The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1912-02-29

O'Rourke in a flash swung on his
heel. simultaneously he came face to
face with Quick. He could have cried
aloud In pity.
The captain swayed before him, a
massively built figure clothed all In
white, huge arms trembling towards
his head, revolver dropping from q
nerveless hand, his chin fallen for
ward on his chest, a stupid, weary
smile on his face, and a dark and hid
eous smear spreading swiftly over the
bosom Of his shirt
A cry OF horror, despair and rage
stuck In the wanderers throat. Quick,
who had hailed his appearance on the
Rance at Alden as Aarbinger Of good
luck, had been foully murdered His
dominant emotion of the moment, an
intense and pitiful solicitude for the
dying man, threw him off his guard.
Under its influence he forgot the des-
perate case Of which this tragedy
brought all aboard the Rance. put out
his arms. received the falling body,
and let II gently TO the deck.
But in trlce he was alive again to
his own peril. In the twinkllng of an
eye he saw flash of light gliding to-
wards him with resistless impetus.
Intuitively he swung to one side, to
the right, and leapt to his feet. At
that the knife, a kris sinuous and
keen, ran cold upon the flesh Of his
chest, slit through his shirt caught
L. - k,t Ill Hn Do 80
Flame, and tore out, leaving tapping
hole and scraping hands breadth
OF skin from his forearm. Needless
| of this, only In fact subconsciously
aware that the cbamois bag had fallen
to the deck, he caught at the hand
that had welded the kris; his fingers
closed about the wrist, and, bracing
himself. he swung the assassin of his
feet. So doing. his fingers slipped on
the mans greasy skin and he STUN.
bled OF his balance.
His object, however. had been &C.
complished. The murderer, hurled a
yard or more through the air, fell and
slid along the deck into group of
lascars, one Of whom, like q nine.pin,
was knocked over and fell atop Of
him.
O'Rourke recovered and stepped for
ward, revolver poised to administer
the quietus to the murderer-an ami
able intention which was, however
doomed to Illustration. With almost
inconceivable swiftness the group OF
lascars had become q mere tangle Of
arms and logs. q melange Of strug
Cling limbs and bodies. Where h,
had thought to md single prostrat'
form, there were six struggling in con
fusion on the deck.
For thought he stayed his finge
on the trigger, waiting to pick out thu
undermost and STAY him first Of all
unwilling, furthermore, to waste on
of the four invaluable cartridges re
naming in his revolver. And then
Unexpectedly the tragedy seemed owe
and done with altogether.
From the bottom of the heap Of boo
I les a terrible cry OF mortal angus
q shrilled loud; and almost at once tn
2 mob seemed to resolve into Its orit
! inal elements. Five lascars crawlet
q arose, or flung themselves away fror
the sixth, who lay inert, prone, limb
q still twitching, knife buried In hi
c back.
For thought the tableau hell
j.. there in the pure brilliance Of tn
moonlight; the half dozen standin
figures, ORourke a space apart frol
the rest, and two bodies. the one fac
down, Quick with face to the star
each with its dread background;
black stain that grew and spread SLOW
ly upon the white, dazzlin
Quietly the tallest Of the lascai
moved forward, knelt and drew III
knife from the back of his dead fe
low. He Strengthened up, facin
ORourke without tremor, his ey,
: afre, and wiped the blade Of the kr
on his cummerbund.
3 do not shoot, sahib.' he sa
smoothly in excellent English. II
not shoot, sahib, for It is I who ha,
avenged. This dog and with his I,
he stirred the thing at his feet, ''ri
amok. Now he is dead"
This was the serang who spok
O'Rourke eyed him coldly through
prolonged silence. At length, 9TH
seems quite evident" he admitt
~ coolly. Pick up that body and thrt
1t overheard" he commanded sharp
=, In obedience to . sign from the I
:. rang. two Of the lascars seized {
~ body. A subsequent splash oversi
~ told the Irishman that his order h
10 been carried out. But he heard
~ abstractedly, confronted as he W
"a with a problem whose difficulty W
,s not to be underestimated, the probe
nc embodied in the statuesque, inpert
bable seraHg.
4. II was hard to know what to
what to believe, what action to tai