A STORY OF THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7080, 26 July 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

A STORY OF THE GOLDFIELDS.

tfWASalwiiya foodof the science ot physiogProo my youth up I was noted lor my prqslivity. for. reading the character of a iwn frotshis faoe; and Ifinally became suoh m adept«the art that I oould Oooasionally gtMs thsyny thoughts of the individual ffhose' oountenanoe I waa studying. Soon after thegefld fevsr brake oat I went to California; arid there, 1 most ooufess, among Kbit else there was to interest mer I "JJJ for exercising my skill upon all sorts offaoes, seen under all'sorts cf drgnm stances, bom the highest triumph of saooee* to the deepest despair of failure. I fink tried my luok at dining gold myself, bat soon tired of that ; and believing I oould XUkeinaney faster and with less labour, lopened a kind of grocery and provision shop, of my wares at a fair advance to tkti&iotci and othera.* My ahop oouilitw «f • rude skeleton of poles, with a suffinenoy oCoheap muslin drawn over them and pinned down to the earth, and was stocked only with the most saleable articles, of which flour,' pork, and whisky found the most rtady market, especially whisky. In the cLxy muoq it was very dusty f and every body aeemed to be dry with • thirst which mere water .would not quench. If a man wi auocessful he wanted whisky to bring his body up to the altitude of his spirits; it unooassfal. he wanted whisky to bring his spirits up to the altitude of his body ; if it cGdcedtobe a little cool, ho wanted whisky to warm Idm; he needed whisky in the morning to make him bright and active; he seeded whisky at night to rest him and make Wm sleep well; he wanted it when he bought and when he sold ; when he won and he lost; when he stood up and when he sat down; in short, whisky was the great regulator of all human feeling—the genuine elixir vita — and consequently I did an isniiiease business in whisky. .How though somewhat irrelevant, tsings me to my story. One day a man ' came in quietly, unobtrusivdy, purchased a quantity of flour, pork, and tea, paid for the aaffie in gold dost, and went about his business.' He repeated his visits, at different intervals, perhaps some half dozen times, before he attracted my attention to anything peculiar in his appearance, and then I should nave been at a lots to say what 1 saw more in him at last than I had at first. He was apparently about twenty-five years of age, of .medium height "and slender figure, ol a dark . complexion, regular features, with dark, straight hair, dark eyes, and a beard that covered the lower part of his faoe—in ■11 0 f w hioh there was nothing remarkable, nothing striking. He was quiet, not talkative, ' nothing to say except about the liminnss he came on, got what he wanted when I was disengaged, paid for what he got like a gentleman, and generally retired with-an ordinary "Good day," or some civility. And yet, as I have said, he began to attract my attention at last, and I began to wonder why. Was it because he wtes so quiet, reserved, and gentlemanly, and did not purchase whisky like the rest and occasionally get excited and boisterous? or was it because there was something about liim I could not really fathom? At all eveats,he had begun to interest me in some way; and the very fact, perhaps, that 1 cnud not tell how or why led me into a closer scrutiny, a deeper study of the man. One day, I scarcely knew how, I touched upon the general superstitions of mankind, and to my surprise I saw that at last he was intsrested.. pi« eye changed expression and brightened, and emitted a strange and gleam ; and my attention being thus Erected to his eye, I now bethought me that I.had never seen one exactly like it—one capable of being so apparently open down to the soul while concealing so much. It was off its'guard now; the door was really open down to the very soul of the man; and I looked in at that door, that opening, and •or: that the soul of that man was a dark coe. ' A nameless fear came over me; a ■tzangethrill passed through me, like an •iebtao shook; I felt an internal shndder of dread. No wonder I had not been able to nid-liim before ; the man had been wearing an impenetrable mask. I now had the key to the mystery and to him, and I nsed it. H» was'interested in superstitions—he was superstitious himself, why ? Good men may be superstitious ; bad men always are, .they carry a world of wild fancies with them. Thus it was with this man, as Iloonld see by Ids eye, and I made his fancies work npon him. I told him stories of aoroery, withoraft, and magic, of ghosts ytit hobgoblins,,till he became pale with fear, breathed with com pressed lips, and trembled in spite of Us great nerve and will. Bat let me »«♦-»" to the denouement. It tjhanoed that no other person was present when this conversation occurred about the superstitious fancies of men, and as soon as we were interrupted by the entrance of fyttwo customer my dark visitor left somewhat abruptly. After that he did not oome as often as before, and never seemed as 7»mwh at ease, and never renewed the conversation that had so agitated him, and nevexv in fact, entered into any other that he oould poeribly avoid. 1 kept my thoughts to myself, bat made some casual inquiries •bant him, and learned that he had been so fedrtfenataaa to secure a capital "lead/'from which, partner, another young man, ho was taking out gold in quantities that promised to enrich both, and that both' had the goodwill and esteem of all who knew them.

v .One dark sight, about three or four weeks after this, I was startled from my sleep by wild* prolongedshrieks and criea of "Murder I murder I help ! helpJ" I jumped up, a£xad my revolvers, and darted oat into the open air. The cries and screams still conturned, coming from a punt on the bend of the river about a hundred rods below. In a adnnte I waa joined by five others, all well armed, and together we ran as hard a* we could to the place from which the alarm ptoooeded. When we arrived there at least thirty men were collected in and around tbe t«t of the dark man I have been describing, and he -M™*'lf it waa who had Riven the r 1 -—" His partner and companion had been , murdered and robbed, and he himself had slightly cut across the face and gashed on the left arm, and he waa all excitement, lamenting his dearest friend, and vowing Ytnjgeanoe against the awsssin. It was some tin before we conld get at the particulars, and ithen we learned that both had been nfrMipiiig side by side, when an unknown robber crawled under the-light canvas, stubbed one to the heart, and taken a large tag of gold from under his head. With this ha waseacaping, whsn the present narrator awoke and —»«»»* him, and received the wounds which had compelled him to reimipitii his hold.

<1 shall make so attempt to ponrtray the inte&M - excitement, the wild rage and consternation, which this daring murder occasioned. Every man felt that, if the assassin •scaped without his just punishment, there wotud no longer be security .for anyone in our hitherto quiet and peaceful valley, and . efltf"" oaths were taken to hang the wretch, 'if found, upon the nearest tree. A large .. reward was offered for his detection, and ' every gambler that ever been- seen about then was more or less snspected; and I believe that, Jiad any man been arrested on the following day, he would hare been hang fink and tried afterward. • My superstitious friend new moody with gtleL - Be refused to work his " lead" any more!, and proposed selling off his rocker and todi, and quitting the country altogether. I think he would have gone "at once> only I told liim it would not look well to leave ttfthout an efiort to discover the murderer, as sbms 'peopls might be malicious enough to say he knew something of the matter, and ■0 get into trouble, lie tamed very pale, and declared he would stay a year u by that' he oonld disoover the assassin of bis dear, beloved friend. ; One day, about a week after the tragedy, almost every individual In tbe vicinity, the friend of the murdered man among the rest, assembled at my shop at my particular / wwpi—t. I had told them I had something - gk oommonicate concerning the fool deed, udthat I thought it not unlikely I might - give them some cine to the assassin." When •D *■««* collected and arranged themselves, as Iliad directed, in a semi-circle before my < door—eager, expectant, exoited—l came forward, holding in my hand an egg. Then I m»3» a short speech on the various superitAjoai of and I mentioned how . th* ghosts of their victims wonld often haant • their murderer*, compelling them to reveal thqir crimes; how land and sea had been iaurwnto giv* Up their awinl secrets; and how it hid been asserted that if the guilty vntoh were to plaoe his hand upon the body of thie man he had secretly alaio the wounds would Meed afresh. .•"And now, gentium en," I continued, "I BMo in my hand aa sure a test as any I have named. This simple egg, so fair to view, cWttftis the murderer's secret. Let him ; bat take it in UU hand, and the frail shell wtUahuablo to pieces nod show' to all tb ✓

it ii filled withthe blood of hit victim. You will excuse me, "gentlemen, for putting you all to'this'teat. We do not know each other's secrets—the murderer of the young man. may be amongst as; bat only the guilty need teer the trial—the innocent will surely pass,the ordeal unharmed." As I said 'this I fixed my gaze upon my dark' visitor,. my suspected man. I nerer saw a more wretched and ghastly oountenanoe, nor a greater- straggle in any living being to keep a calm and unmoved exterior. The egg be pan its round. Some took it gravely, some Jightly,. some toned slightly pale, and some laughed ont» right. Bat on ii went, and came nearer and nearer to the man for whom it was intended. I coold see that he was trembling—that his very lips were getting.white. "Itis your turn now," I said at length, in a oold, stern tone. " Mine I" he answered, with a ghastly attempt at a smile. " Why—why—should I—l take it ? Poor Wilson was my—my friend I"

"Prove so now 1" I said. " All eyes are upon you." lie glanced hurriedly around. All eyes were indeed upon him, and with looks of awakening suspicion. He made one despairisg effort to be calm, gulped bis breath like one choking, and seized the fatal «gg with trembling hands. • The next moment it was crushed to atoms, and his hands were wet and stained as if with human gore. A wild yell burst from the crowd. A wild shriek came from the lips of the jjuilty wretch, and falling, rather than sinking, down upon his knees, he cried out, " God of mercy, forgive me 1 I did kill him 1 I did kill him for hit gold I his gold 1 Ob, Qod of heaven, forgive " And how many before him ?" demanded I. in an authoritative voice. " Throe! three 1 Oh, God of love and mercy, forgivo ire!" There was another wild yoll—or rather howl or fury—a rush like wolves upon their prey, and the poor wretch was seized, almost torn limb from limb, and dragged furiously away. In less than ton minutes from his confesrioo ho was dsngling from a neighbouring tree—swinging by the neck. So died the murderer, whose name I have sappressod because he had many respectable friends who are still living. I will only add that, believing him to be guilty, I had previously prepared the egg, puttiug red colouring matter into it, expecting to see him crush it through bis superstitions fears of, "a supernatural discovery. They offered me the promised reward for the detection of the murderer, but this I declined. Justice was all I. sought, and this I had obtained.