The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-01-20
sven waited to learn the effect of his

even waited to learn the effect of his
shot. II was not until he came back
TO the open door that the miner
thought OF his companion. What had
become Of Jose? Could 1t he that the
Mexican was hit2 He entered. shrink
Ing from the task, yet resolute to learn
the truth. A black, shape!ess figure.
scarcely discernibls as q man, Law
huddled beneath the table. Westcott
bent over 1t, feeling for the heart and
turning face upward. There was no
visible mark of the bullet wound, but
the body was limp, the face CHASTITY i'm
the grotesque dance of the flames. The
assassin had not wasted his shot-Jose
Salvari would never see Mexico
again.
Westcott Strengthened the body out,
crossing the dead hands, and covered
the face with blanket stripped from
n bunk. The brief burst Of flame died
down, leaving the room in semi-darlz.
ness. The miner was conscious ONLY
of feeling of dull rage, a desire for
revenge. The shot had been clearly
intended for himself The killing of
Jose had been a mere accident. In all
probability the murderer had crept
away believing he had succeeded in his
purpose. If he had fingered long
enough to see anyone emerge from the
hut, he would naturally imagine the
survivor to be the Mexican. Good
This very confidence would tend to
throw the fellow Off his guard; he
would have no fear of Jose.
He reached beneath the blanket and
drew forth the dead Mexican's revol.
yer, slipped the weapon into his own
belt, opened the door and went out,
closing it tightly behind him. Jose
could lie there until morning. While
. the darkness lasted he had work to do.
His purpose settled, there was no hes.
itancy In his movements. His was the
code of the West; his methods those
OF the desert and the mountains, tho
code and method of fighting man.
A dim trail, rock Strcwn, led to the
spring, where 1t connected with an ore
road extending down the valley to
Haskell. Another trail across the spur
shortened the distance to the La Ros-
ita shafthouse. But Wcstcott chose to
follow none of these, lest he run into
suas ambuScade. Slowly and silently,
cautious to diSlOdge no rolling stone.
and keeping well concealed among tsc
rocks, he finally descended to the level
of the shaft, feeling confident that his
presence was not discovered.
He had no clearly defined plan, only
desire to learn exactly what was be-
ing done. The office beyond the shaft
was lighted, although the faint CLEAN
was only. dimly revealed along the
edge Of lowered curtains cOnccaling
the interior. However, this evidence
that some one was within served to
attract WCstcott's attention and he
crCpt around. under the shadow of the
dump, and approached the farther
corner. He could perceive now two
men on the hOiSting platform and hear
the groWl Of their voices, but without
being able to distinguish speech. Re-
volvcr in hand, he made the round Of
the building to assure himself that no
guard had been posted there, then
chose the window farthest away from
the shaft and endeavOred to look in.
The heavy green curtain extended to
the sill, but was slit in one corner
With his eye close to this slight open
ing he gained partial glimpse of the
interior. There were three men in the
room, and WcStcott drew II quick
breath OF surprise as he recognized the
two faces fronting him--Bill Lacy at
the desk, pipe in his mouth, his feet
elevated on convenient chair, and
in h, ,nly 4,
! apparently half asleep with his eyes
| closed. The third man was facing
Lncy, but concealed by the stove; he
| seemed to be doing the talking, and
| held q paper in his hand resembling q
map, Suddenly he rose to his feet and
! bent over the edge OF the desk, and
| WestcOtt knew him-Enright
Desperately determined to learD
, whai w.s being said, the miner thrus
| the heavy blade of his iackkn.fe be.
meath the ill-fitting window snSh ans
succeeded in noiselessly lifting it a
scarf half inch. He bent lower, the
speakers voice clearly audible
through the narrow opening. "There
was dead man back East, wasn't
there?'
| what difference does that make?"
"None, particularly, except to nat
urally increase the worth of my serv-
ices. I'm not squeamish about stiffs,
but / like to know what / am doing.
What are you holding On to this other
fellow for?"
Enright walked nervously across
the room, chewing at his cigar, only to
come back and face his questioner.
"Wcll. I suppose I might as well tell
YOU" he said almost savagely. you're
in too deep already to wiggle out. We
made rather a mess of 1t in New York
and only bit OF luck helped us
through. We had the plans ready for
three months but nothing occurred to
give us chance. Then all at once
Cavendish got his first telegram from
! Westcott and decided to pull out, not
| telling anyone where he was going. He