isappeared in some dark recess in among the houses on
one side. I continued on, taking care to keep in the middle of the
alley. As I approached the spot where the man had disappeared, I heard
several voices, and then the terrible truth flashed upon me that there
must be a gang of them. I now saw no alternative but to turn back and
run for my life. It was an inglorious thing to do, no doubt, but which
of you, my friends, would not have done the same thing?

[Illustration: GAMBLING SALOON.]

Scarcely had I started under full headway when three or four men
rushed out in pursuit. I will not attempt to disguise the fact that
the ground passed under my feet pretty rapidly; and the probability
is, the hostile party would have been distanced in less than ten
minutes but for an unfortunate accident. It was necessary to cross the
ruins already described. Here, in the recklessness of my flight, I
stumbled over a beam, and fell prostrate in a pile of ashes. Before I
could regain my feet the ruffians were upon me. While two of them held
my arms, the third clapped his dirty hand over my mouth, and in this
way they dragged me back into the alley. As soon as they had reached
the dark archway from which they had originally started, they knocked
at a door on one side. This was quickly opened, and I was thrust into
a large room, dimly lighted with rude lamps of grease hung upon the
walls. When they first got hold of me, I confess the sensation was not
pleasant. What would the Emperor Alexander say when he heard that a
citizen of California had been murdered in this cold-blooded manner?
My next thought was, in what terms would this sad affair be noticed in
the columns of the Sacramento _Union_? Would it not be regarded by the
editor as an unprovoked disaster inflicted upon society? My fears,
however, were somewhat dispelled upon looking around the saloon into
which I had been so strangely introduced. Several tables were ranged
along the walls, at each of which sat a group of the most
horrible-looking savages that probably ever were seen out of jail--the
very dregs and offscourings of Moscow. Their faces were mostly covered
with coarse, greasy beards, reaching half way down their bodies; some
wore dirty blue or gray blouses, tied around the waist with ropes, or
fastened with leather belts; others, long blue coats, reaching nearly
to their feet; and all, or nearly all, had caps on their heads, and
great heavy boots reaching up to their kn