The Bourbon news., 1912-02-13

!
Stuck in the Wanderers Throat.
| fantastic borderland of dreams. Yet
such was his command of self that he
would not yield to the caressing touch
of drowsiness, but merely lay motion
less and at rest, communing with his
| fancy And that led him out of the
sordid saloon of the Rance across the
seas that lay ahead of that ships
prov, to the fair land whittier he was
to convey the Pool of Flame
Abruptly he leapt to his feet, wide
awake and raging.
A blow was still sounding through
| the saloon a dull crash. Buried half
way to the hilt in the bulkhead back
of the transom a knife quivered. In
stinctively the wanderers fingers had
closed upon the grip. of his revolver.
He pulled the trigger almost before
he realized what had happened and
sent a bullet winging toward a spot
on the gangway above where a pair
Of long brown legs had been but now
were not. On the heels of that fruit
less shot he sent another, this time
with no murderous intent, but to
warn the captain on the bridge. Here
at last was an issue forced, animus
proven, assassination indisputably at
tempted.
He sprang for the companionway,
was half way up it in thought his
/ hAo rt hot wit in dru Wi
thirst for that lascar's blood. Not a
third time should the man escape his
judgment at the hands of O'Rourke,
he swore.
A stentorian roar saluted him as he
gained the deck-a below choked and
O'Rourke in a flash swung on his
heel. simultaneously he came face to
face with Quick. lie 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 a
nerveless hand, his chin fallen for
ward on his chest, 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 harbinger of good
luck, had been foully murdered. His
dominant emotion of the moment, an
intense and pitiful solcitude for the
dying man, threw him off his guard
Under it's 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 it gently to the deck.
But in a trice he was alive again to
his own peril. In the twinkling of an
eye he saw fash 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
in the thong that held the Pool Of
Flame, and tore out, leaving Tapping
hole and scraping a hands breadth
of skin from his forearm. Needless
of this, only in fact subconsciously
aware that the chamOis bag had faller
: to the deck, he caught at the hani
!, that had welded the kris; his fingers
closed about the wrist, and, bracins
!. himself, he swung the assassin off hi.
feet So doing, his fingers slipped OF
the mans greasy skin and he STUN
bled off his balance.
His object, however, had been &C
complished. The murderer, hurled ,
> yard or more through the air, fell an,
slid along the deck into a group O
). lascars, one of whom, like a nine-pin
: was knocked over and fell atop Q
him.
O'Rourke recovered and stepped fol
, ward, revolver poised to administe
the Quietus to the murderer-an am
able intention which was, however
doomed to Illustration. With almos
= inconceivable swiftness the group G
. lascars had become a mere tangle G
arms and legs, melange of struf
If Cling limbs and bodies Where h
y had thought to find single prostrat
form, there were six struggling in COZ
;. fusion on the deck.
g For a thought he stayed his finge
+ on the trigger, waiting to pick out tn
r. undermost and slay him first of al
unwilling. furthermore, to waste on
\ of the four invaluable cartridges r,
: naming in his revolver. And then
!. unexpectedly the tragedy seemed owe
and done with altogether.
= From the bottom of the heap of boz
les a terrible crv nf n,c~+-i ----@s-