Year: 1872

protested that ne chad just as soon
wait for Hank as not. bsU


It was a monstrous lie, of course;
he never knew my precious Harry,
whom he dared to call "Hank," and
he had come here to rob the house,
to carry off my best dresses and Har-
ry's silver goblet, given to him by a
grateful patient who mover. paid his
bill. Was he burglar; or an es-
capped Iunatic; or wicked murderer,
going about to kill people and burn
down their houses, just to make a
sensation IN the newspapers? I
could not tell; but as I gave up all
hopes of coaxing him out of the
house, I kindly thought of batting
him with cake and wine while stole
up stairs, rolled up my silk dresses
and escaped by the back door, to in
tercept the children and Nora, and
alarm the neighbors up on Decatur
street. But there was my husbands
precious goblet, on which my agon
lied gaze rested whenever I turned it
away from the horrible fascination
of the gentleman from Reno.


He was plainly a cunning man,
and was playing with me as a cat
plays with a mouse. He talked
long and loud of the wonders of
Reno, of its growth, its glories, its
brilliant future and. it's present great
ness. "Why, marm," said he, ''four
months ago there wasn't a stick nor
a stake to show where even the rail
road was going to run. Not a plank
was set up nor lot run out-but
to-day there's q big town doing nigh
on to five hundred thousand dollars
worth OF trade, and lots are going off
Ike hot cakes; you can't get around
for the teams there is In the streets;
goods sell for eighty-fye per cent.
profit, and last week we had quite a
peart race, a ball at the FL Dorado,
four runaways, tolerable lively
shooting scrape, a new paper started
and four funerals !" Il. - Il


To this catalogue of attractions I
listened mechanically, knowing full
we'll that the dreadful man was ma
king up everything ne said-amusing
me with fabrications and playing on
my ignorance. I had heard Of such
q place as Reno, but I had not been
able to keep track of the new towns
which spring up along the line of the
Pacific Railroad, and really could
not say whether Reno was in Cali
fornia or Utah. But here was a
red faced man, sunburnt and with q
sticking-plaster on his lip, who said
he was q citizen of Reno! Where
was Reno? Was there any such
place ? Was he not a base impostor,
pretending to know my husband in
order to ingratiate himself into my
esteem before he set fire to the house
and carried off my Bismarck silk
dress and our best China? Oh |
would NOrah never come? And
when would Harry be at home


No Sister Ann, of Blue Beard
story, ever gazed more aHxiously
from the top Of tower for the com
ing of the avenging brothers, than I
watched tor the return of that Norah.
She came at length, and seemed an
angel of light as she tOiled through
the sand, dragging one child by 9th
or hand, while third clung fast to
her skirts in the rear. at last I had
compapiouship in my terrors; but /
found Norah no assistance, for as
soon us | communicated to her the
dreadful intelligence, and she had
gained through the crack of the door
one peep of the monster sitting on
my rubby plush sofa, she threw her
apron over her head, and, rocking
herself to and fro, exclaimed, "Wir-
rah, wirrah, now, what will become
of the poor children ?"


l had great difficulty In keeping
her still and restraining her from de-
parting by the back door with her
prayer-book, Sunday bonnet, best
boots and five hundred dollar United
States bond, which she had sewed up
in her mattress. She finally quieted
somewhat and agreed to get supper
though lamenting that she had not
a dose of poison to put in q biscuit
for the gentleman from Reno. Norah
was more skeptical than I, even, in
regard to the town from which our
unwelcome visitor professed to have
come. "Rayno! Rayno p she ex-
claimed Indignantly, Does think tc
play the like of us for a Josh Z
There's no such place as Rayno IN al
Caiforny, shure, unless it's some
dirthy hole that's lived in by the
haythen Chinee."


When 1 returned to the parlor ]
found little Minnie perched upon
the monsters knee, telling I don't
know what about the wealth of jew
els and silver her mamma had; while
the others, older and wiser, stood
off at a discreet distance, and eyed
The mysterious stranger suspicious
ly. He pressed his patched lips, on
the peachy cheeks of my darling
child IN a way that made me quivel
with honest Indignation; I knew he
was playing on my maternal weak
ness, and when he hypocritical )
forced n little drop of moisture into
the corner of his eye, he probably
thought that he had, as Nora phrased
| it, played me for a Josh. But ]
was not to be deceived, and sweeping
/ the children away from him, waited
and watched for my husband
return.


The gentleman from Reno was
not to be kept from the children
and actually succeeded in sedueine


Harry TO his side by displaying al
enormously heavy gold watch


which 1 noticed he carried IN hi
trousers pocket with only strap o


buckskin attached to It. Harry


be declared, Favored his father


nightly; hal Just such pug moss