The Prescott daily news., 1912-05-10


 the tender spot of this robbers heart, for he hesitated, and called out: Shall we overlook the parsons wad, podner?"
 Take it, and shut up, you molly coddle!" was the answer he got, and the vacation funds joined the old gew- gaws.
 And now everybody had been robbed but Marjorie She happened to be at the center of the line, and both men reached her at the same time: "I seen her first" the first one shouted
 You did not" the other roared.
 T tell you did"
 "I tell you l did" They glared threateningly at each other and their revolvers seemed to meet, like two game cocks, beak to beak.
 The porter voiced the general hope, when be sighed: "Oh, Lawd, if they'd only shoot each other
 This brought the rivals to their evil senses, and they swept the line with those terrifying muzzles and that heart-stopping yelp: Hands up!"
 Bill said: You take the east side of her, and I'll take the west"
 "All right
 And they began to snatch away her side-combs, the little gold chain at her throat the jeweled pin that Nal lory had given her as the first token of his love
 The young soldier had foreseen this. He had foreseen the wild rage that would unseat his reason when he saw the dirty hands of thieves laid rudely on the sacred body of his beloved But his soldier-schooling had drilled him to govern his impulses. to play the coward when there was nc hope when the moment was ripe with per feet opportunity.
 He had kept telling himself that when the finger of one of these men touched so much as Marjories hem, he would be forced to fling himself on the profane miscreant And he kept telling himself that the moment he did this. the other man would calmly blow a hole through him, and drop him at Marjorie's feet, while the other passengers shrank away in ter TOT
 He told himself that, while it might be a fine impulse to leap to her de- : fense, it was a fool impulse to leap ! of a precipice and leave Marjorie i alone among strangers, with a dead man and scandal, as the only re- wards for his impulse He vowed that he would hold himself in check. and let the robbers take everything. leav- ing him only the name of coward, provided they left him also the power to defend Marjorie better at another time.
 And now that he saw the clumsy handed thugs ritiing his sweetheart's 1ewelry. he felt all that he had fore seen. and his head fought almost tD vain against the white fire of his heart. Between them he trembled like leaf, and the sweat globed on his forehead
 The worst of 1t was the shiverlng terror of Marjorie. and the pitiful eyes she turned on him. But he clenched his teeth and waited. thinking fierce ly, watching, like a lowering eagle, a chance to swoop
 But the robbers kept glancing this way and that, and one motion would mean death. They themselves were so overwrSught with their own ordeal and its immediate conclusion, that they would have killed anybody Nal lory shifted his foot cautiously, and instantly a gun was jabbed into his stomach, with a snarl: Don't you move,"
 Who's moving?" Mallory answered, with a poor imitation of careless laugh
 And now the man called Rill had reached Marjorie's right hand. He chortled; "Golly, look at the sinners"
 But Jake. who had chosen Mar jorie's left hand. roared
 Say. you cheated. All get Is this measly plain gold band"
 "Oh. don't take that" Marjorie gasped. clenching her hand
 Mallory's heart ached at the thought of this final sacrilege He had the license, and the minister at last-and now the flends were going to carry oil the wedding ring. He controlled him. self with a desperate effort, and stopped to plead: Say. old man, don't take that. That's not fair"
 Shut up, both of you" Jake growled. and jabbed him again with the gun.