The Washington times., 1910-01-31
ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE

Z
of the table It burst, and flames gush-
Iu tHat first wild clash Vaughn and 7
were nor men. but -rim0-6Eai animals,
embed 'r---L- OF primal EElEluE hate
All our lives --a had hated each other
E-e -Eo- Orr fa-EaEz had hated each
other. We Lla-- sons. were meeting as
few men III these ultra polite modern
days can meet. with Ea-ure.s weapons
and IN nature IS El- l-alI----s1--s wrath
SO two DCrIaLs could have kept up
co terrific r struggle as that LrsL on
set. Tor any length Of time
-LE foe and were Wen matched as
% height II were -he heavier. ne
had the advantage or O. f-re-eSs, light
ul---r-5cLl -s1-a-ees- ny fingers found
a-= throat a-i gained the upper hand
Hl-- U-U-E-.-- him 10 the lucT beneath
UrlEEiel- from under me end Vas az
We reared up 70 our knees rising IKE
#sI-E- laESt only 20 come 10 Hlrtl
l.s-E Oh ls1-. ire upset STUDENT
lamp spread Ike q fire lake ON the pol
-Sr=1 wooden E-l-- The Hight curtains
about Us caught Up The blaze, and IL
HL- we struggled on UuheediuE, amid
fire and smoke thar scared our flesh and
cEr-lal us almost TO location
Twice my greater bulk forced him
below me and enabled me- 10 grip his
TTE--l-r- as though @. strange tie las
spark CT lie from his carcass and
twice. 1y great agility and wrestling
-l-L.-r ne HEf---ef f.-TfEzs-r out OF danger
and prfE us once more on equal terms
once his hand worked ITS way up,
not 70 by throat hut 20 NY eyes
a-l instant Just IN tron- o. r-E eyeballs,
md 7 knew what he sought % do TO
added 20 my mad fury and 7 twisted
-ly head forward % one side barely IN
~ hands were both busy seeking a
better ETrD uL LIrl- SO + dashed my head
forward with fun force against his dis
r0Tlel face mat E----ll hatred so close
90 NY own by frontal bone Just above
the forehead. srlore fun IN the mouth,
and -La shock r-Cueu-arlly Tossed his
But before Z could take advantage u
this he had worked his Left hand free
and struck me [-auLl-aiIy. repeatedly,
again and =.-s-in- iD the face
tore Loose -ELE him from me and
-aEalled my feet But he was upright
as quickly az D. And again we rushed
20 rEe attaEE
But this time. the first blind. uurea-
SC-FEE TaEH had spent itself We nc
longer ClaTeL and s-lpplel Ike mad
beasts, but rlSuTCgI 10 q lar deaGIieT,
more civilized mode OF warfare
Both OF us were fairly sllllfuI boxers.
SU-LEr Jolt, and straight arm blO-T met
parry counter and block Now and
then my LuDELuE dst would strike past
his guard and he would reel Again his
Own blows would 1rulse and staggeI
me-
once 7 struck him 20 his knees. But
on the instant. he was up again and al
le ike a ra-l1 wildcat
The flame from the curtains and from
the blazing OIL had spread 10 the other
EslELIEs or the room and to- the cur
raLIs OF the second window. TIE heav-
Ter woodwork was catching The crack g
and E-zre Of flames within the room
Wed -or noise and glare 70 the wind
LoH'-s and lightning outside
4 red tongue stretched out toward the
bed 4G au instant the counterpart and
ClL-1-SEl1CeC canopy were abiaze- The
clIiUE smoke reek had grown 30 thick
we could scarce see each other with
any clsLnctness. Brszrf-lnS was an
agony
Yet il IS only as looking back that
my conscious mind held but one thought
to conquer the EeroCi0uS, bIood-staiuef
adversary In wrose eyes black murder
shoue-
once. in a "cliach.~ we fen heavily
against d great wardrobe It fell
with "a rgSCuuClDg clatGer athwart the
flames It's SuliurercL wood catching fire
and adding 20 the Last-grOwiug cOufIa-
grafton
From somewhere. a million miles
away, my subCoDsCIous self heard
EeiCeS shouting 'ElreL' and 'HeIpl'
and babel Of less distinguished ole
running somewhere and then a heavy
pounding on the bolted door
But J fought on, uuheedlDE- F'einL-
ms. WITH his right for my face VAUGHN
shifted and drove his lCI- arm. pis-
Loulike- across his body, for my heart.
] blocked the blow and, Selling the
mCmeuLary opening, drove my inst fun
into his jaw He staggered and dropped
amid the lake Of liquid IRE on the u0OC.
Then. seemingly StGuE 20 fresh life
bF the burns, he was on MS Ieet- ms
clothes ablaze. he caught mp heavy,
overturned chair and. WhITliDE il hl-n
above him. brought il down with fUu
force at Try head
7 spranE nimbIy aside as the de-
scandluz chair Erazsd my shoulder
Before he could recover his balancs
from the blow had leaped IN and
caught MIN by wrist and knee
EE g. sudden deXteTOuS EeaTer wei
known to old london pTlZe-rlns
devotees. I swung him Ear on his feet
and hurled him with all my remaining
force % the Ere-Strewn nOor-
And he lay there very SuA-
Then. Tor the first time was aware
{ that ny clothing wet. as II had been.
was suolderinC, that my hands aHc
face were bLisrered and aEo1lZ1nE 20
the touch that my hair and brOwS were
siuEed; that 7 could not breathe
Also. that the bOIted dOOr-seeninSly
OF its own VOli-iou-CeaSed to sound as
q q devils tattoo were beating on II,
and burst inward, letting a rushing
Z stream OF people into the room
( There i stood EaspluS Tor breath
. weak. spent. half falling And az M
feet senSslsss, beaten, lay my foe.