The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1912-10-24

been tackled DOLLY py one OF inc
junk's crew. On his own part be
caught glimpse Of shadow moving
ghostlike against one Of the lights,
and promptly exercised It with shot
By this time the vessel seemed to
be caught in the grip Of pandemon.
ium; shouts and shots We'd with
screams, groans, confused padding
footsteps, to make the moment one OF
a nightmare. The boarding party stood
at bay, not daring to venture from the
spot on which they had landed, firing
steadily but with discretion.
Huddled together like children In
fear of the powers Of darkness, the
three held their fire against the inev.
table assault In rorce, handicapped
fearfulty by their absolute ignorance
of the lay Of the deck, Of the number
of their opponents, and of from which
quarter they had to expect the attack.
And the silence and the suspense
wore upon their nerves until the final
to save them from madness. And 1t
came with rush and 8 will, cyclonic,
tremendous, overpowering. BY sheer
weight of human flesh the Europeans
were pinned against the rail, fighting
at handgrips with cruel and cunning
foe far better prepared for such buss.
ness than they. For at such close
quarters pistols were practically
worthless save as clubs, while knives
could slip to slay through almost any
ihterstice, however straitened.
O'Rourke had no time to think Of his
companions. Stung to desperation by
the silent unrelenting fury of his as
sailants-twice he was conscious Of
the white-hot agony of a knife-thrust,
one penetrating the flesh Of his side
and scraping his ribs, the other biting
deep into his thigh-he fred until he
had but one cartridge left in his re-
volver, and expended that blowing out
the brains Of an extraordinarily per.
sistent coolie, then dropped the use
less weapon and trusted to his naked
strength.
It served him we'll for a little. One
man, precipitated by the weight Of
those behind him into the adventur-
er's arms, he seized BY the throat and
throttled in a twinkling; then lifting
him from the deck, he exerted his
power to the utmost, and cast the
body like log into the midst of the
melee. Thus clearing little space, he
found himself able to step aside and
let another run past him into the bull
wark: and seeing the sheen Of a
swordblade in the fellows hand, be-
fore he could recove- seized his wrist,
twisted 1t savagely, and wrenched the
weapon away.
The finale came a moment later, sig
nalized by a binding fash of light
more bright than that of day, which
fell athwart the deck and illuminated
instantaneously every inch of the
lighting ground. Fervently be blessed
the nearby vessel that had turned it's
searchlight on the junk. The scene
it revealed beggareS the experience Of
a man whose trade was fighting; 1t
fell upon decks slippery with blood
and Uttered with the bodies of dead
and wounded; it silenced a confusion
lndescribable. Upon that insane turmoil
the light rell with the erect OF tnun-
derbolt from a clear sky.
Screaming shrilly in their panic, the
Chinese scattered and fell away, leav-
Ing O'Rourke beside Couch. Wheeler
being down and buried beneath three
Chinese corpses. And instantaneously
something grated harshly against the
starboard side OF the junk, and man.
his figure stark black against the cold
white glare, leaped upon the rail and
tumbled inboard. Others to the num-
Der of a dozen followed him. swarm
ing over the decks. Couch reeled to-
wards them, babbling orders and In
structions.
The second launch had arrived.
Sick and faint, O'Rourke slouched
back against the rail, watching with
eyes the end Of the chap
ter. It was simple to the point OF
seeming farcical In comparison with
that which preceded It The dased and
,ow outnumbered Chinese offered no
'urther resistance. Disarmed and put
ander guard, they disappeared from
ais consciousness, while he watched
he men from the second launch,
,purred by Couch, scatter in search OF
he abducted women.
LOSS of blood was beginning TO tell
1pon him: his strength seemed alto
gether gone; his wits buzzed In his
head like a swarm of gnats. He
grasped his support convulsively, be-
ginning to appreciate how seriously
he was hurt. He heard as from great
distance thin, faint cries Of men shout
ing in triumph; saw Couch, a pygmy
shape, holding In his arms doll who
wore the face of Miss Pynsent. Then
OF q sudden he was conscious OF
woman Fastening toward him, fam