Middletown transcript., 1912-01-27

| could mark their faces now, cruel,
angry, revengeful; the hands that
grasped the veranda railings; the leap
ing bodies; the rifa butts uplifted to
batter down our frafl defenses.
AS trapped tigers we fought, hurting
them back from the windows, slashing,
clubbing, striking with fist and steel.
Two lay dead across the sill before
NE, cloven to the very chin, but their
bleeding bodies were hurled remorse-
!essly aside, while others clambered
-orward, mad from lust of blood,
crazed with liquor. With clubbed
guns we cleared it again and again,
battering mercilesaly at every head
that fronted us. Then a great giant
Of a fellow-dead or alive, | know
not-was hurled head-long through the
opening, an inert, limp weight, that
bore the two soldiers beside me to the
floor beneath his body With wide
sweep Of my gun l struck him, shat
tering the stock into fragments, and
swung back to meet the others, the
hot barrel falling to right and left like
fail. They were through and on
me! Wild as any sea-rover of the
north | fought, crazed with blood. un-
conscious of injury, animated solely
by desire to strike and slay! Back [
had to go; back-I trod on dead
bodies, on wounded shrieking in pain,
yet no man who came within sweep Of
that iron bar lived. 1 loved to hear
the thud of it, and l fronted those
glaring eyes, my blood afre, my arms
like steel. Through the red mist be-
held Cation for an instant as twentY
brutal hands upilfted, and then hurled
him into the ruck beneath their feet.
Whether I fought alone | knew not,
cared not. Then some one pressed
next to me, facing as did, welding a
sword like a madman. We had our ,
backs against the piano, our shoul- !
ders touched; before us that mob
swayed, checked for the moment, held j
fast by sudden overpowering dread. !
l glanced aside. My companion was
Brennan, hatless, his deep-set eyes
his coat torn off, his shirt
ripped open to the waist, his bare
breast red with blood.
mo shootin', damn vel" shouted a
voice, hoarsely. mo shootin'; l want
that Reb alive!"
Through the swirling smoke 1 rec
ognized the malicious face of Red
Lowrie as he pushed his way to the
front. To me it was Ike a personal
challenge to combat.
Rush them!" l muttered into Bren-
mans ear. "Hurl them back bit, and
lodge under into the next room"
l never waited to ascertain If he
heard me. With one fierce spring 1
struck their stunned line, and my
ron bar swept a clear space as 1t
crashed remorselessly into them. The
lext instant Lowrie and l were seem
ngly alone and fronting each other.
4 wild cat enraged by pain looks as
le did when he leaped to meet me.
Hate, deadly, relentless, glared in his
,yes, and with yell Of exultation he
swung up his long rife and struck
iavagely at my head with the stock.
caught it partially on my barrel,
'reaking its full force, and even as it
descended upon my shoulder, jabbed
he muzzle hard into his leering face.
With snarl Of pain he dropped his
'un and grappled with me, but as
us fingers closed about my throat,
swirled down through the
maze, and the maddened brute stag
cred back, his arms uplifted, his red
card cloven in twain.
Now for it, Wayne!" shouted Bren-
an. Back with you!"
With dive l went under the piano.
heard the sliding doors shut behind
8, and almost with the sound was
gain upon my feet.
ITO the stairs!" painted. "Bzen-
an, take the women 10 the stairs;
hose fellows are not in the hallway
It. and we can hold them there q ,
lille"