The Detroit times., 1912-06-27

lHOukh lHt blOM 6PCnt cOinf VI 80
force upon his arm. yet Ii staggered
him and carried him back. so that.
as | followed IL with my other hand,
/ caught him this time unguarded.
full and fair on the point OF the
chin, shaking his head upon his
shoulders His arms jerked up con
vulsively and fell; and he crashed
back into the wall behind him; tot
tered. crumpled and fell SPRAYING
TO the floor on his face. The heavy
tin pitcher clattered by his side and
drenched him with water. but he
did not moves and turned him over
on his back.
examined him rapidly. and
breathed sigh OF relief To find his
heart still beating. ] had strudk
him coldly enough, and as | struck
had not thought or cared whether or
not the blow would kill him: but
now. as bent over him, found my
self glad that, in spite OF his cruelty
and his wickedness. | had not killed
the man But | was almost equally
glad that | had put him. for a while,
beyond doing mischief.
/. | Strengthened up and looked about
the room. Spilled water was running
across the dusty floor in little, mer-
cury-like riyulets, that rushed roundiy
and erratically forward for a few.
narrow-tongued inches, stopped ap-
parently causelessly. and as cause
! lessly shot on little way again. The
air was so full OF dust that 1t set me
coughing But. save for the dust ana
the spilled water and the great, inert
I figure on the floor. the room was Just
as II had been, the door was still bolt,<
ed on the outside. and | was still a
prisoner.
There was. however, another differ
ence. was still fast bolted in, bur
now ! knew that the bolts could not
hold me. that | was as strong now as
| had been weak before. and that
four-inch bits OF steel and thumbs
thick panels OF oak could no longer
block my way to Nancy.
| wondered that the revolver shot
and the uproar OF our struggle had
not brought some one already, and.
indeed, as | had fought, had momen-
tarily expected TO hear the click OF
bolts and the opening of the door be-
hind me. So now, before / put my
shoulder TO II, | paused and listened.
my ear close to the open panel Some
one was undoubtedly In the hall out
side, two, or perhaps three, people:
( for | was sure that distinguished
Mrs. Olsens voice, and thought thar
! IL was Doctor Mayhem who answered
| her.
I'VE had better go in" heard him
| say.
"But." protested Mrs Olsen, II II
were she. "he said that he was not TO
! be disturbed"
you say" Doctor Mayhew's
voice faltered, that you heard IA
shot? That-that would be going
| pretty far, Mrs. Olsen. Even We can't
| have that sort of thing"
| ITS probably in self-defense"
But" Doctor Mayhem said plain
lively. you can't shoot patients In an
| asylum even in selfdefense He ought
TO have taken Mat In with him. Mrs.
! Olsen, | don't like It. I'm going in,
whether or no."
And be a witness?" she asked
dryly
| did not watt for any more. They,
certainly. were not going TO wait
| much longer, and there might be
three or four In the party, a risk
which / did not want to run So
| faced about to the window again,
thinking, once had torn the bars
away and dropped down outside, to
come In again at some lower window, =
! But to my JOY saw something that
until now had In some way entirely
escaped my observation. smaller
| door. much like the one had left, led
into an adjoining room.
tContinued)