Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-11
CHAPTER yx1.
woMAN.s wILEs.

CHAPTER XXI
wOMAN.S WILES.
IS sT5ook sharp. CRIED the blackbearded
s acoundre,. who mad feigned illness. Give
I'm settler. AIRY. He wants his nerves
caln,tn' a bit!'.
saw that one OF the men who had sprung
from his place of concealmeot was pour
ing some iiauid from bottle upon
eporge caught Whit Of Its odor-an
odor familiar enough to me-the sckly
Fmell Of chiorofor1n.
Fortunately am pretty athletic and
with sudden wrench freed my wrists
from the rIftians grip. and hitting: him
one from the shoulder right between the
eyes. sent him spinning back against the
: chest Of drawers. To act swiftly was my
only chance. If once they succeeded In
pressing that sponge TO my nostriis and
holding II there then all would be over:
for by their appearance saw they were
criminals and not men to stick at trifies.
They meant to murder me.
AS I sent down the man who, had
slammed illness his two companions dash
ed towards me with .mprecahons upon
.heir lips. but with lightning speed I
sprang toward the door and placed my
back against 1t. So long as could face
them intended to fight for life. The de-
dire was. / knew. to attack me from be-
hind. as they had already done l had
surely had a narrow escape from their
bullets, for they had fired at close range.
At Guys many stories have bet.n told
of similar cases where doctors known to
wear valuable watches. diamond rings,
or scarf pins have been called at night
s by daring thieves and robbed. therefore
"a s, always. as precaution. placed nay revolt
I a 10Th
cali to a case with which l was; not &C
quainted.
had not disrcgarded my usual habit
when had placed my thermom eter and
stethoscope In my pocket previous to ac-
companying the girl: therefore 1t reposed
there fully loaded, fact OF which my
assatiants were unaware.
In much quicker time than it takes to
.aarrate the incident l was again pounced
upon by all three. the man with the
sponge ready to dash it to my mouth and
nostrils.
But as they sprang forward to seize
me. raised my hand sw,.tly, took aim.
and fired straight at the holder OF the
s. spongs, the bullet passing through his
shoulder and causing him to drop the
anesthetic as though 1t were live coal.
and to spring several feet from the
ground.
God! Tn shot" he cried.
But ere the words had left his mouth
had fire a second chamber, inficting a
nasty wound In the neck Of the fellow
with the black beard.
..Shoot! snoot. he crieo to the third
man; but 1t was evident that In the first
struggle, when had been seized, the fell
lows revolver had dropped on the carpet.
and In the semi darkness he could not
4 recover 1t.
Recognizing this. fired a pot shot in
the mans direction: then opening the
Z door swiftly sprang down the stairs into
the hall One of .hem followed. but the
other two. wounded as they were, did not
care to face my weapon again. Ihey
8 saw that knew how to shoot, and proc
ably feared that might infiict a fatal
I hurt.
AS approached the front door. and was
fumbling with the lock. the third man
flung. himself upon me, determined That
lashould not escape. With great fortttude.
however. managed to unbolt the door,
and after desperate struggle. IN winch
he endeavored to wrest the weapon from
my hand. I succeeded at last In gripping
him by the throat, and. after nearly
gtrangling him. flung him to the ground
and escaped into the, street, just as his
associates, hearing his cries of distress.
dashed down the stairs to his assistance.
without doubt 1t was the narrowest es-
cape of my life that have ever had at
the hands Of malefactors. and SO excited
was Il that dashed down the stree. hat
less-for had left it in the house-unn!
I emerged into Lisson Grove. Then. and
IS only then It occurred to me that, having
aiken no note of the house. | should De
,nable to recognize 1t and denounce 1t
"a the police But when one is In peril
nf ones life all other thoughts or IN
stincts are submerged in the one franuc
effort of misrepresentation Still. II was
snnoytng to think that such scoundrels
should be allowed to go scot-free.
Breathless. excited. and With nerves
unstrung. / opened my door WIN my
Jatch-key and returned to my room, where
iie reading-lamp had burned low. for 1t
had been alight all through the night.
r mixed myself stiff brandy and soda,
tossed II off, and then turned to look at
myself in the glass
The picture l presented was olsrepu-
4 fah1e and unkempt. My hair was rutfled,
NV collar torn open from its stud. and
ore sleeve OF my coat had been torn out,
20 that the lining showed through. had
"a 3 nasty scratch across the neck. too. IN
ficted by the fingernaiis OF one OF the
gS hlackeuards, and from the abrasion oiooo
had flowed and made mess OF my col
8 lar. .,,,4
Altogether presented very orlllant
and entertaining spectacle. But my watch,
ring. and scarf-pin were In their places.
81 If robbery had been their motive. as no
81 doubt 1t had been. then they had prohted
nothing. and two of them had been wing
s ed into the bargain. The only mode by
which their identity coul~ by chance De
tsicovered was in the event OF those
wounds being troublesome. In that case
# they should consult medical m.'n. ou.
a. they would. In all probability go 10
q doctor In a distant quarter or Lonoon'
and further. as 1t would be impossible
for the police to warn every medlco In
Londen. the hope of tracing them by such
means was but slender one
Feeling a trihe faint. l sat In my
8 chatr. resting for quarter OF an hour
nr SO: then becoming more composed
put out the study lights and aftor
4 refreshing wash. went to bed.
The mornings reflections were some
what disconcertng. A deliberate and das'
fardly attempt had been made upon my
life. but with what motive? The young
Sonnan, whose face was familiar. mao
ecoliected, asked most distinctly whether
was Dr.. Boyd-a fact which showed that
he trap had been prepared. l saw now
he reason why she was unable to de-
scribe the mans sham illness. and during
IS ne morning. While at work In the hoSpl-
al wards. my suspicious became aroused
hat there had been some deeper motive
ss IN 1t all than the robbery of my watch
& or scarfpin Human life had been taken
El :" f-v ~l~v