The Washington times., 1910-02-22
CHAPTER MI.
THE COMBAT II THE SNOW.


5 1 ran, ! saw an officer in uni
" form leap from the interior Of
~ the droshka. and draw his sword
in preparation Tor my attack,
while his ycmschik, whip in hand,
scrambled from the snow, and assumed
supposed the attack TO be of very DIFF
ferent character than it really was. Inc
wounded horse was struggling and kick
ing, and I found time 10 think of the
grave danger that its hOOfs might IN
lure cara. who I judged 10 De uuCOn-
SCi0us from fright. or because Of the
shock. and SO, needless Of my own ne
ceSsities in undertaking an assault upon
the two men who now faced me, j nreu
z third bullet into the maddSned animal.
Then, as / sprang to the attack. L saw
and recognized the man who confronted
me, and my heart bounded with thanks
giving that 1 mad taken that route 10
the palace j recognized Alexis Durmef.
The report of his arrest had been
false, or he had managed in some way
to escape; and even then, IN that instant
Of rushing onward upon the TWO men /
could not help wondering by what means
he had managed 10 entice cara from
the house In which she had taken rel
uEe. I had two bullets remaining in
my revolver: at least I thought so, and
1 raised il and pulled the trigger a
fourth time, thus placing the yemschik
effectuaIly out of that combat. and rem
gage in others, and then, when barely
ten feet away from the scouudrelly cap
tain ! ieveled the weapon at him ana
ordered him 10 throw down his sword.
He laughed derisivefy, for he was not
a coward, and he knew that death would
be far preferable to the fate that would
be his if ne were captured alive
$50, II is my friend Dubravnik, IS
it," he said, insOleutly, but in tone
as cool as though he were greeting
me in a ball room. You have killed
my horses, and my yemschik; why
not do the same for me2'
7 heSitated.
To shoot a man like that was
Sainst every impulse Of my soul;
and vet he was armed with a weapon
as deadly as mine, If once I should
get within reach of It's point ] pos
sessed none with which to meet him
on even ground But, inside the
droshka, was unqueStiOnably the I'M
conscious form OF the woman loved.
The occasion was a crisis. There
could be no temporizing. lara must
be rescued.
Throw down your sword. or I will
certainly kill you" l commanded
"KiIi.@ he replied. IaconicaIIy. There
was no other way, and 1 pulled the
trigger.
There was no report. DUrneif did
not fall. as the horses, and his Yem-
SChlk had done He stood unframed.
for the cartridge was bad, or the
chamber OF my revolver was un-
loaded. Instantly he understood that
he had me at his mercy. and with a
deadly smile upon his face he leaped
forward TO run me through
As he SprauE toward me ] hurled
the pistol with all my strength to-
ward him. It struck him squarely in
the breast, staggering him. and fore
ing him off his guard. Then, before
he could recover, / Sprang past the
point Of his weapon. 1 seized his
sword arm, by the wrist, with my left
hand, and threw my other arm
around his body. We were as evenly
matched as though we had trained at
weights and measurements for the
combat. and for moment we StruE-
gled madlv together, while I eNerted
all nv strength to bend his wrist
backward so that he would be COM
PEELED TO drop his sword
Il seems strange that such a struggle.
taking place in the streets OF great
city Immediately following upon the
four reports of my pistol had not at
tracted attention and drawn somebody
70 the scene but the passing night
had been one of terror, policemen had
been called away from their posts, and
at that hour. just sitter dawn, when
everything was quiet, nobody heard, or
If they heard. feared to come. In using
all my effort TO compel him to drop
his weapon l neglected the other neces-
Sarv points OF the struggle. and al
though ] succeeded in my design, he
forced me backwards at the same in
slant so that / fell beneath him. but
I still had my right arm tightly ciaSped
around him, and I Rugged him TO me
with all the strength Jhat I could mas
ter. With Duruief, il was a struggle
for life. liberty. and everything that he
possessed. and me fought with all the
desperation Of a mailman. With me IL
was life. and the woman 1 loved, and I
fought cOolly, knowing that ne could
not get away from me. believing that I
could tire him out, and satisfied that /
could prevent him from securing his
sword again. He managed 10 wrench
his hand from my grasp, and he struck
me a savage blow on the head with his
first, but ] threw the other arm around
HIM then, and huSged him all the tight
or, so that he was unable to repeat the
blow.
II was strange combat A person
ten feet away could not have heard il
for there was no sound save our heavy
breathing. The snow deadened every