The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-06


They danced about like inhuman fiends.
and gazed with hungry, wolfsh eyes
into the debris, where they could
vaguely perceive their intended vic
Tins.
Kill the foreign devils!" they yell
ed. ''Off with their heads! Sha! shat"
With some difficulty Now Chang,
who was one of the party, allayed the
clamor.
Leave this to me-" he said in a per-
emptory tone, to his companions; and
Come out and surrender yourselves
and you shall not be harmed by my
ancestors / swear it. The fighting is
ended, and we will lead you 10 your
friends.
do you suppose we are such fools ?"
Alec replied 1--WE know you better
than that, you lying dog. We shall
stop where we are until our friends
come for u.s.
Seeing that his cunning ruse had
failed, Now Chang threw off the
mask
Go in and take the foreign devilsl"
he screamed foaming at the lips with
rage. Drag them forth! Slice them to
death by inches!"
There was brief period of inaction.
The capture of the fugitives promised
W NC hClbllcT d safe llOT OH easy ldSh,
and the matter was hastily discussed.
They've got us tight and fast"
Dan said bitterly. cts hard luck. And
Gasalee so near"
I'VE can give good account of
ourselves before be go under" Alec
replied through his clenched teeth,
land by heavens we'll do 1t, too. We
have ten shots between us-don't waste
one of them. Watch sharp! Here they
comet"
Like two grim snarling bulldogs the
lads waited, each with his revolver
gripped in his right hand. They had
cleanel the weapons and cartridges
after the wetting they received the
previous night and cleaned them effec-
lively as the result was to show.
The passage into the ruin narrowed
at the farther end, but was fairly wide
at the mouth. Three ugly visaged
Boxers began to crawl into 1t, two
abreast and one behind. Bang! went
Alec's revolver, and there was one foe
the less to contend with. Bang! bang!
Dan had fired twice, winging one OF
the surviving rufflans in the head and
pinking the other in the chest. Howl
ing with pain, the wounded man quick
ly dragged himself back, and was
hauled out of range by his comrades.
Two lay dead, a CHASTITY and repulsive
sight, within the cavernous jaws of
the burrow.
The powder smoke wreathed slowly
upward amid the jagged beams. The
Boxers, who had not looked for arm,
ed resistance, were paralyZed for
moment, and did not show themselves.
Then, after venting their fury in dia-
bolical yells, half a dozen Of the red
sashed miscreants, whose numbers had
increased, darted into the open and
LAT " THAR lauraS The long sttHa
weapons hurtled into the passage.
some lodging half way, while several
penetrated the timbers behind which
the lads timely screened themselves.
1t was their turn now, and the quick,
barking reports of the two revolvers
seemed to shake the whole mass OF
debris. One Boxer fell dead, and an,
other crawled away with bullet in
his thigh. The rest fed, but not I'M
til Now Chang, who had hitherto been
invisible, had exposed himself for
brief second. II was long enough for
a ball from Alec's revolver to lodge In
his left shoulder. and with a yell and
an oath he reeled out of sight.
II wish l had killed him." muttered
the lad. by Jove, Dan, do you know
there's really a chance for us, after all?
The advantage is on our side, and If
we can keep these devils at bay lit
tie longer, help may reach us from the
Legations or from the relief force"
Then we must be sparing of our am
munition," said Dan. How many
shots have you left?"
"Only one." Alec replied.
"And / have two. It's little enough
between u.s." He put an arm out and
secured a couple of the lances. These
will serve u.s." he said, when our re-
volvers are empty"
But the cheering ray of hope was of
brief duration; 1t vanished almost as
soon as IL was conceived. The Box
ers. now strangely silent, were not In
active. They were moving about brisk
ly, as was shown by waving shadows
on the sunlit surface of the street. and
of a sudden hoarse and triumphant
shouts arose. Then the Kissing crackle
of flames was heard, and little red
flashes leapt to view amid the tangled
beams to right and left of the mouth
of the burrow.
"They have fired the place." gasped
Alec. "God help usl"
'sThe fiendsl" cried Dan. "Can they
be cruel enough TO roast Us to death?"
The horror of the fate that threat
ened them, that seemed inevitable. held
the lads spellbound and speeches. A
minute passed. The flames ate deeper
into the dry timbers, constantly DART
ing forth their angry tongues In fresh
places. Thick. yellowish smoke poured
along the passage, hiding the Boxers,
who were yelling with delight outside.
"Im suffocatlngi" painted Dan.
$50 am L. Alec cried. 81 can't stand
this; give me the sword for preference.
Come on, Dan: we'll rush out and
tackle them. There's a ghost of
chance OF our getting through"
"Listeni" Dan interrupted eagerly.
whats that?"
TO BE CONTINUED.