hand.
Not going over the maintain alone.
are you?" he asked
Yes. I am not afraid" she assured
him.
There's likely to be rough characters
about" he warned her. It's pay day at
the Golden Eagle and there's rumor
that some of the Rio gang are going to
hold up the paymaster. You better wait
till tomorrow
But some one had better warn the
paymast protested Vera, horror
stricken at the thought of murder.
Burgess has been warned. but he ain
the kind to .heed such warning: he
don't know what fear is. doggone him."
And the stage rumbled on.
Vera followed the trail winding up
through the hills. She did not meet any
one, and although her surefooted pony
sometimes stopped and sniffed inquiringly
at the underbrush or heared up rocks
along the way. she could not guess that
the animal instinctively knew that there
were men lurking. ambushed. waiting for
the paymaster of the Golden Eagle.
At last she glimpsed n dark. evil face
as 1t disappeared behind rock. and she
was glad that she could command her
features so that the man could not guess
she had seen him.
She must so back along the way she
- "A M nf
the impending danger. Yet the men in
ambush must not know that she was sus-
picious.
She swung her pony about and hummed
q gay little tune as she rode down the
trail: she talked to the pony In bantering
accents
"Oh, Nicodemus Alexander" she
sighed. II could remain on this mountain
Gds all day and admire u vtsv. but