Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-18

manned with me to use the limbs which
he had freed. Making step on one side
sought to widen the space between Des-
carte and the boat and leap through. but
/ my antagonist kept even with me. /
slipped to the other side: he, too, was
/ there.
In the strange. yellow haze that laid
CHASTITY light upon everything. l could see
cred teeth. No longer was it for Del
Hervalle or Pilon that he strove. no lon
| ger for wage did he fight, but the lust
| OF blood fired him. made his limbs agile
and caused his nostrtls to CULVER. We
: were now barely out OF reach Of one
another. I, too. was crouching. knees,
! bent. muscles tense. eyes never leaving
| his. Then he launched himself at me.
With all my strength l whipped the stick
down upon his hand; something snapped
stick. wrist. something knife drop
| ped at our feet. and then / found myself
| locked in his clawing embrace. Back
ward and forward we swayed for a time,
glaring. straining. our hot. fierce breaths
minglfng. The man was strongly
heaven. he was strong!-legs of IRON
| arms Of thick oak, hands of steel Then
down upon the sands we fell.
Every detail Of that picture. blurred
| by fog as II was. Is still distinct in my
mind. lay on my back. for in the trial
Of strength he had bested me: close be-
fore my eyes he pressed his rage-drawn
| face. contorted into hideous lines and
wrinkles: past 1t and overhead were the
masts of the boats. rising vague and un-
| substantial and ghostly Esper had drawn
near: he bent forward in excitement rest
| ing his hands upon his knees and smiling
| his fantastic smile. Once he moistened
his lips and half lifted his knife as IL to
plunge II into Describes back, but he let
his hand drop again upon his knee. And
all about us was the strange, golden fog.
Descarte had his hands under my body,
where I had fallen upon them. Gripping
iS oryv1C xuyth mil 7 1t 80 o1J
he tugged grftted his teeth could feel
the convulsive squirming OF his body
upon my own, then, keeping his chest
! tight upon mine. he began drawing up his
knees: inch by inch he worked them for
, ward. That l dare not allow. or he
would presently have them doubled under
| him and upon my trunk. with which
leverage he could free his hands and have
me at his mercy. In the minute or two
while we lay thus at grip I had grown
cooler. and was able to calculate my
chances. desperate as they were. He
was stronger than l. the fact had already
| been demonstrated: by superior skill or
by some trick must / win the victory.
While I swiftly considered, l locked my
| legs over his and halted their upward
drag. / tried quick turn OF his body-it
nearly caught him. but he recovered HIM
self. and. gritting out an oath between
| his teeth, once more pressed me back.
The holds and clinches known to wrestlers
| dare not chance. for did but cease the
pressure l exerted upon his arms. aye,
even for the fraction Of q second. he
would have had one OF his powerful hands
| out and about my throat. Under my back
| l could feel them opening and shutting
working furiously. Nothing of wrestlers
laws knew he: his were the brutes
| straight. instructive methods. Again he
| began to draw up his knees; tighter l
| locked my leg grip. I could hear ESper
strung with excitement. whispering to
i himself.
BY now the tremendous strain was tell
Ing on US both. Precipitation burst from
our foreheads and streamed upon our
| faces; our chests heaved one against the
| other with the labor OF our breathing:
yet to the one watcher We must have ap-
peared as immovable as a scufptured
piece OF marble. / could feel the cords
standing taut upon my temple; Describes