The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-09-06


 the darkness it encountered the bare flesh of her arm.
 Please don't! You'd have to strike a light to find it, and I don't want light now"
 "It has been pleasant evening"" she said namely.
 "I saw you for the first time tonight, Cherry. I think have begun to know you.''
 Again she felt her heart leap. Reach ing out to say goodby, his hand slipped down over her arm like a caress until her palm lay in his.
 With trembling, gentle hands she pushed him from her.
 When the black bulk of Marshs can nery loomed ahead of Emerson he left the gravel beach and turned up among the buildings, seeking to retrace his former course. As he turned the cor ner of the first building he nearly ran against a man who was standing mo tionless against the wall. The fellow, with a sharp exclamation, vanished into the gloom. Boyd lost no time in gaining the plank runway that led to the dock and, finding an angle in the building, backed into it and waited
 From his momeQtary glimpse of the man as he made off he kneV that he was tall and active-just the sort Of person to prove dangerous ip an en- counter But if his suspicious were correct there must be others close by, and Boyd wondered why he had heard . no signal. After a breathless wait of Sa moment or two he stole cautiously out, and, selecting the darkest shad- ows, slipped from one to another till he was Caught by the sound of voicess r1f the main building on his right. The next moAent his tension relaxed; one of the speakers was a woman. Evi dently his alarm had been needless. for these people, whoever they were. made no effort to conceal their pres ence. On the contrary, the woman had raised her tone to a louder pitch, al- though her words were still undistin- guishable
 Greatly relieved, Boyd was about to go on, when sharp cry, like sigpal. came in the woman's voice, a cry which turned to a genuine vail of dis tress. The listener heard a mans voice cVrsing in answer, and then the sound of a scuhle, followed at length by choking cry, that brought him bound ing into the building. He ran forward. reckessly, but before he had covered
  with a piece of machinery and went gprawling to the floor. A glance up- ward revealed the dim outlines of a topper and showed him farther down the building, sfIhouetted briefly against the lesser darkness of the win dows, two struggling figures. As he Regained his footing, something rushed past him-Inan or animal he could not tell which, for it's feet made no more sound upon the floor than those of wolf dog. Then, as he bolted forward, he heard q man cry out. and found Himself in the midst of turmoil. His hands encouraged human body, and he seized it, only to be hurled aside as if with giants strength. Agaiu he clinched with mans form, and bore it to the floor, cursing at the darkness and reaching for it's throat. His an tagonist raised his voice in wild clamor, while Boyd braced himself for another assault from those huge hands he had netla moment before But it did not come. Instead he heard a cry from the woman, an answer in deep CT voice and then swift, pattering footsteps growing fainter. Meanwhile the man with whom he was locked was fighting desperately, with hands and feet and teeth, shouting ho&rsely. Other footsteps sounded now, this time approaching, then at the door, a lantern fiared. A watchman came rum I ming down between the lines of ma chinery, followed by other figures half I revealed.
 Boyd had pinned his antagonist against the cold sides or a retort at last and with fingers clutcbed about his throat was beating his head vio- 1ently against the iron when by the lanterns gleam he caught one glimpse of the fat, purple face in front of him and loosed his hold with a startled ex- clamntion. Released from the grip that had nearly made an end of him, Willis Marsh staggered to his feet.
 The man was wounded, badly wounded, as he saw by the red stream which gushed down over his breast Marsh leveled trembling finger at Boyd and cried hystericaIly:
 fThere he is, men. He tried to mur- der me. I'm hurt. I'll have him arrested"
 The seriousness of the accusation struck the young man on the instant He turned upon the group.
 ''I didn't do that. I heard a fight going on and ran in here''-
 Hes a I1ar,'' the wounded man in- terrupted shr11Iy. He's stabbed me! Seew He tried to strip the shirt from. his wounds, then fell to cbattering and shaking. 70 God, I'm hurtv' He staggered to packing case and sank upon it, weakly fumbl1pg at his sod den shoulder.
 ''I didn't do that,'' repeated Boyd "I don't know who stabbed him. didn't"
 s~rhen who d1dY' some one de manded.
 What are you doing in here? You'd a killed him in a minute" said the man with the lantern.
 we'll fix you for this,'' third voice threatened