Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-11

CHAPTER XXI.
WOman's Wiles.

Look sharp!" cried the black bearded
scoundrel who had feigned. illness. give
i'm a settler AIRY. He wants his nerves
calmin' a blt!'
The fellow had seized my wrists, and I
saw that one of the men who had sprung
from his place OF concealment was pouring
some liquid from a bottle upon a sponge.
l caught a Whit Of its odor-an odor IA
miliar enough to me-the sickly smell Of
chloroform.
Fortunately 1 am pretty athletic, and with
a sudden wrench I freed my wrists from the
r%uflan's 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 II once
they succeeded in pressing that sponge TO
my nostrils and holding It there, then all
would be over: for by their appearance l
saw they we're dangerous criminals and not
men to stick at trilos. They meant TO
murder me.
AS / sent down the man who had slammed
Illness his two ~companions dashed toward
me with imprecations upon their lips, but
with lightning speed I sprang toward the
door and placed my back against It. So
long as l could face them 1 intended to fight
for life. Their desire was, I knew TO at
tack me from behind, 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 been told of
similar cases where doctors, known to wear
valuable watches. diamond rings or scarf
pins. have been called at night by daring
thieves and robbed; therefore / always, as
precsution, placed my revolver in my pocket
hAw 4 HA11N-v1I 4, -4-AN - a. q aAz. uvfNI
which I was not acquainted.
/ had not disregarded my usual habit
when I had placed my thermometer and
kaleidoscope in my pocket previous to ac-
companying the girl; therefore It reposed
there fully loaded, a fact of which my as
sailants we're unaware.
In much quicker time than It takes to
narrate the incident 1 was again bounced
upon by all three, the man with the sponge
in readiness to dash it to my mouth and
~nostr!ls.
6ut as they sprang forward to seize me
I raised my hand swiftly, took aim and fired
straight at the holder OF the sponge, the
bullet passing through his shoulder and
causing him to drop the anaesthetic as
though 1t we're a live coal and to spring
several feet from the ground.
"Godl I'm shotI'' he cried.
But ere the words had left his mouth I
fred a second chamber, inficting a nasty
wound in the neck of the fellow with the
! black beard.
"Shoot! shoot" he cried to the third man,
but 1t was evident that in the first struggle,
when l had been seized, the fellows re-
volver had dropped on the carpet. and in
the semi-darkness he could not recover It.
Recognizing. this, l fired a pot shot in the
mans direction; then opening the door
swiftly, sprang down the stairs into the
hall. One Of them followed, but the other
two, wounde as they were, did not care to
face my weapon again. They saw that ]
knew how to shoot, and probably feared
that l might infict a fatal hurt.
AS 1 approached the front door and was
fumbling with the lock, the third man fung
himself upon me. determined that l should
not escape. With great good fortune, how
ever, l managed to unboit the door, and
after a desperate struggle, in which he en-
deavored to wrest the weapon from my
hand. l succeeded at last in gripping him
by the throat, and after nearly strangline
him flung him to the ground and escaped
into the street. just as his associates, hear.
ing his cries of distress, dashed down the
stairs to his assistance.
Without doubt 1t was the narrowest es.
cape of my life that 1 have ever had at the
hands Of Indicators. and so excited was
that l dashed down the street hatless-foi
l had left 1t in the house-until I emerged
into Lisscn Grove. Then, and only then, II
occurred to me that, having taken no note
Of the house, l should be unable to recog.
nize It and denounce it to the police. But
when one is in peril OF ones life all Other
thoughts or instincts are submerged in the
one frantic effort Of self representation. Still
It was annoying to think that such scoun.
drels should be allowed to go scot free.
Breathless, excited and with nerves un'
strung / opened my door with my latch,
key and returned to my room, where thu
reading lamp had burned low. for 1t haC
been alight all through the night. / mixed
myself a stiff brandy and soda. tossed it of
and then turned to look at myself in thu
glass.
The picture 1 presented was disreputabl,
and unkempt. Ny hair was ruf1ed. my col
lar torn open from its stud and one sleeve
of my coat had been torn out, so that tn
lining showed through. had a mast!
scratch across the neck, too, inflicted by tn,
hngernails of one OF the ~blackguards, ant
from the abrasion blood had flowed AM
made a mess of my collar.
Altogether l presented. a very brillian
ald entertaining spectacle. But my watch
ring and ~scarfpin were in their places. l
robbery had been their motive, as no doub
it had been. then they had prohted nothing
and two of them had been winged in tn
bargain. The only mode by which thei
identity could by chance be discovered wa
in the event Of those wounds being trouble
some. In that case they would consult
medical man, but as they would, in al
probability, go to a doctor in a distant guar
ter OF London. and further, as IL would b.
impossible for the police TO warn ever
medico ia London. the hope Of tracing then
by such means was but a slender one.
Feeling a trihe faint sat in my chair
resting for a quarter of an hour or so; then
becoming more composed. l put out tn
study lights and, after a refreshing wash
went to bed.
The mornings reflections were somewha
disconcerting. A deliberate and dastardl,
attempt had been made upon my life, bu
with what motive? The young woman
whose face was familiar, had l recollected
asked most distinctly whether l was DR.
Boyd-a fact which showed that the tral
had been prepared. I saw now the reason
why she was unable TO describe the man
sham illness, and during the morning. Will
at work in the hospital wards. my suspi
eions became aroused that there had beey