Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-05-29

AN ~ M&@
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 againG the inev'
liable assault in force, handicapped
fearfully 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
struggle came IN the shape OF boom
to save them from madness. And II
came with a ruSh and 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 bus:'
ness than they. For at such close
quarters pistols were practically
worthless save as clubs, while knives
could slip to say through almost any
;tnterstice, however straitened.
,O'Rourke had no time to think of his
companions. Stung to desperation by
the silent, unrelenting fury of his as
sailants-twiee he was conscious oi
the white-bot agony of knife-thrust,
one penetrating the flesh Of his side
and scraping his ribs, the other biting
deep into his thigh-he fired 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.
1t 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 tFinkling; 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 recover seized his wrist,
twisted it savagely, and wrenched the
weapon away.
The finale caEne a moment later, sig.
nalized By a binding fash of light
more bright than that of day, which
fell athwart the deck and Illuminated
instantaneoudy every inch Of the
fighting ground. Fervently be blessed
the nearby vessel that had turned its
searchlight on the junk. The scene
it revealed beggared the experience of
e man whose trade was fighting; 1t
fell upon decks slippery with blood
and Uttered with the bodies of dead
and wounded; ii sileneed a confusion
indescrfbable. Upon that insane turmoil
the light fell with the effect of a thun-
derbolt from clear sky.
Screaming shrlIly 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 tnstantaneously
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 inbcard. Others to the num-
Der of dozen followed him, swarm
ing over the decks. Couch reeled to-
wards them, babbling orders and in
strucrions.
The second launch had arrived.
Sick and faint, O'Rourke slouched
back against the rail watching with
lack-luster eyes the end of the chap
ter. 1t was simple to the point OF
seeming farcical in comparison with
tnat which preceded it. The dazed and
uow cutnumbered Chinese offered 90
further resistance. Disarmed and put
ander guard, they disappeared from
his consciousness, while he watched
the men from the second launch,
spurred by Couch, scatter in search OF
the abducted women.
LOSS of blood was beginning to tell
upon him; his strength seemed alto
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