The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-01-18
dropped upon my sleeve with tight

cent, you are making yourself look all
the blacker by resisting"
saw there was reason in what the
man said, and agreed to go with him
quietly as soon as the woman's body
was taken care Of, but before this could
be done new aspect was put upon the
face of matters. The crowd which had
been rapidly collecting now surged
round us thickly. I had no idea that
such ravenous horde existed within
miles. They all seemed wet, squalid
and hungry. Their clothes were all
black, and above the solid barrier Of
clothes was an array OF white, sickly
faces. I had never seen such crowd; |
confess the aspect Of it frightened me.
Then shout arose, and thought
recognized the thin, cracked tones Of
the individual who called himself DR..
Fitzgerald.
.sHe's been numbering woman.
boys! Let's lynch him!'
The crowd sent up yell Of cruel ap-
proTal and surged forward. I saw the
white, haggard faces lit up with hate
and the last of revenge. The policeman,
without leaving go of my arm, drew
out truncheon with his spare hand
and backed up against the wall of the
houses. I went with him willingly
enough, for felt that in another mo-
pent / might have to fight for my life
with crew of wild human beasts.
AS regards the policeman, the crowd
was not i'll natured- The innate respect
which every Briton has for the law
showed itself even at this moment.
They jostled him certainly and tried to
separate him from his capture, but they
did not strike him and confined their
efforts to aiming blows at myself.
Weapons seemed to come into their
hands as If by magic-sticks, umbrella
handles and missiles Of all descriptions.
They even picked up garbage from the
road and threw that. The policeman,
with wooden courage, defended the
pair of US manfully. he was perfectly
cool and hit out with his truncheon in
ali directions, and from the remarks
with which his blows were received
gathered he did not hit lightly. For
myself I remained for some time on the
defensive only, but the shower Of blows
thickened, and the pain Of them mad
dened me. At last snatched bludgeon
from the hands of a great rufian, who
was most incessant in his attacks, and
set myself to work to hack and thrust
with all the frenzy Of ,nan who felt
that he was fighting for his life. How
it would have ended had we been LETT
there to fight it out there could be no
doubt. The crowd was overwhelming
in its numbers and was increasing every
moment. The foremost members Of ii,
with whom the pair Of US were engaged,
were getting furious under the pain OF
our blows and maddened with the lust
of battle. If either of Us had gone down,
he would not have risen again. In saw
age rage the mob would have trodden
and torn him out of all semblance to
humanity. But relief was at hand. Ny
captor's whistle had been heard. 1t had
been repeated down the beats, and half
dozen sturdy police were elbowing
their way through the crowd. Their ap-
proach was heralded by the querulous
complaints Of those whose feet were
trodden on and those whose ribs were
crushed. But the warcry Of the mob
was silenced. Until then the frantic
yells of "Lynch him-lynch him!"
were echoing high between the wet
walls of the houses.
'sCome now, get back, the lot OF
you,' said the foremost Of the newcom.
ers, and the crowd surged back invol-
unfairly. "Helio! What's this? A wom
an down and you've been trampling Oh
her? You brutesl'
The crowd surged back farther, but it
did not stand away from Us long. New
comers kept pouring in by regiments
from behind, and the news spread to
them, and once more the cry arose Of
"Lynch himp The police dragged the
woman's body to my feet and formed
round .nanfully. Though they were
strong men, yet they were mere hand
full compared with the teeming 6fties Of
the mob. Inch by inch they were beaten
back, struggling and gasping, and for
myself death had never loomed SO near.
But was not frightened then. 1 was
cool and collected, and, if the truth be
told, not half averse to death. What /
had seen during the last few minutes had
ao,J+ ~,oo =, chool, xrb;oh coor,ood 70 hova
soured my life. George Fenton had been
to me as brother, and now I knew him
to be brutal murderer.
But, as it happened, was not des-
tined to come by my end in that OBJ
scure street in Mayfair. The police
showed more powers of strategy than /
gave them credit for. One of them
forced open the door at our backs and
hastily lugged me in the passage be-.