The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-03

Hurd held up her head ana listened
The church clock tolled eight. She
knelt there, struck motionless by ter
ror-by recollection.
"'Oh! Jimr she said, under he1
breath-'my jim
! Marcella next interests herself IL
London hospital work, and becomes q
charity nurse. The scene described In
the following quotation is her FIRST
meeting with her former lover, Aldous
Raeburn.
"'It's q f1ghtr said Peabody. as the
crowd came up with them Listen!'
''Shrieks-of the most CHASTITY and
| piercing note. rang through the air.
The men and women who rushed past
the two strangers-hustling them, yet
| too excited to notice thcm-were all
making for house some ten or twelve
yards in front of them, to their left.
Aldous had turned white.
eft is a woman he said. after an
instant's listening, and it sounds like
murder. You go back for that police
/ man!
| And without another word he threw
/ himself on the crowd, forcing his way
through it by the help of arms and
| shoulders which in years gone by had
done good service for the Trinity eight.
Drink-sodden men and screaming
| women gave way before him. He found
himself at the door of the house, ham
mering upon it with two or three other
men who were there before him. The
noise from within was appalling-cries.
groans, uproar, all the sounds of a
deadly struggle proceeding apparently
on the second floor of the house. Then
came q heavy fall-then the sound of a
voice, different in quality and accent
from any that had gone before, crying
; piteously and as though IN exhaustion
-fRelpl'
almost at the same moment the
door which Aldous and his companions
were trying to force was burst open
from within, and three men seemed to
be shot out from the dark passage inside
two wrestling with the third, a wild
beast in human shape, maddened ap-
parently with drink, ana splsshed with
blood.
"'Ee's done for herr shouted one Of
the captors; AN for the sister, too!'
"'The sisterr shrieked woman be-
hind Aldous-'it's the nuss he means!
sor her 60 in when wor at my win
dow half an hour ago. Obi yer black
guard, you!'-and size would have
fallen upon the wretch In frenzy,
had not the bystanders caught hold Of
her.
"'Stand tackr cried q policeman.
Three Of them had come up at Pea
body's call. The man was instantly
secured, and the crowd pushed back.
"Aldrous was already upstairs.
"'Which roomT he asked of a group
Of women crying and covering on the
first landing-foY all sounds from
above had ceased.
"'Third floor 'front.' cried one Of
them. We all Of US begged and i'm
plored of that young person, sir, not to
60 a-near himl Didn't we, Betsy
didn't we, Dou?'
"Aldous ran up.
ZION the third floor the door Of the
front room was open. A woman lay
on the ground, apparently beaten to
death.
"By her side, torn. dishcveled and
Gasping, knelt Marcella Boyce. Two
or three other women were standing
by in helpless terror and curiosity.
Marcella was bending over the bleed
ing victim before her. Her own left
arm hung as though disabled by her
side; but with the right hand she was
doing her best to staunch some OF the
bleeding from the head. Her bag
stood open beside her, and one Of the
chattering women was handing her
what she asked for. The sight stamped
itself in lines Of horror on Raeburn's
heart
Gin such an exaltation Of nerve che
could be surprised at nothing. When
she saw Raeburn enter the room she
did not even start.
"'I think she said, as he stopped
down to her-speaking with pausss, as
though to get her breath-'he has
killed her. But there's a chance.
Are the-police there-and o stretch-r?'
1.-TWO constables entered as she
spoke, and the first Of them instantly
sent his companion back for stretch
er. Then noticing MarceIa's nursing
dress and cloak, he came up to her re-
spectfully.
Ibid you see 1t, miss?'
ell tried to separate them,' she
replied, still speaking with the same
difficulty, while she silently motioned
to Aldous, who was on the other side
of the unconscious and apparently dy-
ing woman, to help her with the band
age she was applying. But he was
such great-powerful brute
'Aldous, hating the clumsiness Of
his mans fingers, knelt down and tried
to help her. Her trembling hand,
touched, mingled with his.
"Isn't your arm hurt% said Aldous,
pointing to it.
Its not brohen-it's wrenched:
can't use it. There-that's all We can
do-till she gets-to hospital"
Then she stood up, pale and stag
gering, and asked the policeman IL he
could put on a bandagc The man had
got his ambulance certificate, and was
proud to say that he could. She took
a roll out of her bag, and quietly
pointed TO her arm. He did his best.
not without skill, and the deep line OF
pain furrowing her brow relaxed lit
tie. Then she sank down on the floor
again beside her patient, gazing at the
woman's married face-indeecribabl v
patient in its deep Inconsistencies
the gnarled and blood-stained hands,
with their wedding ring-st the TIKI
locks of torn gray hair-with tear.
that ran UNDECIDED down her cheeks
in passion of aneuished pity. which !
touched chord of memory in Rae- |