The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-10-24

Race for Gold
A New E~nglander's T~~~~s1~~~~~7
Adventures in Alaska~ Cap. J. u 3 ROBINSON
copyrighted 1885, " S. Mcclure Col
copyrighted 1898, by S. S. Mcclure Col

AN - SAtuS A13hls L NJ SUNS
to have his stuff, and if you want to
go back on me, I'll"
The rest of the sentence was indis-
ti~nguishable. The word Klondike had
naturally attracted Toms attention,
and he had involuntarily strained to
catch the mems conversation, but he
felt a sudden thrill of horror as he
realized the full import of VIA he had
just heard.
What could he do? That the men
were planning a robbery, If not a MUIR
der, was evident. He could not warn
the Intended victim. for he had no
means of finding or knowing him, and
to lose sight of the men to find an Of
fcer was out of the question. Then the
athletic young fellow set his teeth and
shrugged his broad shoulders. while
under his gloves a pair of hard fists
balled up i~nvoluntarily.
To some it might have occurred to
pay no attention to the matter, but
Tom Scott was of different caliber. 1t
was true that he had seen little of the
great world. but he was brave to a
fault, and nature had added a tall,
well-knit frame to this gift. He de-
termined to prevent the villains from
accomplishing their purpose if it lay
in his power, and had no doubt of his
ability to do so.
Fearful that the men might turf and
see him, he slackened his pace and al
lowed them to gain several yards on
him, keeping close to the buildings
himself and hoping each moment to
see an officer.
But none appeared, and soon the two
thugs turned into a dark, narrow al
leyway, which led to one Of the
w%harves, and were lost to view.
Tom was in a quandary. To venture
into the nI9c0 WAS To invite attack
from the villains, and he decided to
wait in a convenient doorway until the
intended victim came along or an Of
fcer SHOULD appear to whom he could
tell his story.
A few yards to the right he found a
sheltered recess in front Of a block,
and took up his station, keeping a
sharp lookout in the direction of the
saloon, where he naturally supposed
the man was enjoying himself. A short
distance away a street lamp shone dim
ly through the falling snow and threw
a broad band of light on the sidewalk,
across which no one could pass with
out being seen by him.
1t was a situation to try the stoutest
nerves. for Tom was unarmed, and the
man he was trying to save might be
intoxicated, while the two robbers
would surely be provided with all the
tools of their trade. A dozen schemes
flashed through his mind as he
crouched in the shadow, only to be dis
carded as useless. The time dragged
slowly enough, but his resolution did
not falter.
Suddenly a lark figure came stag
gerfng across the lighted space and
Toms heart gay a bound. Was this
his man? Would he have sense enough
to understand his danger?
No, the drunken sailor lurched heav-
lily along and turned up a side street a
short distance beyond the alleyway,
where the men were hidden.
Another and still another followed at
intervals, but none paused on their
way II Tom began to wonder if his
ears had not played him false. He was
beginning to Waver when a slight
c%runching noise at his left caused him
to u quickly in time to see the form
of a man disappear in the alleyway,
having approached from the opposite
direction While Tom was looking up the
| avenue.
What was to be done?
He stood for a moment with his heart
sbeating unanimously and every nerve
tingling. Then from the dark opening
came a muffed cry, followed by an
oath and the sound of a struggle.
Tom cast one quick look about him.
No one was in sight and the next in
slant he had pulled off his gloves and
darted up the passageWay at full
speed.
The darkness was intense for a short
distance, but after a few yards he
emerged into a small open space in the
midst Of which the three men were
writing and twisting in desperate
struggles. Tom was unable to distin-
guish from another, but "a he
reached the spot one man tore himself
free and shouted:
Help! Police! Stand back or I'll
shoot
The rest of his threat was drowned
by a heavy blow from a blackjack,
which knocked the weapon from his
hand.
Stop" cried Tom, springing toward
the assailant.
He was too late. for a second blow
stretched the stranger senseless and
bleeding on the snow, and with an
angry snarl the robber turned just as
Toms right fist shot out with tremen-
dous force.
Down Wen the man like a stricken
OK and Tom grappled with the other
with a shout Of triumph. His blood
was up, and, lifting his smaller oppo-
nent bodily from the ground, he shook
him as a mastiff would a terrier.
Hands off," painted the helpless
man, flercely. Course you, what are
0 trying to do?"
He was not long in doubt, for Tom
hurled him against the side Of a stone
building with UGH force that he fell
in an inert heap and lay E~lotionless.
0 turned to see what had become
of the taller man. but at that instant he
felt a sharp pain in his side and a
strong hand seized him by the throat
and bent him backwards, while a
hoarse voice Kissed in his ear:
Take that for your pains, o med
ding fool"
With a desperate effort he twisted
himself free from mis- assailant, spring
ing aside barely in time to escape an
other lunge Of the murderous knife he
had just felt.
Again the fellow lunged viciously at
him, but Tom caught his wrist, and a
desperate struggle ensued. Although
much the stronger man, Tom found it
no easy task to avoid the blade, and
the two swayed back and forth over the
snow, the mar trying to free his hand
for a decisive stroke, and Tom bending
all his efforts to prevent it. Soon, how
ever, his iron grip began to tell, and he
felt his eneny's muscles relax. Put
sr,0 ~ al - n