The Washington herald., 1910-12-19

need of pretending, now.
She came to the door and walled.
Spare me-" she cried Save me. Cheti
You were wounded and fainting when
took you into my house. Didn't | do
everything FOR you? How can you? How
can you! What have / done?"
fired again TO stop her l couldn't stand
that reproach Her screams broke out
again. could hear her overthrowing
tables and piling them madly In front of
the door.
Then her shrieks stopped suddenly, and
/ heard her running here and there as
if searching for something. I heard
drawers pulled open and emptied upon
the floor. l heard chairs falling. Then
there was an instants lun.
Next, mufied shot rang out A bullet
ripped through the panel of the door and
buried Itself in the mahogany wainscot-
ing missing my head by barely an inch.
she mad found her revolver-I had for
gotten about that The game was getting
serious.
but now II was more necessary than
ever TO finish. | went down into the hall
and shouted TO King He appeared at the
dining-room door, his eyes as round as
glass marbles, his mouth open.
Get an AK, King. and bring it up
here. quick"
went up again. and, putting my pistol
| cautiously TO the hole in the panel fired
another blank cartridge My shot was
Immediately answered by her revolver,
but the bullet went wild.
King came laundering up the stairs
with the AK. showing a white mouthful
or teeth. | had never thought it possible
Tor him 10 show so much excitement. but
he was quite wild. / took the AK and
struck heavy blow at the panel, split
ting II open. Had l really wished to
break down the door Immediately. would
have aimed at the lock. But / wanted to
draw her nre, and to torture her to the
limit or suspense and fear
! She screamed again as the wood was
| ripped into splinters, and two more shots
were fired in quick succession. only one
OF them going through the door She
had spent four cartridges now. and as
she held the last one. had TO act
quickly so that she would have no
chance to reload
You go downstairs. King. 1 command
ed Wait for her when she runs out.
I'll chase her outdoors. She has only one
shot ieft. so you needn't be afraid of her
Ill get that bullet, all right Scream AT
her. scare her 10 death if you can. but
don't touch her. II you do. by God III
Kill you"
lie stole nOiselessly down the stairs and
| disappeared. / tried another panel with
| the AK, but, as she was clever enough NOT
10 shoot / reloaded my first pistol, and.
/ taking what risk there was without
thought, / seized the AK again and with
one fierce blow smashed the lock 10
pieces. With the conclusion the door
fell partly in l dropped the AK, put my
shoulder TO the door. and swept the bar
rlcade Inward. darling quickly through
with my pistol raised.
She was handsome-terrible. Fright
ened as she was. she had control Of her
! self, yet, and was magnificently defiant.
breathing in quick gasps with her mouth
open, her bosom heaying. as if she were
suffocating. Her embroidered waist was
half torn of and hung away from her
neck. revealing her brown-white breast.
or perhaps she had torn the bodice open
( herself for air. Her golden wreath was
/ gone. l saw il on the floor. trampled out
I OF shape. Her hair had fallen over her
shoulders, but its disaTray was lovely
Her filmy, sparkling gown was rent and
spotted from her falls
She had taken refuge behind an over
] thrown table and stood with her revolver
ready. over her head was a drifting
cloud OF smoke. about her wild confu-
sion OF dlsOrdered furniture a shaft Of
sunlight played upon her disheveled cos.
tune. In the stable, ! heard the dogs
barking frantically
So much I observed in one hash-tbe
picture will always be with me as dis
unct as a photograpR-but ! had no time
! 10 speak, OF even 10 think what l would
] do next, for, after a mOmentary pause
/ she bent forward deliberately and fired
at me point-blank.
l felt a sting on my left arm where
/ her bullet graZed, but, without stop
/ ping TO find whether | was hurt or
| not, l fired both pistols at once. and
| went forward at her The sound of
| the double shot in the closed room
was terrific. Her eyes, staring
and fascinated, kept on me for an instant
as If she were paralyzed, then she
/ screamed again-her voice rivaled the
pistol shots-and, suddenly pushing the
| table with all her might against me, she
ran Tor the door As she passed, l shot
again. The din was maddening
IT was not my intention 10 finish with
her there, though, and again I gave her
a chance TO escape driving her before
me- As she dashed out she brushed
against framed Madonna upon the wall
and it came crashing down. She
stumbled on the threshold-I thought
she would never get away-and, moan
ing pitifully. she half ran, half fell down
the stairway.
II was dirty piece of business. /
vas sickened by it. But having gone
so far. I had no thought of stopping ill
I had accomplished my object. l gave
her a moments time, therefore. and then.
leaving that horrid smoking chaos in her
room, I followed her
She had gone out the front door and
turned the corner of the house, making. bv
| some fatal impulse, for the stable. The
barking of the eOlles had ceased, but as
| got 10 the yard I heard il recommenee
IN higher and more violent KEY Ii
seemed incredible to me that she had
sought refuge in the stable. but as |
looked. l saw the great door rolled shut.
When came up to il, King came out of
his cabin room
King came out; but he was no longer
the smiling, unctuous Celestial I had
known IN that yelping, screaming clam
OF, stopped to look at him in surprise.
lie had fastened the mask upon his
head and held the cymbals in one hand
! With the other he dragged a package of
nre-erackers six feet long. braided to-
gether In quadruple rCws-there were as
many there as in a hundred of the COM
mon Fourth Of July packages. II was
such an equipment as the Chinese use
for their New Years Day celebrations.
Before l could speak to him he had
thrown the string into an empty barrel
and had lighted the fuse. Immediately
there was an uproar like a regiment of
infantry firing at will As soon as this
was started. he took up his cymbals and
began caperfng abOut clsncrircr -