The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1912-04-19
CHAPTER xIv.-(contlnued.)

N1AT EN- NlNs-N -NCoHtlHucusJ
He ran as seldom he had run be-
fore, straining and laboring, stumbling.
recovering and plunging onward. And.
by the gods. wasn't 1t hot! The
khamsin raved and tore like a spirit
Of hell-fre through that narrow alley,
turning 1t into a miniature inferno.
But in the course of some minutes.
the end of the tunnel came in view;
a lighted rift between house walls.
giving upon the illuminated street be-
yond. The sight brought forth a fresh
burst of speed from ORourke He
dashed madly out of the alley,
stumbled and ran headlong into a
strolllng Greek, who grappled with
him, at first in surprise and then In
resentment, while the clamor of the
pursuing rabble shrilled loud and
near and ever nearer.
Exhausted as he was, the Irishman
struggled with little skill before he
mastered his own surprise; and in the
end saw his finis written along the
blade of thin, keen knife which the
Greek mad whipped from the folds of
his garments and jerked threateningly
above his head.
It was falling when ORourke saw
It. In another breath he had been
stabbed. Unexpectedly the Greek
shrieked dropped the knife as though
1t had turned suddenly white-hot in
his hands, and leaped back from
O'Rourke, nursing a broken wrist;
while a voice as sweet as the singing
Of angels rang in the fugitive's ears,
though the spirit of its melody was
simple and crude enough.
"O'Rourke. be all tn powers! The
masther himself! Glory, ye beggar.
tis sorry am that didn't split the
ugly face of ye wild me sthick!
|. This way. yer honor! Come
wild me!"t
Blindly enough (indeed the world
was all awhirl about him) O'Rourke,
his arm grasped by a strong and conf
dent hand, permitted himself to be
swung to the right and across the
street. In thought blackness again
was all about him, but the hand
gripped his arm, hurrying him onward;
and he yielded blindly to its guidance
without power, for that matter, to
question or to object; what breath
he had he sorely needed. And as blind
ly he stumbled on for perhaps another
hundred yards, while the voice of the
rabble made hideous the night be-
hind them. Hardly, indeed, had the
two whipped into the mouth of the
back-way ere it was choked by
swarm of pursuers. But-"Niver
fOar!" said the voice at his side.
" 'Tis ourselves that'H outwit them.
Here, now, yer honor, do ye
30 straight on widout sthoppin ontil
ye come to an iron dure in a dead wall
az the end av this Knock there
vance, count tin, and knock again.
III lead 'em away and be wild ye again
In brace aV shakes!"
Benumbed by fatigue and exhaus-
don, O'Rourke obeyed. He was aware
that his preseryer with a wild whoop
had darted aside into a cross-aIley, but
hardly aware of more. Mechanically
he blundered on until brought up by
a wall that closed and made Guide
sac of the way.
With trembling hands he felt before
him, fingers encountering the smooth.
cool surface Of sheet of metal, This.
then, was the door. AS carefully as
he could he knocked, counted ten. and
knocked again--while the mob that
had lusted for his blood trailed off
down the side alley in frantic pursuit
Of his generous preserver And he
heard with a smile, the latter's shrill
defiant Irish yells Turing them further
upon the false scent.
IF 'tis not Danny" gasped the ad-
venturer, then myself's not the
ORourke! Bless the lad!"
But as he breathed this benediction
the iron door swung inwards and he
stumbled across the threshold, half
fainting. hardly conscious that he had
done more than pass from open night
70 the night of an enclosed space. His
foot caught on some obstruction and
he went to his knees with cry that
was a cross between a sob and a
froan; and incontinently fell full
length upon ah earthen floor, his head