Year: 1875

tentlOn Delng tnuS ulfeCtcu 10 MS eye,
now bothought me that had never seen
ono exactly like it--one capable Of being
so apparently open down to the soul while
concealing so much. 1t was of its guard
now the door was really open down to
the soul of the man, and | looked in at
the opening, and saw that the soul of that
man was a dark one. A nameless fear
came over me like an electric shock ; l
felt an electrical shudder of dread. No
wonder had not been able to read him
before; the man had been wearing an
impenctrable mask.


l had the key to the mystery, and to
him, and used it. He was Interested
in superstitions - he was superstitious
himself. Why2 Good men may be su-
perstitious bad men always are, because
they always carry hell of wild fancies
with them. Thus it was with this man,
as l could see by his eye, and made his
fancy work upon him. i told him stor-
los Of sorcery, witchcraft and magic, of
ghosts, hobgoblins and devils till ho be-
came pale with fear, broathed with COM
pressed lips, and trembled in spite of his
great nerve and skill.


If good men, as | have said, are some
times suporstitious, why, you ask, did |
think this man superstitious also First
l answer, because | had accidentally
thrown him off his guard and road his
soul; and secondly, because he was not
naturally nervous and credulous. Fear
could only arise from self convicted
knowledge Of past wicked decd. The
man was even then n criminal.


But let me hasten along to the denoue-
ment.


1t Glanced that no person was present
when this conversation occurred about
the superstitious fancics of men, and II,
soon as we were interrupted by the en-.
trance Of another customer my dark visi.
tor left somewhat abruptly. After that
he did come so often as he did before
and never removed the conversation thai
had so agitatedhim and never, in fact
entered into any other that he could pos.
sibly avoid. | kept my thoughts to my.
self, but made somo casual inquire.
about him, and learned that he had been
so fortunate as to secure a capital "lead, y
from which, with his partner, another
young man, he was taking out gold in
quantities that promised to enrich both,
and that both had the good will rnd es-
teom OF all who krow them.


One dark night, about three or -four
weeks after this, | was startled from my
sleep by wild, prolonged shrieks ol
"Murder !,murder help helpW


jumped, seized my revolver, and
darted out into the open air. The cries
and screams still continued, coming from
bend in the river about hundred yards
below. In minute | was joined by five
Others, all well armed, and together we
ran as hard as we could to tho place from
which the alarm proceeded. When we
arrived there at least thirty men were
collected in and around tho tent Of the
dark man | have been describing and he
it was who had given tho alarm. His
partner and companion had been robbed
and murdered, and he himself had beer
slightly cut across the face and gasheC
o1 the left arm, and he was all excite
ment, lamenting his dearest friend, anC
vowing vengeance against the assassin
1t was some time before we could get al
the particulars, and we then learned that
both had been sleeping side by side
when an unknown robber had crawlcd
under the light canvass, stabbed one &c
the heart, and taken large bag of golC
from under his hend. With this he wai
awoke and seized him, and had received
the wounds which had compelled him &c
relinquish his hold. Lights were brought
and there, sure enough, was tho bloody
confirmation Of all that had been related


| shall make no attempt to portray The
intense excitement, the wild rage and



occasioned. Every man felt that if the
assassin escaped without just punishment,
there would no longer be security for any
one in our hitherto quiet and peaceful
valley, and solemn oaths were taken to
hang the wretch upon the nearest tree.


A large reward was offered for his de-
lection, and every gambler that had been
seen about there was moro or less sus-
pected, and / believe that, had any man
been arrested on the folio wing day, he
would have been hung first and tried
afterwards. I said less than any, for
had my own suspicious, and | contrived
my plot in secret, and made confdant
Of no one.


The murdered young man was as de-
Gently buried as surrounding circum
stances would permit, and his companion,
my superstitious friend, grew more moody
with grief, and refused to work his ''lead"
any more and proposed selling off his
rocker and tools, and quitting the country
altogether. l think he would have gone
at once, only that told him it would not
look well to leave without an effort to
discover the murderer, as some people
might be malicious enough to say he
knew something Of the matter, and so get
him into trouble. lie turned very pale,
and declared he would stay year if he
thought by that means he could discover
the assassin Of his dear, dear friend.


On tho second afternoon following the
tragedy, almost every Individual in the
vicinity, the friend OF the murdered man
among the rest, assembled at my store at
my particular request. had told them
l had something 10 communicate con-