The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1912-05-08

robbed but Marjorie. She happened to
be at the center of the line, and both
men reached her at the same time
Il seen her FIRST" the first one
shouted
You did not" the other roared
Il tell you | did"
81 tell you ! 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 he sighed: on, 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 no hope
of successful battle, and to strike only
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 Marjorie's hem,
he would be forced to fling himself
on the protane miscreant And he
kept telling himself that the moment
he did this, the other man would
calmly blow 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 fool impulse to leap
off precipice and leave Marjorie
alone among strangers, with dead
man and a scandal as the only re-
wards for his impulse He vowed that
he would hold himself in check, and
let the robbers take everything, leay-
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 riting his sweetheart's
jewelry, he felt all that he mad tore
seen, and his head fought almost in
vain against the white fire OF his
heart. Between them he trembled
like a leaf and the sweat globed on
his forehead
The worst of it was the shiyering |
terror of Marjorie, and the pitifu eyes
she turned on him But he clenched |
his teeth and waited, thinking fierce
lv. watching, like lowering eagle.
chance to swOop.
But the robbers kept glancing this
way and that, and one motion would
mean death They themselves were
so overwrought 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
movei"
Who's moving?" Mallory answered,
with poor imitation OF a careless
laugh
And now the man called Bill had
reached Mariories right hand He
"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 fiends were going to carry of
the wedding ring. He controlled him
self with q 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
-he gun
He gave the ring jerk, but Mar
orie, in the very face of the weapon,
would not let go She struggled and
ugged. weeping and imploring. "Oh,
lon't, don't take that! It's my we'd
ling ring"
"Agh, what do | care!" the ruttian
Inarled, and wrenched her finger SO
that she gave a little cry OF
)ain.
That broke Mallory's heart with
| wild, believing, Damn yOu!" he
lurled himself at the man, with only
lis bare hands for weapons.
CONTINUED Tomorrow
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