The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1912-09-06

Grant turned to a door at the right.
and / lebped after them. One OF the
two fred. and the ball struck my
Shoulder. the impact throwing me
back against one Of my men. An IN
slant | felt sick and dizzy, yet real.
lzed l was not seriously hurt, and
managed TO stagger TO my feet. The
door was closed and locked, and. nj.
though my head reeled, | began to
think clearly.
THE other way. ladsi" ! cried.
"Quick. into tho halll"
We tumbled out through the narrow
entrance, and found myself next to
Eric. But we were too late TO head
of the fugitiyes, or prevent their
achieving their purpose. In through
the rear door, confused as TO what
had occurred, yet shouting fercely,
poured Pagin's wolves, seeking trou-
BILE. They were a wild, rough-looking
lot, addressed, and dirty even In that
dim light For an instant, congested
within the limits OF the hallway, both
sides paused, staring at each other In
mutual surprise and hesitation. Then
heard Jones' below Of command, and
Grants nasal voice profanely ordering
them to come on. With us there re-
,malned no choice; we must fight II
out where we were, regardless Of num-
bers.
Fire! you damned fools-hrel"
roared Jones, and there was a crash
ing of guns, the dense smoke swirling
between us. A Dragon at my right
went sprawllng; another behind gave
vent to a yell as he plunged head first
down the basement stairs. There was
the sound Of spllntering wood, of
breaking glass. felt the blood In my
veins leap to the fever OF It,
We were upon the fellows with a
rush, firing in their very faces, and
leaping madly at them. There was
little room between the walls, barely
space for a half-dozen to fight In,
shoulder to shoulder, but those be-
hind, eager to strike also, pressed up
so recklessly that we hurled them
back. To me 1t was all confusion, up
roar, deadly fighting. l could think
of nothing to right or left, only Of the
struggling devils in my front. Faces,
forms, came and vanished in the swirl
of smoke, brown gun-barrels whirled
before me, flashes of fire burned my
eyes, strange features, bearded, malig-
nant, glared at me. leaped straight
at them, striking fercely. Once / saw
Grant, and aimed blow at him. Then
he was gone, swallowed in the ruck.
Our mad onrush swept them back,
helpless, demoralized. l stumbled over
bodies, slipped in pools Of blood, yet
kept my feet. Every muscle ached; l
was cut and pounded, yet drove into
the mass, shouting to those behind:
Come on, lads! Come on! We're
driving them!"
A yard, two yards, three-beyond
the door where the men had escaped
we won our way. Then they could go
no further. Blocked, unable to retreat.
wedged helplessly against the far end
of the hall they turned like cornered
rats. could see nothing Of Jones,
but heard him, raging like fiend.
Now, you ours, now!" he stormed.
You cowardly scum-perhaps you'll
fight when you can't run! What are
you afraid Of? There's only handful,
you can chew EN- up, if you will! Push
'em back, there! Push 'em back!"
With a yell Of rage, those crushed
against the wall hurtled forward, driv-
ing the others; men were lifted and
Hurled at us; others gripped at our
feet; by sheer force of numbers they
swept us backward. 1t was hand to
hand, neither side having time to re-
load their weapons. The. smoke rose,
permitting a view of the shambles |
There was a tangle Of arms, a tumble |
Of faces. They were maddened beasts, |
desperate, revengeful. Hands clutched |
at us, gun butts were thrust into our
faces, the crush too dense to permit |
of their being swung overhead. My |
Dragons had their sabres out, and |
stood to it like men, the steel blades |
dripping as they tasted blood. But |
killing one only brought a new man to |
the front. One does not see so much |
as feel in such tumble. Yet knew |
we were worsted, outnumbered They |
came at us like a battering ram. |
saw the sergeant shot through the |
forehead; l saw Eric go down beneath |
crushing stroke, and roll under my |
feet. I stepped on bodies, fighting for
my own life as / never fought before.
Somewhere l had gripped a gun out Of
dead fingers and swung it savagely,
smashing the stock at the first blow,
but retaining the twisted iron. The
intensity of excitement seemed to
clear my brain. began to distinguish
voices, to notice faces. l heard Grant
yell safely in the rear; heard Jones'
roar, ITO hell with EN-! To hell with
'em!" Out Of the murk Of struggling
figures l made out his black beard,
the CLEAN Of yellow fangs, and leaped
toward him, striking men down until
was able to swing at his head. He
went over like a stricken OK under a
butchers AK, knocking aside two men
as he fell. 1t gave me chance to
spring out Of the melee.
ITO the stairs, men! The stairs!"
l cried eve can hold them there!"
l cannot describe now how we made
it, but we did. only know Tom and
/ held the rear, sweeping circles Of
death with our whirling gun-barrels,
falling back step by step as we fought.
At last l felt the bottom stairs with
my foot, and heard voice shout
"Come I'M. sirl Well hold 'en1 nowID