The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-03-20

cumDeO nlmDly up the SIDE. HIS COM
| panion followed. and they tied their
boat to the railing. They paused now
to reconnoiter-so close to me that /
could have touched them with my
hands-and engaged in a colloquy.
The taller man gave directions. the
other replying IN monosyllables to
show that he understood.
Go to the side porch of the cottage,
and knock When the man comes to
the door tell him that you are the
chauffeur from an automobile that has
broken down In the road, and that
you want help for woman Who has
been hurt"
Eyes. sir"
"Then-you know the rest"
THE knife-it shall be done"
have made it the rule OF my life,
against much painful experience and
the admonitions of many philosophers,
to act first and reason afterwards.
And here it was case of two to one.
The men began stealing across the
deck toward the steps that led up to
the cottage. and with rather more
zeal than judgment took step after
them. and clumsily kicked over a
chair that fell Gathering wildly. Both
men leaped toward the rail at the
sound, and fattened myself against
the house to await developments. The
silence was again complete.
"a chair. blew over" remarked one
Of the voices.
There is no wind" replied the 9TH
er, the one I recognized as belonging
to the leader.
See what you can Finland have
q carei"
The speaker went to the rail and
began fumbling with the rope. The
other, realized, was slipping quite
noiselessly along the smooth planking
toward me, his bent body family sill
houetted in the moonlight l knew
that l could hardly be distinguishable
from the long line of the house, and
had the additional advantage of know
ing their strength, while was still an
unknown quantity to them. The men
would assume that I was either Hart
ridge, the boatmaker, or Henry Hol-
brook, one of whom they had come
to kill, and there is, as every one
knows, little honor in being the victim
of mistaken identity. I heard the
mans hand scratching along the wall
as he advanced cautiously; there was
no doubt but that he would discover
me in another moment; so resolved
to take the initiative and give battle.
My fngertips touched the back of
one of the folded camp chairs that
rested against the house, and slow
ly clasped it. / saw the leader still
standing by the rail. the rope in his
hand. His accomplice was so close
that l could hear his quick breathing,
and something in his dimly outlined
crouching figure was familiar Then
It flashed over me that he was the
dark sailor 1 had ordered from Glen
arm that afternoon
He was now within arms length OF
me and l jumped out, swung the chair
high and brought it down with crash
on his head The force of the blow
carried me forward and jerked the
chair out of my grasp; and down we
went with a mighty thump. l felt the
Italians body slip and twist lithely
under me as I tried to clasp his arms.
He struggled fiercely to free himself,
and I felt the point Of knife prick
my left wrist sharply as l sought to
hold his right arm to the deck. His
muscles were like iron, and / had no
wish to let him clasp me in his short
thick arms; nor did the idea Of being
struck with knife cheer me greatly
In that first moment of the fight.
Ny main business was to keep free
of the knife He was slowly lifting
me on his knees, while gripped his
arm with both hands. The other man
had dropped into the boat and was
watching us across the rail.
Make haste, Giuseppe!" he called
impatiently, and | laughed little.
either at his confidence in the out
come or at his care for his own Sc
curity; and my courage rose to find
that l had only one to reckon with.
suddenly slipped my left hand down to
where my right gripped his wrist and
wrenched it sharply. His fingers re-
Taxed, and when l repeated the twist
the knife ratified on the deck.
l broke away and leaped for the
rail with some idea of jumping into
the creek and swimming for it; and
then the man in the boat let go twice
with a revolver, the echoing explo-
sions roaring over the still creek with
the sound of saluting battle-ships.
Hold on to that man-hold himi"
he shouted from below. l heard the
Italian scraping about on the deck for
his knife as lodged round the house.
/ was satisfied to let things stand as
they were, and leave Henry Holbrook
and the canoe-maker to defend their
own lives and property Then. when
1 was about midway of the steps,
man plunged down from the garden
and had me by the collar and on my
back before knew what had hap
pened.