Pittston Gazette

              B8TABUSHK1) IHRO- VoUXUII. NO.rf- I Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2,1892. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. I 91.BO PKR A-VX-XJM I IN ADVAXtE, suspicions. After a steady look the man returned the whisper with: was stored in the bottom of the wagon and every one felt exultant aud good natural. run tairty mues waa covereti oelore sundown came and they went into camp on tbo bank of the river. COPYRIGHT BV AMtRtCAN PRESS ASSOCIATION, 1892 ICONTlNCED.j chaptSs* xxn. in retreating from him tiie outlaw kicked against Bob. who sprang up in ularm with a curse, and in a minute tintwo others were awake. The one who was tiD relieve the sentinel made readv lo go out, liut before he left, the outlaw leader said. sun uad dashed away over the earth as men lly for their lives. * it belong to? The wreckage of the sen belongs to the tinder. So witli the wreckage of the plaius. E ISJ POSED UPON. ness. tsoioeiiow at inglir, as 1 look up into the quiet sky ami try to coant tlie stars through the roof aud endeavor to ljelieve that all inen are good, even architects, and I ask for strength so that 1 inaj' do ever what is right, no matter how disagreeable it is, aud that I may never break over the rule established years ago not to do anything whatever that my mother would disapprove of, sometimes even going so far as to telegraph her before taking a glass of wine, unless I am very, very thirsty indeed—I sometimes while I lie thus (that is, while I thus lie) in the nighttime, with my hot temples bathed in the cool moonlight like the temples of Jerusalem, it conies over me that possibly these people are conversing with me through their hats! Oh, can it be that I, who, while other men are putting their arms lovingly about the taper waist of the beloved voter, go about myself from house to house comforting the disfranchised wife and sister and daughter, sometimes for days and days—I who would protect even a poor cur from its persecutors (he who has never had a dog instinct, or been tainted with the blood of the dog famil y in any way, let him cast the first stoneJ)— that I, I say, shonld be thus moneyed with by distant strangers who propose to elevate society and scandalize the stage gives me a dull neck pain which it is hard to describe. Perhaps this prune grower is a widower. If so he may be in earnest, for it has been truly said that the life of a widower is like that of a baby—the first six months ho does nothing but weep; the second he begins to sit up, look around and take notice, and it is mighty hard to get him through the second year. But let us pass on. I was in New York for a week not long ago on metropolitan business—collecting some of my unearned increment —and took occasion to visit the chiropodist. He was a very busy man, and has outside the door on the street one of those large, ghastly marble feet as a sign, and clambering over it are rank growths of hardy Indian corns, with here and there the bulb of a bunion. Closing my eyes till I got past it, I went up stairs to the ingrowing nail parlors, and was waited on by one of those polite, highly refined people who lead the conversation away so that one almost forgets that he has a hole in his sock which he had forgotten. The day was rainy, and hastily paying my bill I put on my new gray mackintosh in the hall and went down the street to where I was going to have a two hundred dollar battle scene painted while I waited. All the way down I met people who seemed to recognize me by my well known features, and it is indeed a comfort to know that one is known. I can see now why it is that people commit the most hideous and sickening crimes so that they may be noted and recognized. At the art works it was so too. People got through their business and still seemed reluctant about going away. "It's an infernal redskin creeping up to make sure that we are'still here! It'* a part of the same band we saw four days ego, aud they suspect we are hidden away in some of the canyons! Every man but Taylor, lit could not fail to notice that he was regarded as an interloper. From the hour of finding the cave the renegades made every effort to render his position so disagreeable that he would take liis departure, but he refused to go. He was a determined and persistent man, and had they known him better they would have held him iu fear instead of contempt. He had smothered his anger and affected not to hear the remarks flung out for his benefit, and he had worked as hard as any one iu bringing down and storing away the gold. While Taylor was watering the horses Bob said to his companions: Night has come ligai.i oa the great expanse. A dozen n ilei to the east of the spot where the dead still lie in their Btiffnesa the figure of a man rises from the earth as the dews of heaven fall. It is bard to tell whether it is the face of a man or some wild Injaat. The eyes are sunken, the lips drawn, the cheeks like those of one who has hungered for a week. He peers this way and that—he skulks and crouches—he indulges in strange ar.d mysterious gestures. The wagons were moved to the other side of the grove and the gold hunters went into camp. If the newly added treasure was to be taken away it must bo drawu by the horses which had hauled it thus far and were now hardly able to keep their feet. It would take a week to recruit them for the long pull to the fort. The camp was therefore made as comfortable as possible, the treasure examined piece by piece and its value estimated, and when this task had been accomplished even tho sweet, sad face of the orphaned Lizzie carried a smile. "Being as we are between the fort and that camp of soldiers, it don't stand to sense that we shall meet any hostile*. Tharfore let us git shet of that feller tonight. We'll draw lota to see who fires a bullet into him us he sleeps." HYMEN'S ALTAR, SAYS HE, HAS BEEN DESECRATED. "Pass the word to every man to lie low for his life and make 110 move until he gets the word! That fellow Will corno rigut in among us." "Some one deserves a clubbing for turning us out in the middle of the night. One of you briug out that jug of whisky." All knew that Taylor was to be killed as he slept. All saw that he was alive and nuharmeJ, and that some blunder had occurred. But there was no opportunity for explanations. One of the men quickly brought the jug and a cup, and beginning with the leader each poured down a stiff drink. letter from H Sweet Slxteener Who Re- plied to an Inquiry from One Who And later on, as Taylor sat by him self, ha meditated: Wanted a Wife—In She Sincere?—Nye CHAPTER XXIII. Visits a (hiropodi»t, "I believe the route will be safe from this on. I'll dose that jug within an hour, and before noon tomorrow I'll drive off and leave four corpses behind for the wolves!" tf'opy right, iwe. by Edgar \V. Nye.] Souie weeks ago I incautiously printed a low, plaintive wail from a prune grower in Oregon who wanted a wife. He had a prune vineyard of acres, and was, oh! so lonely that I took pity - him and printed "the wail without ley and without price, so that some tig heart, lonely and pining, soaring "Phew! But we have struck a cave of the dead!" exclaimed Joe, who was arrest the opening as the stone fell out. "All dead! All dead! The gold is mine—ha! ha.! ha!" A rank, musty odor issued from the Care and drove the three men down the canyon a distance of a hundred feet and kept them sneeeing and coughing for a quarter of an hour. Daring this time the captain prepared n couple of torches, and by and by they advanced to find the odor no longer perceptible. The captain pushed his torch into the dark opening for a look at the interior of the cave, and after a moment he drew back and said: On the evening before they were to leave Taylor determined to settle matters one way or the other, anil ho took opportunity to ask: "Revenge is mine and 1 will repay 6aith the Lord." CHAPTER XXV Taylor had his pipe alight and not one of the quurtet addressed him nor ottered him any of the liquor. It is Taylor, and he is a raving lunatic—a madman whose very soul is being shriveled by the awful tire within. Let us leave him to God, himself and the darkness. When the sun comes up again its rays will not soften the pallor of another dead face. There are gaunt, fierce wolves here—threat wild eyed beasts who are following at his heels and urging each other to make the first attack. I have written ranch of adventure and very little of love. Some of my readers may have been disappointed on that score. There is love among the castaways floating on a raft in inidocean. There i3 love beneath the white topped wagon of the immigrant slowly trailing across plain and prairie—in the gold hunters' camp, surrounded by perils and alarms. But it is a silent love, born of heroism, self sac ce and true merit, and it is not demo-, -tive. It waits for safety and civilization to betray itself. A month after Joe and his companions rode into that death cauip I met most of them in Denver. They had come safely through all perils, their treasure had reached the mint to be valued and paid for in coin gold, and there had been one marriage—Joe and Bess. A month later there was to be another equally satisfactory to all parties  Harkins and Lizzie. From their own lips I learned the story and have given it to you. If Chere was not enough love in it to satisfy the sentimentalists, blame them for concealing tha fact from your most obedient servant. inofi lovi: "Has it been decided yet which route we are to take?" IT "**■ "Now, keep yer eyes open," sa.d Bob to the sentinel, "and we'll turn iCi agin and go to sleep." CHAPTER XXyi The ocean has its thrilling mysteries and awful tragedies, and the plains and prairies have theirs as well. "Certainly," replied Bob. "Which is it?" "Look yere, stranger," exclaimed Bob, as ho filed up, "has any of this crowd axed fur your advice?" "I haven't pretended to advise. As one of the party, and es having a fifth interest in the treasure, I am naturally interested in knowing which route we are to travel by." "We have got a find here, but there will be some disagreeable work about it. The cave is heaped with bodies of tfte dead." One of the outlaws walked off in the darkness to stand sentry for the next two hours, and the other i\ut men laid dowu to sleep again, wwia taking his place as before. In two minutes the camp was as silent as thf grave, and the specter of murder whtea came out of the gloom and hovered over the recumbent forms was seen by ao mortal eye. CHAPTER XXVLL J- • - "Whar did you git an interest in this gold?" demanded Bob. -words were true. It was a chamber sixteen or eighteen feet square and ten or twelve feet high, and it was solidly packed with a grayish mass. That mass was the shriveled and mummified bodies of the lost race—dead men, women and •children who had been laid away for perhaps two or three centuries. "Well, we have had our labor for our pains," said Harkins as he stepped back. "AnC* we don't want to discover any more caves," added Joe with a tinge of bitterness. The others looked in to find that his lie rises to hts feci. There are times when tbo tiger is off his guard. "As one of the discoverers." "Hnmpht Look yere, stranger, yon want to go slow! You forced yourself into this crowd, and it's for us to say whether you stay or go. We uon't want to turn a man out here to lose his ha'r, but if ho talks too sassy he'll hev to go. When we get out o' this we may feel like remembering you fur the little you've done, and we may not. We mafee no promises. Understand, however, that you have no claims on the treasure—not the slightest." There is never an hour when the Indian of tho plains is free from suspicion. In his waking hours each rock or tree or hillock may conceal an enemy. When he sleeps it is to waken at the croak of a frog or the chirp of a cricket, suspicious that the sounds were made by enemies closing in upon him. He did It tfulckly and deftly. At the end of five minutes a wolf's long drawn, faraway howl was heard, and a shiver passed oyer the listening sentinel as the lonesomo sounds reached his cars. There was a warning in that howl—a menace, a wail—which whispered of tragedy. It was long past dark when 6upper had been eaten. That the outlaws meditated some evil was clear to Taylor from their demeanor. He had been repeatedly snubbed and insulted during the day, but now that they had arranged their plan to kill him they greeted him with a hearty good will. The Indian is a hypocrite and a dissembler. If he suspects that an enemy is hidden in a strong position he will pass it carelessly by to return by stealth and wait and watch. Taylor heard it as well, and he grew pale and held his breath. He had braced himself to carry out a part, but he was fearful that his nerve might give way before the end was reached. The vultures numbered hundreds. *?«**?+* It waa not a coincidence that Captain Burton's party, wheu ready to leave the valley, should head in the same direction as that pursued by the outlaws. It was simply the sarno line of reasoning. The influx of gold seekers would naturually mass the Indians on the western border to oppose them, and it was reasoned that the route to Fort Sully wonld be unopposed. In going out of the valley, however, each party took a different route, and it waa not until the gold seekers arrived at the forte of the Cheyenne a*Dd the soldiers' encampment that they knew the outlaws had passed on before ari only two days ahead. "If they followed the rule in burying these dead we shall find a fortune in "They mean murder!" he said to himself as he looked from oue to another, and it occurred to him that they must |iave planned to kill him while he slept. He, Jjoweyer, returned joke for joke and laugh for laugh, and to have seen the five sitting about the campfire one would have thought them the truest friends. THE END. Taylor ground his teeth in rage. He had staked all and was likely to lose all. The thought maddened him, and had he not been a cool and calculating villain he would have forced a climaC then and there, which must havo cost him his life. He maintained silence for a few minutes, and then said: Dismissed. her#," raid the captain as he braced his °rhree or foar days had passed siDce the Indian band disappeared down the ▼alley, and it liad seemingly goho away satisfied that the train had escaped. Bnt the warriors were not satisfied. They wera mystified, but not satisfied. They had returned to play hypocrite and dissembler. They had gone into camp as part of the plan. They had waited for night—as another part of it. Ten minutes passed—twelve—fifteen— twenty. A lady with a long train to her dress was walking along the street when an old colored mau stepped on her traiu with both feet, tearing it badly. The lady was very angry, and had the old man arrested for being disorderly. THE PHOTOGRAPH. torch against a rock. «an discover." He filtered the opening, throat hi* band iuto the mass of dnat, worked it \ about for a moment, and then backed "Let's Bee what I only to a moderate heighj and flying one sided for lack of some one to lore, might plume its pinions for Oregon, where it and the great big, warn, bulbous heart of the prune grower conld nestle together under the giant coniferous trees and trailing arbutus and prune vines of that glorious Aidenn. It was time the powerful poison should begin to act. Taylor was watching and listening One or the men moved and groaned- - oat holding in his fingers an anklet weighing at least four ounces. He rubbed the metal briskly on his sleeve, And lo! the shine of gold caught every "Well, boys, I meant no harm, and ] hope no one has any hard feelings. You'd have found the cave without me, of course, and you own the team. I'm satisfied you will do the fair thing by me when we get through, and so let's say no more about it," "1 don't calkerlate we shall even see an lejuu on this trip," said the outlaw leader, as lie finally knocked the ashes from his pipe, "but in course we can't be sure of it. We must tharfore poet a sentry, as usual. Say, Taylor, 1 hope ye ar' feel in good na tared?" "Say! Are any of you awakef* called Taylor as he sat up. "I've got terrible pains, and 1 can't keep still any longer." "What has the prisoner been guilty of?" asked the j ridge. "He waa disorderly, your honor." "Who is the complaining witness?" "Here, your honor," and a lady was brought forward and regnlarly sworn. She told with much asperity how the old man at the bar bad stepped on the train of her dress, tearing it, and when he saw the damage he had done, instead of apologizing, he had tried to get away. "Who represents the prisoner?" Many replies came, and many throbs of real affection, showing that through the influence of the press fond hearts severed by the sad alchemy of circumstances may be soldered together. Borne contained photographs—not beautiful, but earnest; not recently taken perhaps, but showing the coiffure of the time when our country was being jerked hither west and crooked by a fratricidal strife, aud woman's hair seemed to have entered' largely into that conflict—the days when "rats'' were worn inside to give the hair a missive and rank appearance.«ye! "Worth at least seventy-five dollars,'" said the captain as he held it up, "and there ought to be bushels of them in there. Take it with you to camp and give 'em the news, and send np two of the men with shovels. Everything in there has got to be thrown out." So will it be a century hence. The dust of those who live today will be treated as earthly clay in the search for wealth. At the end of the third day there was a council of the wagonmen. The  had yielded an amount beyond the wildest guess. It had been cleared of the last shovel of dust, and every ornament and relic had been carried to the camp. Each member of the party would have thousands of dollars, and the council was called to determine what next step should be taken. The unanimous decision was that the party should make its way back to civilization as soon as possible.  Since the Indians passed down the "So have 1," replied one of the men as he sat up. White men would have advanced in a body toward the month of the canyon, or at least sent skirmishers forward to investigate. The Indian is a human cat. He creeps upon his prey- Three ininutea later the others were aroused, groaning and cursing, and the sentinel came staggering iu to gasp oat "I had ra: her have them ahead than behind," Baid the captain when he heard the news. "If they can get through we ought to bo able to." "I don't like it," answered Joe with a shake of thy head. "They were a desperate lot VC»fore Taylor joined them, and you know how ho feels toward us. I believe they have come this way to ambush as, and from this on we can't keep our eyes open too wide." "That's sensible," replied Bob, and the matter was dropped. "Oli, yes." wins "Didn't know bat I riled ye back tliar at the old camp. 1 wasn't feelin well when ye jumped on me about the gold. We sheer and sheer alike, in course. Yon get a fifth." "Do something for me or I'm a dead maul" by cunning and stealth Taylor wandered away from the camp a short distance, apparently to gather firowood, but really to giya vent to his feelings by communing with himself. "T»D11 Joe to come down here!" whispered the captain to the man at Lis side after watching the ceejning figure a few minutes longer. From the way he acted one wonld have '.hought Taylor the worst off of all. He groaned, gasped, writhed, twisted, but he had companv. The outlaws rolled about on the earth like wounded dogs,and, curiously enough, none ot them suspected the cause of their illness. The jug wan brought and each drank again, hoping the fiery whisky would ease the paint of what they believed to be colic. It was only after one of the men had fallen in spasms, foaming at the month and tear ing at tho earth with his fingers, that Bobsnddeuly shouted: The old man was brought forward, a mild mannered old fellow, wearing spectacles and looking the embodiment of good natured dignity. "He pleads his own cause." "The fools!" he hissed when a safe distance away. "Not one of them will ever leave the plains except that some one carries his dead body awayl They don't know me. They think I'm a cur to be kicked or petted at pleasure, but they are tiifling with a demon. They think to beat me out of my share, but I'll take all—every ounce!" '•But as you have the team, and as yon are four to one in case we are attacked, I shall be satisfied with less than that," replied Taylor. The man quietly disappeared, and Joe was at the captain's elbow. "Do yon see anything on the ground in line with my finger and perhaps two hundred feet away?" a9lced the captain. "Well, you jest sot your own figgers and it will bo all right," continued Bob. •Now, then, let's get to sleep." "It's dis way, jedge, concernin dis lady. Here's a s'posable case: S'pose I walk along de street wid my coat tails spread out on de sidewalk, two, free feet, as proud as a peacock, neber lookin behint, and dat lady come an jes' plant her two dear little sweet bits of feet on dat coat tail, you t'ink I .join to make a fuss an get dat nice lady 'rested? You t'ink so, jedge?" "That's true," added Harkins. "Taylor knew what we were after, and through him all the others know. 1 think they played spy on us and discovered that we had struck the treasure. They dared not attack us in tho valley, as we wonld be on our guard, but I shall be greatly disappointed if Ihey do not show their hands before our second day down the river is over." Some have the marks of teara on them, as they might if they had been -wept over either before or after being returned by some one. "I do," replied Joe after a minnte. "An Indian is creeping along to turn the end of the barricade and come into the canyon!" Taylor went to the wagon after his blankets. He had planned just what to do, and he did it quickly and deftly. Had the men been watching him he would not have been detected. He removed the cork from the jug, emptied the {K)i8on from bis bottle therein, gave the jug a few shakes, and returned to the fire humming a jolly air and evidently in good spirits. The outlaw selected to stand the first watch took his station under the cottomvoods a hunitred feet away, the blazing brands were scattered and in fifteen minutes the four men wrapped in their blankets appeared to be buried in slumber. Three of them perhaps were, but Taylor was never so wide awake in his life. His life never before depended on it. He noticed that the three outlaws lay down close tog el her, leaving him alone and several feet away, and he figured it out: aarp he says, counting the stars, ' *kDn®* I tried to look unconscious, and yet ook into the None of them "does j writer." I quote from elev ters to show how we are beii. upon by the photographer, artist has been very gross mo in the picture he has do women so often say tin lo they pile up maledictions of the photographer beef looked like a typhoid id.D ment the picture was taken? know. With all the gre&' things I know, and the o of last year still on hand. that. And as soon as he had left the fire the outlaws drew closer together and Bob said: •Tll stake my life on it!" "Snre?" "By heavens, men! but 1 believe we have all been poisoned." "How—who by?" shrieked one of hi* companions. Word was passed for every man to fall back to the wagon, and after a brief consultation between tho captain and Joe one took position to the right and the other to the left of the entrance, but fifty feet back. If tho Indian scout penetrated thuD far lie must pass between them, and his retreat would be cut off. "We'd better shoot him tonight as he sleeps. He's bound to trouble us." "I think," said tho complaining witness at this moment, "that I have made a mistake. If the case is dismissed, I will pay the costs." "No—wait," replied one of the others. "We've got a long pull boforo us, with plenty of redskins in the way. He's plucky and a good shot. When we don't need him any longer somebody's rifle can go off by accident and we'll leave his bones for the wolves to pick." It was settled that way, and when Taylor returned each the men had a word for him, as if to 6how they hold no grudge. The party remained in camp with the soldiers only one night, and as in the case of the outlaws the contents of the wagons were not suspected. They were looked upon us one of the hundred unsuccessful expeditions already returning disgusted from the diggings. They were given three cheers by the soldiers as they moved out, and camp had been placed only a few miles behind when a vigilant outlook was maintained for the outlaws. Three times during the day, when the party was obliged to pass locations where a foe could lie in ambush, scouts were Bent ahead to make sure that no trap had been set for them. Their pace was not so rapid as that of the outlaws, and it was noon of tho second day lDefore they approached the scene of the tragedy brought about by Taylor. "By—by this infernal cur, if anybody. and I'll have his life!" valley not a redskin had been seen, and it was hoped the way out was safe and clear. It was a long and dangerous journey across the plains, but if attacked the little band must make the best defense possible. It was a peril that must be encountered in any event, and there was just a chance that the train might be left unmolested. The men were feeling exultant over th ;-ir good luck and the hope of a safe jour- Bob pointed at Taylor, who was apparently in convulsions, and then stooped for one of the nfies. As he did so he fell forward upon the earth with a terrible curse, amd 'laylo?«prang«pand ran away into the darkness. He did not dare go far, and yet it was horrible for him to linger within hearing. The case was dismissed.—Macon Telegraph.A I'uzzle. Now came a silence so profound that it was positively painful. The grimness of midnight in a city is broken by footsteps—the barking of dogs—the whistle of a locomotive. On the open plains the chirp of crickets never ceases while darkness lasts, and that very sonnd has kept lost men and women from going crazy under th* great mental strain. The sound connected them with civilization and safety. Possibly it is for the sam» a man tries to peer into the smelling barrel of a gun. lias ever returned to tell -tlmt. He just sits up there breqnin of a violet tinted with shrimp pink—the cloud, i the man—and With a knowing puts a new E string in his v "Find out for yourself like seriously, why should we barrel of a gun when we know we cannot see anything? The night passed without alarm, and at the first sign of day all were up and making ready for a start. When a hasty breakfast had been eaten and the team hitched up Taylor learned for the first time that tne outlaws were going to attempt to push through to Foit Sully. They had canvassed the matter aud concluded that tliis route would iCe »ufe*t. The iupour of gold seekers was more from the west, and the Indians would naturally gather on that frontier. And by following the Cheyenne river they would be sur? of wood, water and grass the entire journey. Strong men who die by poiaon die hard. It is an awful end. The crunch ing, hiding, trembling murderer heard them rise and stagger and fall; they raved and wept: they prayed and cursed: in their awful agonies they attacked each other and struggled in death. The night bird was driveu away by the cries and shrieks, and the wolf who sat listening and wondering was finally forced to flight by the wails and curses. "Worth at least aeoentyflve dollars." "They have arranged to kill me, and it will be when the sentry is changed. When he comes iu to wake the Qther man np he is to do the deed. 1 must b«- wide awake and prepared for him." Bnt in the grim and gloomy canyon there was no sound. The horses, which had been led to the extreme end, peered about them and shivered with fear. The men lying down about the wagon felt a weight upon them. If there were crickets in the grass they were silent. waa a little ill at ease. I tul.l thj iaau to please hurry np and paint my two hundred dollar picture, as I had to catch a train. He did the best he could, but seemed to be thinking of something else all the time. And now came night and solitude on the plain. Man who have not experienced it can have but a taint understanding of its weirdness—its awful solemnity—the fear that creeps into the heart of the wakeful listener and un nerves him. W hile yet two or three miles away the scout, who was riding in advance, halted and waited for the others to come op. The Big Cheyenne, wiping its way through prairie and plain, has seen the 6un rise on many scenes of horror, but on none worse than that portrayed in the camp of the outlaws. Four men lay dead and stiff beside the little heap of ashes aud blackened brands marking the site of the campfire. Some lay on their backs, their open eyes gazing into the bine vaults of heaven; others were face down, their limbs drawn up and their fingers dug into the soil. I give one reply from Baltimore, with photograph, partly because I have mislaid the address of the prone grower, and hope he may see this and take courage. Notice that her countenance "What is it?" asked the captain as all had closed up. "Lookl" If man wants to find a greater punishment for criminals than the dark cells of state prisons, let him turn to the canyon. No prisoner chained to a rock in the gloom and silence and darkness would keep his mind a week. The very silence would torture him until he would cry out to heaven for mercy, and the sound of his own voice would terrify him to insanity. Yon have seen, no doubt, % sad faced man walking slowly up and down Broadway falsely laboring under the impression that he was thinking. He wears, rain or shine, a light rubber overcoat, on the back of which is the sign of a well known chiropodist and the figure of a knobby foot, with gladioluses growing on It. Once ftarted, the outlaws foi pushing ahead at a rapid pace, and by noon they had cleared the foothills and were on the open plains. During the day each one of the four made a special effort to be pleasant to Taylor, but he was not to be hoodwinked by tl.eir hypocrisy. They had showed their hand in camp, and he was satisfied that he was to be counted out He felt t*«o. that they were hatching mon C- pCai N get rid of him before th* journey v. •D ended, and his ohnr1:'. was fiendish • his fingers lovi"~:. caressed the bottof poison he - 1 I in his pocket. Chee-wee! Chee-wcet Cbee-wee! Hovering over the grove straight ahead was a cloud of buzzards. What their presence signified every man knew. changes with every emotion, which is a good thing, especially in her case: It is only the voice of the tree toad bnt it makes every nerve tingle and the breath come shorter. The notes broke in on a silence as profound as the grave; they cease and the silence which returns is appalling. Baltimore, Oct. 80. Mr Dear Mb. Nyb—After reading your letter of Sunday, asking for a wife for the prime grower, think perhaps I may be eligible. Inclosed you will find my photograph. ney when the lookout at the mouth of the canyon, whose services had never for a moment been dispensed with, sent an alarm into camp that something was "They are low down," whispered the captain. "Hmnph! I wish Maud would not write that rectangular hand. I can't make out whether she rejects or accepts me."—Harper's Bazar. "Whioh means death," replied Joe. "While they are waiting for a wounded man or horse to die they sail high." I think I may with all modeety assert that it by no means does me justice, so please make allowances for my complexion, which is strictly of pre-Raphaelite tints. My hair, too, cannot be judged, as it is Potteresque In hue. My expression changes with every emotion. The look of agony is not duo ta a broken heart or misplaced affections, merely to the relic of barbarism with which the photographer incased my head. You may add to the P. G. that this elaborate costuming is not habitual. When the photo, was made had an idea of going on the stage to elevate society and scandalize the etage. Since giving up that determination have relapsed into elegant simplicity. If the P. O. demands a pedigree, can trace mine back to t he reign of Charlamange. Besides inheriting a pedigree, have an antique gold buckle set with amethyst, a set of pearls and two silver spoons, besides a silver souvenir spoon donated by a friend of the family. Am scarcely old wrong. In five minutes every man was at the barricade or wall. Opposite the mouth of the canyon, across the narrow valley, was a fine spring. A single Indian had come galloping up to dismount, but five minutes later a band of at least forty arrived and prepared to camp. The ponies were unsaddled, two or three fires kindlsd, and it was evident the redskins had gone into camp for the night. The captain, Joe and two or three other plainsmen drew aside for consultation, out it was a brief one. "It's just one chance in a hundred that they may overlook us," said the captain. '•The horses must be led as far up the canyon as we can get them, the fire put out and no man must close his eyes tonight.'" The horses were at once led away, the fixe smothered, and a quarter of an hour after the Indians arrived the canyon was plunged in midnight darkness and seemed to contain no living thing. The white covers had been removed from the wagons and carried up the rift, and one standing twenty feet away could Hot distinguish the vehicles. Joe and Harkins were ordered to remain with the wagons as protection to the girls, while the others took places along the embankment, and thus the nigbt came on. The captain and Joe had not been deceived. It was an Indian creeping toward the mouth of the canyon. Step! Step! Step! X D Well, that was the coat I had worn down town while the man was gone away to Delnionico's for his lunch. It is only the footfalls of a timid rab bit yards away, but they reach the strained ears with terrible distinctness and make the perspiration start from every pore. "The other party has beeu attacked and wiped oat, 1 fear." Creep! Creepl Creep! Out of Her Line. So a tiger creeps up to within striking distance of a man. So a cat creeps to within striking distance of a bird. The sharpest ear could detect no sound. The shadows of evening conld not have crept more noiselessly. "Can't be otherwise. There's certain to be a sight there which the women should not txj permitted to gaze upon. Some of us had beat ride ahead and see what can be done." "Mrs. Bloomfield pretends to be very wise," said Mrs. Manchester to Mrs. Bellefield, "but her ignorance oil some matters is truly surprising." "Is it?" mere was muraer in every heart, out God's sun shone clear and blight over all as the party pressed forward to make the first day's distance as long as possible. Not an Indian was seen during the day, and the outlaws were iu good spirits when night closed down and they went into camp on the banks of a rivulet carrying its waters toward the Cheyenne.Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! The listener almost cries out as he starts up. it is a harmless snake making his way through the dry grass, but the sound miglit have signaled au Indian creeping into camp to do bloody work. Joe, Harkins and a third man were dispatched on the errand, and they found it one to try their nerves. When they had approached close enough to get a view of the camp thoy knew it to be the camp of the outlaws, for there were the horses and wagon. The vultures numbered hundreds, and while a part of them were running apout on ttie ground, Others sailed slowly about in short circles and hesitated to alight. "Yes. She admitted to me yesterday that she knew nothing of 'The Song of Solomcn,'" He Made a Motion. Now the human cat has reached the end of the barricade. Now he turns into the mouth of the canyon. Now he advances up the ccntcr. It is so dark in the rift that he cannot see his hand when held at arm's length. Instinct guides him. A rock lies in his path. He knows this before he sees it. He creeps up and carefully passes his hand over it. If the white men came in there with their wagons they might have moved the stone. President of the Carpet Beating C1t mdly)—DiCl anybody inaik a motion' C-But she never did lay claim to know n\uch about vocal music, did she'/"— Pittsburg Chronicle. He-wich! He-wich! He-wichI it is only the note of a queer, wee bud which flits at night over those vast solitudes, but it has made hundreds of brave men shiver with alarm. When it came time, to post sentries Taylor volunteered to take the first watch. Ho wanted to be by himself, that he might think and plan, but his offer was brusquely refused and one of the outlaws posted. This was proof that they distrusted him, but he took no notice of the slight. When wrapped in his blanket he gritted his teeth with rage and whispered to himself: A Long: Chase. enough to uiarry, being just sixteen. Please reply at once, with photo, of yonr friend. I would not risk an ugly man, for I fear my beauty is not qnlte sufficient to take us iu the Four Hundred. "I am so pleased," said young Airs. Warble to her perspiring husband, "that you succeeded at last in matching that pattern! Don't you think the design is wonderfully chaste?'' An hour has gone bv iu the camp on the Big Cheyenne. #he sentinel does not close liis eyes, but feeling quite secure from danger he leans agaiust a tree and gives himself up to his thoughts. Taylor has a thousand wild thoughts— H score of plans—a longing to have time hurry up and bring the worst. "Look at the horses!" exclaimed Joe. Another stipulation: Should like the marriage to take place at once, and must go on a tour. Suppose you would not object to having us spend our honeymoon with you and MrD. Xye. The animals had been staked out on ground furnishing scant pasturage at best For three days they had had neither food nor water, and as Joo spoke they were making tremendous efforts to break their lariats or pull the iron pins from the ground. No, they-did not. He creeps to another and another. They have not been disturbed. He sniffs at the air. If there was the least fire he would discover it. He lies with his ear to the ground. The •tamp of a )«orse half a mile away would have been detected. "I should say so," replied Warble. "I ran all over town after it."—Smith & Gray's Monthly. Taylor leaned against a tree lor support. You may ftlao add that my accompliahmants nre many ami varlad, and shall nut demand fectprocacy. (Probably reciprocity is intended Quieu babe:) And as the first beam of tbe golden sun touched the dead, Taylor crept down to gaze upon his work. He came trembling and afraid. His face was ghastly pale, his teeth clicked together and his limbs could hardly support him as he walked. His own brother could not have identified him, so great was the facial change. He did not want to approach—he dreaded the sight which would meet his gaze, but some mysterious power forced him along. A wolf comes skulking over tho earth to sniff and smell and growl and wonthe sentinel ueither sees nor Overlooked the Bait. litre. "One insult more or less does not count. I'll stand by to mock them when they writhe and thirst and scream out in their agony, and before they are dead they shall see me drive off with the treasure." Clara (fishing for a compliment)—This is your fonrth dance with me. Why don't yon dance with some of the other girls? With regarJs to yon and Mrs. Xye (as I «lo not want to make any woman jealous), anCl besfing thu tavorof an early reply,am sincerely yours, Anna Roberta Die Kestrik. "There are dead men there!" whispered Harkins, with pale face, "but tho buzzards are afraid of the horses." Creep! Creep! Creep! heal Now he is within sixty feet of the wagons, now it ia fifty, now forty. Tht slightest cough—a sleeper's change of position, a woman's sighing as she dreamed—would reach his ear. lie heard nothing. Not a stone has been disturbed—not a wheel print cau he find as he passes. For ten long minutes the red man listens with ears strained to catch the slightest sound. Silence—nothing but biience. The wee night bird ceases its notes and alights 011 a branch over the sentinel's head and looks down upon him with curious eyes. The trio moved forward. They were greeted with whinnies of welcome from the suffering horses, but for two or three minutes they had eyes only for the bodies of the dead. But for the clothing on them it would have been hard to identify them as human beings. Charlie—Well, the fact is 1 dance so badly that I hate to ask tliem.—New York Herald. The question now arises iu my mind, Ought I to unite two people like these or be even in any way instrumental perhaps in the union of two lives that may be the origin of a race which in future years will have to be protected by the game laws of Oregon? (• . , •• V  Eb'nezer Newsuit—Yes, dey did! Diyer Jobnsing just made a motion ;Dt xne wif a razzer, an I'd laik him pitt outeu b*abt—Truth. There was no alarm during the night® and before sundown the next day the party reached the forks of the Cheyenne, where the soldiers were in camp. Before entering the camp Bob cautioned each man to preserve the strictest secresv regarding their adventures and the contents of the wagon, and camp was made about a quarter of a mile from the tents of the soldiers. The Indians were on the warpath, but they seemed to have not the slightest suspicion of the presence of the train. They could plainly be heard singing, laughing and talking, and a few of them acted as if they were hilarious with whisky. A rattlesnake which has beeu in hiding under a brush heap on the bank of the stream now comes forth and races swiftly past the rear end of the wagon to another hiding place. Tailor—Your suit is already, sir, and now there is nothing for me to do but to make out the bill. A Great Deal More. "Revenge is mine and I will repay saith the Lord." A Contrast. "There are only four, and neither of them is Taylor," said Joe as he rode around the bodies. ''There are no arrows here, no empty shells, no signs of a fight with the Indians. Let us ride through the grove and see if we can find the key to this mystery." rtir De u n om lue to cnucise or even Dpiuo slightingly of one who has been oom plain, and who has added to it in after years, for I know a truly good mali who carried the tiospel up the Congo river and showed the among other things, how much better is a good man and just than a naughty man who has used tobacco to excess all his life, was once mistaken and almost killed by a gorilla for his rival, and who had also sought in marriage the hand of a chestnut gorillaess with two rows of teeth. So we must not be too critical regarding people's looks, especially if one's face changes with every emotion. An amusing story is told of old Dr. 'Emmons, a clergyman who was equally famed for the extreme neatness of his person and for his carelessness in regard to his "establisment." The awful solitude affects the horse* as much as the meu. They have laid themselves down to sleep, but they are uneasy and wakeful. Their ears work back and forth. Their eyes are strained to pierce thd gloom, and nothing keeps them down but the fear of breaking in on the solitude if they should get up. They softly scent the air. One would say they had a feeling that some awful tragedy was at hand. The fate which the outlaws meted out to the poor gold seekers had recoiled on their own heads, but there was ytt another to be punished. Taylor leaned against a tree for support and surveyed the bodies lying before him. Ho had planned this. There was the wagonthere wae the gold—there the horses. Ho had but to drag the corpses to the bank of the stream and roll them in, and then harness up and move off. The Big Cheyenne would not yield up the corpses for days, and if found who could tell how they died or discover their identity? The route was clear of Indians, and he could tell a plausible story to account for his possession of so much treasure. He had invented a story and gone over it in Retail fifty times. Travers—Yes, there is. You've got to collect the money.—Clothier and Furnisher."All we're got to do is to keep quiet," whispered one of the men to the captain.Now he is satisfied. He rises to his feet and walks back to the barricade, turns to the left and holds straight for the camp on the opposite side without a pause. He is satisfied at last. He find.", every warridr awake and alert for an alarm. In ai few words he makes his report to the chief, and in ten minutes more the band is flitting down the valley so quietly that their departure is not suspected. The outlaws kept a sharp outlook 011 Taylor for awhile, as if fearful that he meant to betray them, but their suspicions did him injustice. He had other plans, and they were plans to bo carried out after the encampment had been left behind. A Dirge He started one day to "exchange" with a brother whose reputation was, so to ■peak, the complement of his own. Tho two divines met on the road, about half way, and stopped to indulge in a fraternal chat. Dr. Emmons' horse looked •s if he had never known the touch of a currycomb; the dust of bygone days whitened his old chaise, and several seedy haystalks dangled conspicuously from the top and sides. At fate I may not gruinlil^ I hung on quite persistently, But now I'll take a tuiuLie." — Wtthuicgton Star. Thi autumn leaf exclaimed: "Ah me! "I don't know. Those Indians are They scattered and hunted for further evidence, but they found none. Taylor, living or dead, could not be traced. acting a part. I think they have some plan in their heads. If some of them are not crawling this way before midnight I shall be greatly mistaken." ' At ten o'clock the campfires of the Indians had burned low and all was quiet pn that side of the valley. The men in the mouth of the canyon crouched behind rocks and logs, and the darkness was so dense that the keenest pair of eye* could not see a yard distant. One looking over the barrier into the valley could aee a hundred feet quite distinctly, as the night w«KD starlight and the trees cast no shadow them. fileven o'clock found everything quiet. A quarter of an hour later, as the captain raised his head for a keen looli around him, it seemed to him that the darkness of earth was blackened at a spot not over fifty feet away. A spot ol black paint or an inkstand stands out in . relief- A htlmnn flffnnt ilromwrl in V»1 a/»1» will stand out in relief against the gloom of midnight. Was he mistaken? Did the object move? Was there an object to begin with? He touched the man nearest ttw shaoMer and whispered bis too much off their guard. They are "Here's his rifle," said Harkins as he dismounted and picked up a gun lying by itself on the ground. Stranger—Don't talk to me about Absl Pooh! To lift 200 pounds is nothing at atf! Just look at these muscles! I'll bet any money that I can stop a train with my right hand! The Strongest Man. The outlaw leader was the only one who went into camp and reported, and when he returned he brought something with him which made Taylor's heart beat with delight. It was a two gallon jug of whisky Nvhich*he had purchased from a gold seeker's outfit stopping, on the other side of the encampment for the nizlit. Two hours passed away '♦Time must be most up," whispered the outlaw sentinel as he finally straightened up and looked about him. "And it has not been discharged," added Joe as he inspected it "These dead men are his work, and the fact that he did not drive away with the team proves that something happened him. Let us relieve the horses and then get these horrible objects out of sight." Morning chines and the men in the canyon are filled with astonishment and Satisfaction. They could not know what the scout would report, and not nn eye had closed in sleep during the night. Regular Customer—Thunder and turf I Then you must be a professional athlete!We would be glad, however, to see these young hearts at our place should they seem to txj drawn toward each other. Our latchstring is always hanging outward and waving in the breeie. especially for the young. Love's young dream is not interfered with at our house. The old minister himself, however, faultlessly neat from head to foot, was a shining figure in the dingy equipage. "The trial must lw close at hand!" whispered Taylor as he noted the action of the sentinel. Not a single hair lay "agee" in the glistening coat of the other minister's steed, and the Bunlight glistened on the polished cover and wheels of his chaise, bat his own person and dress had been neglected. In the language of today he wonkl be described as "seedy." "Now for breakfast and then we will be off," said the captain after satisfying himself that the enemy had departed. Ten minutes later the outlaw walked softly back to the sleepers. \Vhf ji he reached the bodies of his friends he laid fijs ritle on the ground, drew his knife and had made two steps toward Taylor when the latter suddenly sat up. yawned, looked about him in a sleepy way and then discovered the sentinel and said: Cornel AH are dead I Dispose of the corpses. The treasure is yours. When the remainder of the party came up not an evidence of the tragedy existed, but the story told them by those who had drawn the corpses to the rjvei and floated them off wa;i shocking enough without the presence of the dead. The horses had been reduced to skeletons, and it was a full hour before their thirst was sufficiently satisfied 'to permit thein to enjoy the fresh green grass at the other side of the grove. Stranger—No, an engiue driver 1— Taulicbe Rundschau. '•That perfects my plans!" boclmckled as Bob cauie in with the jng, "and they are doomed men!" But the man clung to the tree in a dazed sort of a way. A look of terror crept into his eyes, never to leave them again, and he moaned in distress as he looked over the camp. The horses whinnied for water and a change to new feeding ground, but he heeded them not. When Biblical Language Easily Fiona. An hour later every wagon was ready to move and the train passed d°v-'n the valley a couple of miles, crossed over into the smnller valley in which Taylor had encamped the day he was driven out, and I leave them for a time, as they push ahead to find a route through t.ViA fnnthill® t/D nlftina £ach outlaw was told to help himself, but Taylor was not invited. This was another slight, deliberately intended, and was a further proof that the quartet considered him an interloper. It was a long distance yet to Port Sully, with danger menacing every mile of it, and but for this fact Taylor would have been driven out of camp. Five rifles were better than four in a brush with the redskins.Even the minister when ho sits down Dn the adhesive fly papta1 thinks that ihere are times.when-it is. best to be ilone.—Somerville Journal. We also try to adjust ourselves to the mental caliber of those who are oui guests. We talk brightly of art, science, literature, politics, religion or crime, and readily strike the gait of those who are under our roof. We aim to please in every way, and though we can be as simple as Simple Simpson the Sockless we often give our guests of an evening such strong, rich mental food that they suffer all night with intellectual heartburn.Unaware of this fact, he gazed at Dr. Emmons' turnout with increasing disapproval. As he was about to drive on ha llred this parting Bhot at his friend: "Brother Emmons, I should think you would be ashamed of your horse." Drawing the Line. "Oh, it's 3*ou, eh? I dreamed that one of the horses was walking over me. Everything quiet?" The sun climbed higher and higher, but he did not move. A full hour ht»d passed when he suddenly broke forth in a mocking laugh, and this seemed to give him physical strength. He threw up his hands, shouted meaningless words, and turned and fled as if pursued by demons. Half a mile away he hid beneath the bushes, but not for long. Even the most punctilious person loesnt object to a house built on sand it it happens to be a cottage at a seaside resort.—Washington Star. CHAPTER XXIV. Three days after discovering the cave of gold the outlaw band was ready to break camp and head for civilization. The contents of the cavo had been weighed and estimated, and the sum in dollars and cents was beyond their wild•st sxpectations. The precious metal "Yesl" stammered the would be murderer, who ejcjiected to strike his victim as he slept. The next surprise came when one of the men investigated the contents of the outlaws' wagon and found the treasure which had been responsible for so many crimes. While it was known that the men were hunting for the cave of gold, the idea that they had found it &OTRDt WJjom did "And I, my dear brother," was the quick response of Dr. Emmons, "should almost think your horse would be ashamed of you!" Too Much. The outlaw party moved ou to the east at an early hour next morning, and as the traveling was good and nothing occurred to inowwpt fftplr ptogytssB a "Well, 1 think I'll turn out and have a smoke," said Taylor, aud suiting the action to the words he flung off his blanket, arose and began to fill his DiDe. Bat there never was a strife Among the girls to capture him. For he ate pte with his knife. —Chicajfo Inter Ocean. He had wealth that was unlimited. But, alas! I fear that both the letter from Oregon and that from Baltimore are merely idle attempts to enlist me in a cftuse in which there is no real earnest- After which interchange of shots tho two old friends parted in perfect good hu*nor.—Youth's Companion.