Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1912-10-29


Please don't take that"
Her appeals seemed always to find
the tender spot of this robbers heart,
for he hesitated, and called out:
"Shall we overlook the parsons wad,
podner?" e
"Take 1t, 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:
II seen her first," the first one
shouted.
you did not" the other roared.
II tell you ! did"
II tell you did" They glared
fhreateningly 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: ooh, Lawd, II 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 understanding 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 profane 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 tho
other passengers shrank away in ter.
Tor.
He told himself that, while 1t might
be q fine impulse TO leap to her de.
tense, 1t was fool impulse to leap
of q precipice and leave Marjorie
alone among strangers, with 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 rifling his sweetheart's
jewelry, he felt all that he had fore
seen, and his head fought almost In
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 shivering
terror of Marjorie, and the pitiful eyes
she turned on him. But he clenched
his teeth and waited, thinking fierce
~, 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 overweight 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 q snarl: Don't you
novel"
"Who's moving?" Mallory answered,
with a poor imitation of careless
laugh.
And now the man called Bill had
reached Marjorie's right hand. He
chortled: "Golly, look at the. sinners"
But Jake, who had chosen Mar
forbes left hand, roared: 1~
"Say. you cheated. All get is this
measly plain gold band" m
ooh, don't take that" Marjorie
gasped, clenching her hand.
Mallory's heart ached at the thought
of this final sacrilege. He had tho
license, and the minister at last-and
now the fiends were going to carry on
the wedding ring. He controlled him.
self with 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.
He gave the ring jerk. but Mar.
jorie. in the very face of the weapon.
would not let 60. She struggled and
tugged. weeping and imploring: "Oh.
don't, don't take that! It's my we'd
ding ring"
"Agh, what do l care!" the rutfian
snarled. and wrenched her finger SO
viciously that she gave little cry OF
pain.
That broke Mallory's heart With
q wild, believing. Damn you'll" he
hurled himself at the man, with only
his bare hands for weapons.
(To be continued)