Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-07

ton"-Leona Jumped at the sound of her
fathers name-"Judge Morton and will
ing cowards-' Then the same voice
cried: Keep off, you dog! Don't you try
to murder me!'
There was sound OF struggling-the men
were fghting.reeling about through the
underbrush, hitting against trees, one at
lacking, the other defending himself des-
perately. The girl leaned forward from her
shelter, watching. straining her eyes to see.
The fearful flashes of lightning showed the
men clearly.
One was small and very dark; his op-
ponent was a great. massive fellow. with
very light hair-a man she had seen some
where. but did not know. The quick
strength. of the smaller man seemed mar
velous. Leona drew her breath sharply be-
tween her teeth and cIenched her hands
tightly. Twice they went down-three
times-the small man still on top! They
struggled up again. Then the size and
weight Of the other began to tell. crash
came-they were down again. A choked.
gurgling voice cried out:
You're killing me! Let go! You'll swing
for thisi''
Then Leona almost beside herself, alb
solutely forgetting her own fears and the
strangeness of her position-her imminent
danger, sprang forward to help him.
Let him go.' she screamed, rushing up
to them in the rain Let him go-you' re
killing him. AS he paid no heed to her
she looked about for weapon, and nnolns
none unclasped her belt, She held 1t by
the end and swung the heavy buckle
through the air. Let him go.'' she re-
peated, and brought it down with all her
strength upon the face of the fair man.
He snarled like an animal, painting and
angry.
There, He's done for! Now, who are
your He sprang up and snatched at her,
realizing that he was murderer and that
he must finish his work by putting this wit
ness out of his way.
-. a fr.y y trr,f
He ran after her, but again and again she
managed to elude him. With a curious
calmness of stratagem she Kept pehino
trees, and ran nearly in a circle, so as not
to get too far from the tree. 1t was ram
ing heavily now, and the flashes of light
ming were less frequent. she prayed ior
John to come with every breath.
Finally. in the dark. exhausted, desper,
under some bushes. She lay as If dead. The
man, still seeking her. passed so close tnat
he almost trod on her; she heard him crash
away through the bushes, farther ana
farther away. Then she must have falnteo;
When she came to herself the wind had
stopped but 1t was still drizZling. She was
soaked to the skin; her head acted strangely
John" she called, 'John!" Then she re-
membered what had happened. and lay MS
tening in an agony of fear. No sound but
the rain. He must have gone. Then she
remembered what lay not far from her.
Perhaps he was not dead; she craWled apout
till she found him. Deathiy AFRAID anu SIGN
as she was, she listened at his heart. IL
was cutie still-he was cold-he was dead!
Then a new fear clutched her, made her
brain reel Suppose she were found there
Would they believe her? Could she prove
that she had not killed him, had only de-
Tended him? She searched in vain for her
belt Who would believe the story of her
attempted elopement? She was in an agony
about John. Had he been murdered, too?
She knew that nothing less would have kept
him from her. Her brain was numb. But
she knew she must. somehow, give the
alarm, tell her father in the morning.
She dragged her soaked, chilled body
home-she never knew just how--climbed in
through the library window and reached
her room undetected. She locked the door,
lit the gas and removed mechanically her
dripping garments Some vague instinct CT
self-protection led her to hide them in an
unused carved chest in her closet. Some
how she washed, put on the soft wrapper,
unlocked the door and turned out the gas.