The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

: Febfunry = were NE from the ranch on, pth duty pe a round-up torn. Here strutk lucky at 'a whefte we went to wash up, for in he sand, we_found a deposit of gold ust. We promptly took possession of a deserted *miners' camp...in the neighborhood, -and Tom May and I, who. for a Jolg time' had been the best of chums, nsialled, ourselves in ane of the ald shes Although Tol shiek 1 had been good 'friendsin the past, we had not n gold seeking' long: before I dex cided to quit him, for he had be- come an habitual drunkard. Accor- dingly, after a few words, 1-went to a rickety hub near the stream and made it, as homelike as possible, heaving May in Possession of the firét "shack. I 'had' Spe os hard dagin: the washings; and wag rning hdfne, well satisfied Sony. siftings, when, J just .a8 1 § got to my door, I » the whole miation 6f the Little camp. rushing: toward my shack. T stood still waiting, won- dering what op earth Whe the mat- ter. They came on shouting, and when they were 'quite 'near one of . he foremsot caught sight of 'me at the. doar, "There he is!" he yelled." That's him! Bome oh -ye get round: $0 the back, or he'll give us the "slip. Come out like a man, you scoun- drel, and face the music!" "Shut up your jaw, Jini, and let me tell him what 'we want him for," interrupted' ancther man, then turning toward me, he said, sterd- ly, 'Ryan, 'you're accused of steal- ing "Tom May's bit o' dust, and there's men' Here who say they can prove'it. Now, be & man and own up Give 'Tom back his dust, and the boys' won't be #00 hard on ye. Buti yan don't; I'll not say as we won't give you a drop too much." «Twas utterly astounded bythe charge. Tom May and I hd lived comfortably" "together until: his ha- bit ol coming home drunk every night had caused a bitter quarrel between us; and then,. #s. related, we had separated. Tom' spill "lived in the hut, and I had gone to my present abode. I wus so astonished y the accusation that for a mom- ent I could not answer. My hesi- tation was, my undoing. Before 1 could recover myself IT found ' the half-drunken crowd surging: around me} 'and in Jess than a minute 1 was a prisoner in their hands. The leader of the mob shouted t6 those who held me to be gentle, as I was to be tried then and there. "After a' lob of 'confusion, every- 'body shouting: and nobody: listen] fhg, a man named Hafterty took a * stand on my barrow outside the e of i After he hen 8 in the until such 4 a time ¢8 Tom found. Bome: of the drunken Thirutés were for: an: immediate . execution, - but he. § o ruled' pin of order; end 1 wat scoordingly dragged to Ara unnely. is Fonly Ws. where, bound, thrown .a fe yards within ts foul depths. ey placed a 1; securely] | 'guard wat the entrance and' left] me, bound hand and foot, 1ying on my back on the damp floor. Out there Ba Colorado thers i is no twilight, -- and ly it hes came, dark as biboh 1 conld nob sléep, for the wrbtohes who had tied me 'up. 'had drawn the. ropes so tightly 'as, to -#top the' &irculstion fromemy knees down, and my hands with pain. ~My + head ached terribly; 1 felt as rR were going to burst. After a few hoiirs of this 'awful agony I became un: conscious, and 'when I came to my« golf I fancied I was .in & saloon| 'where they" were throwing dice, for I bould hear the rattle: *Good-heavens !" had almost es- 1eaped my lips, but my eyes just then' caught a sight that paralysed my 'tongue. iT had heard a rattle right enough; one of the mest dead- ly that ever. struék on' a human ear. It was the awful signal of the diamond rattlesnake. Coiled at my side, "with its ugly head, poised and its eyes shining like points of fire, was & full grown rattler. = Every 'Movement of its writhing coils gave rise to the &w- ful sound that had. roused 'me. As in a trance I watched the swaying | of its head, and wondered where it would strike; The © cords had numbed my body, but'I 'wondered if' the reptile' would notide the drop# sold sweat which dripped oft my ace. But here I was compelled t% turn: my starting eyes on the other side, for the same awful sound cane close $0 my ear. Then--horrors--I felt the cold, .loatheoinis. Jepile] Juove over my forehead, and ® y. length of its body drag its awful coils right across my face! In a moment the place was alive with sound ; I seemell.to be in a nest of the creatures. The sight was: so unnerving that I lost consciousness, and it isa mercy that it so hap- pened. When I again knew any- thing 'about the world it was day- Hight. The sound that had swaken- me was caused by the entrance door and managed $0 attract the at- | "fention of the mob by firing his re}; yolver in the air a few times. Then he started to give them some diree- tions in respect to 'the constitution of a Judge Lynch court. "You, O'Hagan, and you, Le- bass, take the men aside and choose | 10° twelve as a jury," he ordered. " "We'll give him a fair trial. In the meantime, let Thompson, Rey- nolds and May go into Ryan's shack ..and search for the dust. You, May, are a relative Tom' 8, 80 be care ful in your wor 1 was soon tied to a tree close by : omy door, and the ji oho- { first : ~sen, were only wai much Jess w ort was 'only too me for, as one fellow ine: muzzle of the citizen service, "which included ' Leeds, ended for the-time being at Gla Marshal spoke. to: nearly. twenty thou the importance of the the course of his speech springipal of the three: augirate a: refornr that: of these islands a. citizens tary "aystem, and the false confidence 'sapping the very Toundations of the r sources: of manly ene dence or British led covered it. arded th gon "who Bim. oper to soe the Spat. {What day you, citizens y prisoner gui § 'he De einded. With a mighty shout the ercwg answered, 'Guilty I" Buf the noise had ar proceeded: 00] all, boys, take tres yonder and finish him. Horners the sentence of this here court." oF Was more Sueroonis by the n of Tom's death than b ledge that 'my own life was for- feited. - But just here, for.sotme rea- 5 son or other, a halt was called in pered confab between the judge hie a few of the lenders, and the result was that 1 was back to the cave and placed in the same posi- tion. as: : Quietness seemed to have settled down on the. camp, for no sound save the tramp, tramp of my guard | disturbed the stillness of the place. 1 begged the sentry to take me out- side, telling him of exporishiof : with the snakes, but as stone, and would not listen to calf: lotisly, 'at will-be his-last at a Arsived at my hs 3 Salt" me hd dh or pris aio 34 x oi! me any hope. i 'e seem- ed to be as sullen desire on their part to in the work they had at heart--to hang me to the nearest tree. Present] Som sort of order w rough 0 not been' Jean a the a should "have fal i : : locked 2% to give | bis death, Sangible pra