The Washington times., 1904-04-17

eN-*N NAC biii StEtufilcu
'Hc. Caught Just in time. young
womani" came a voice. almost unin.
telligfble. so enraged was the speaker.
The men who had entered seemed to
me TO be two elderly ones and a young
er. The fourth had not yet arrived.
The young man and one OF the oIde.
ones sprang for me. and before 1 coulj
suspect that was the object of at
tack, they had grasped me in an iron
grip.
Now give it to hani'' shouted the
younger. Now give him the lash.
uncler'
There was a whistliag sound. and a
heavy whip DECIDED on my shoulders.
''Unhand me! What do you mean7"
1 managed to gasp.
Hal III show you what I mean
cried the third man, the one who had
welded the whip. TN show you what
1t is to elope with Lee, Hang you. you
curt Hang youi Hang you"
At every curse of the enraged man the
whip curled arouad me. I struggled
with all the strength 1 possessed, but
the stings OF the whip and the iron grip
OF the two men made combination
lDdI was TOO ulucu TOT me.
You .SilI rue thiss' cried pantiDgiy.
You Will rue this. you DULLES. I am not
the man you wantr'
Hal Give it to him again, uncIer
cried the younger man. administering
kick on his own account How DO you
like your wedding journey. friend?"
I'll make it your funeral Journey
gasped. wrenching my hand free.
caught him fair under the jaw and
knocked him up against the pulpit. That
wooden structure never heard the fer
vent utterances that came from him
that minute. He cursed and raved and
picked himself up and came for me.
Both the older men were on top Of
me. and / was swaying with them like
Atlas with the world on his back
During the fight the hysterical
screams of the girl mingled with the
curses of the men,
Now we've got him." yelled the
young man with an oath. as ] fell to
the floor. xiii the wretch! XIII him.
do you hear. unele?"
mo, No, For the sake of Heaven.
listen. 1 don't know that mani cried
the girl. fiinging herself on the man
who seemed to be the leader of the
party. and whom the younger called
uncle.
You don't know him." growled the
mar We'll, so much the worse It's
bad enough to run off with a man you
do know. Crazy fool"'
LET me up. I am not the man you
wantr' I said. thoroughly maddene1
now. "PH have you ali locked up for
this outrage IL don't get a chance TO
kill you first"
Hear him! XIII us! WeIl!"
Enough of this nonsensei Stand him
I'D. Let's have a look at the scoundreL
/ was jerked TO my feet
The face that came close TO mine was
swollen and purple with awful rage.
The eyes cleaned Ike those OF wild
beast.
$50, YOU are Tom Firth, Ell? Well,
don't ike the looks OF you much
II am not Tom Firf1n. you old ASST, I
yelled 'I am Arnold Stage, cousin of
James Stagg, of Utica"
A wild outburst of savage mirth came
from the three.
"Ho! Even so. were it true it would be
well. But you lie. I've seen your let
I
plot In black and white You love my
niece, Ell? Beatrice, do you love this
MANI?
No. uncle" soi,bed the girl. Il never
saw him before
The man she called uncle was seized
with a perfect paroxysm OF rage al this.
He left me. and grasping the girls arm,
shook her as a terrier would a rat
Don't lie to me, hussyF' he roared.
Don't you think you can wool my eyes
all the time 1 know! l know. do you
hear? You have been meeting this man
for several nights. You have received
letters from him asking you TO elope
with him. He is not man enough TO
come right out and say to me he wants
YOU for a wife. Why? Because. hang
/ him, he may have a dozen wives some
where else. know the world little.
miss l have lived few years. III
soon fix this fellow. Stage, the public
prosecutor. Ell? Well. he'll be glad to
know who claimed relationship Come
along home. nowi"
MOI came a sharp reply like the re-
port of a pistol. Il have no home.
The Girl stood Ike queen Of tragedy
How I wished it had been lighter so that
I could see her face! Her voice sounded
young.
Il have no home" she went on.
aYou are a cruel and merciless tyrant.
7 am surrounded by spies and traitors.
And what have 1 done? What have
doneg'
The ring OF truth was in her voice
and vet I had seen her close In the en-
brace of the man whose well merited
thrashing | was taking
! Before the scene could go further. the
fourth individual came limping in. Even
,p the gloom saw that he wore a semi
clerical garb. This. without doubt. was
Pars0n Lee.
Have you caught them. John? My
horse stumbled back here and threw
me Twas enough to make saint
swear. 1 VOW. Well. so they are not far
away on their honeymoon. eh?"
The parson. though he had been
thrown from has horse. was the calmest
of the four. In fact. he was the only
calm person in the church.
lust hold him. John, while l get
Tight he went on. limping around to
the pulpit. "Tco dark to see anything
now"
..Ie+ me 90. YOU madmeni" 1 shout