New Ulm review., 1912-10-16
CHAPTER Xxx.

went on the well.known voice. "Ah
was in heah one night las winteh,
when dehe come an awful scream out
side. Kee Lung, de Chinaman, goes
to de dooh, an in falls niggah wom-
an. She'd seen 1t. She'd seen a man
standin' outside In de yahd wivout no
haid-just his body all complete up to
de neck-a big, upstandin' feller in
good clothes, he was. She done let
out one yell an fall agin de dooh.
Den dehe was a cihcus man, mighty
fine young man he was, too, what goes
roun' de country in de summah, graft
in wiv de big-top shows. He was
Jest comm in heah when he seen
Do same ting, ezackly identical. Dat
man mighty nigh tuhned homes den
and dehe, so he did" ..#-
Don yo' spose, Sam," quavered
voice from an adjacent bunk, "as how
all dis was joke? Summun might
have been foolin' an projickin' roun'
jest to scahe folks silly, dom yo'
think?"
mo indeedy," answered the voice
Of big Sam. "Dehe was no joke bout
dis at all. Yo' jest ak Kee Lung.
One time when dat haidless ghos' done
frighten de livin' soul outen some peo-
pie comm in heah, Kee Lung runs out
wiv a lamp an smokewagon. He
seen de same ting-de haidless man
stannin' right longside de doohway.
Kee Lung frow fit an bus de lamp
all oveh hisseff tryin' to get back in
side'
'Madre de Dios," came a new and
trembling tone from the same bunk
whence the voice of the negro had
Just issued, II am YER sorry I mex en-
trance here. I care not, not me, to see
ghosts. Ay de mil hat de good rea-
SOM"
The air thickened again with the
smoke of opium. and the voices died
down to soft, uncertain whispers.
Brockett wriggled from the bunk, and
Solano was just extricating himself
from the narrow limits of the smok-
ing-den, when there came the sound of
q sudden struggle only q few feet
j away. Thumping blows, hoarse cries
of surprise and rage, and the cracking
Of the woodwork under agitated feet
and hands made up startling mixture
of noises. Heads protruded from the
half dozen hunks around the room;
the Chinaman and the mulatto woman,
rising from their chairs, came hurry
ing toward the. scene of trouble-and
&61 r%o{ 1f h,,r
violently burst asunGer. A writhing,
fighting heap fell heavily to the floor,
and huge black man, extricating him.
self with a great heave of knees and
shoulders, rose up gigantic In the
smoky room. Round his knees chung
a smaller man, striving frantically to
drag the giant down. Big Sam, with
Z beastlike snarl, drove his massive
f1st upon the head Of the clinging en-.
emy, but did not break him from his
hold. The smaller man tugged mad.
"; big Sam, caught of balance, fell
like severed tree, and before he
could rise something flashed in the
blue murk of the room. Big Sam.
with a hoarse gurgle, Strengthened out
upon the floor. The little man sprang
! up, knife in his blood-spattered hand,
spnd reached quickly into the clothing
Of his victim. As he fumbled In the
! negro's pockets, the Chinaman struck
him with billet of wood, and the
4 mulatto woman caught his knife-hand.
The three dusky fighters rolled and
grappled, upsetting the miserable fur.
niture of the room, while another
! hideous uproar began outside the
: threshold, and a scream of THE
ghost! The ghost!" mingled with in
sistent beatings on the panels.
Stepping clear as best he could
from the struggle ON the floor, Solano
tore away the bolt. A man and woman,
white-faced, shrieking, stumbled into
the room-and at their heels came
F1Zc1 and Hogan. large, convincing