The Forrest City times., 1913-06-06

sAIlA, even as that let1al oot%ct or chill-hardened steel spun upwsrs the light was switched suddenly o1 and We were in grumous darkness
 IL Fas she who. pressinig the button al her side. had dropped over US this mantle Of invisibility no less obscur- ing than the fabled Hel Keplein; and 1T was she. 100, who now opened the other door of the brougham. and with murmured: -Comei Hurry" drew me after her into the dread uncertain ty Of an environment Of which we knew nothing
 The gloom without vas scarcely less thick than that within Of ny five senses, therefore. all keenly alert. that of sight told me nothing; but my ears and nostrils. aided and abetted by my perception Of sodden planking be meath my feet. informed me that ws had slighted in a stable The sound Of pounding hoofs echoed from near 1 by stalls and unmistakable equine odors were strongly pervasive
 Upon my hearing there fell, too. as ye fled. the hlgh-pitched nasal cackls Of excited and perplered celestials, whose eyes. dazzled by the broughan1 lamps, failed 10 follow us into that ob- scurity which lay in the wake Of the conveyance, and through which, hand Tn hand. Evelyn and l crept crouch ingly toward the street, our hearts hammering but our breathing smoth- cred lest 1t betray our whereabouts and precipltate pursuit.
 If in our fond fancy we expected an unimpeded way, however, our sx. pectatfons were not realized. Where the darkness was densest there rose an obstruction. From out Of the black pair Of arms encircled me-a pair of arms, long. sinewy and muscular, which frightened about me with a sud den yise-like pressure, holding me pow erless. My hold of Eyelyn's hand was thus abruptly sundered, and though she could not see, she sensed the en- counter. Once more she screamed High and shrill her young voice rose l above the noise Of the stamping horses ! and the quaintly strident chatter of ! the confused Mongolians. l. ~as not so much mere cry of alright as 1t
 was an appeal for help. And it met
 with surprisingly prompt response. Before it's echo had died. the double sliding doors which separated our
 stable dungeon from the sidewalk
 were swept swiftly apart, admitting
 the revealing gleam from a street
 lamp across the way, and admitting,
 too. the husky, commanding figure of
 a man with raised revolver, followed l by mob Of neighborhood denizens
 attracted by the unusual and excited
 by the girls penetrating vociferation.
 Quickly as l had been seized, even
 mora quickly was l released. The en-
 circling arms fell away instantly. and the giant who had held me turned
 with an oath Of defiance and confront.
 ed the invaders. In both oath and at titude there vas a reminder of some
 thing heard and seen before; and
 treading upon the heels of reminder
 came recognition. It was Philetus
 Murphy, red and burly, who now tow
 cred menacingly above our armed
 savior. II was Philetus Murphy who.
 swinging viciously for his adversary's jaw, staggered back the same instant,
 his arm dropping and bullet In his
 shoulder.
 For moment following the shot
 there was dead silence Then came pandemonium. The mob, already aug
 mented from a score to a hundred,
 surged into the stable as a spring flood
 surges over broken dams With Eve | lyn in 8 corner behind me l fought
 of the crowding, believing throng.
 while Murphy lay grooming at our feet, and his assailant, who, when once his
 face met the light. l discovered was l O'Hara, my own detective, smashed heads right and left with the butt of 1 his revolver. and hoarsely commanded room for his fallen enemy.
 What might have happened, what i fatalities might have ensued, had 1t three uniformed members of the met 1 ropolltan police force I shall not at 1 tempt to conjecture. Their clubs, I l know, did good service; and a shot or two fired over the heads of the rioting crowd had a wonderfully paci- | flying effect.
 Poor Evelyn, in spite of an heroical- | ly stubborn insistenoe to be coura- geous, was as thoroughly frightened as l have ever seen her. When, at length. the stable was cleared, and lamps were lighted, she was still pal. lid as marble, and her lip quivered with an obstinacy that no restraining teeth nor hiding hand could disguise.
 "Oh! Wasn't 1t exciting!" she ex. claimed, with an effort at nonchalance that was almost pathetic. 'T wouldn't have missed this experience for any, thing in the world" And then. discov- ering s little trickle of blood op my cheek. which diligently piled hand, kerchief had not fully succeeded in keeping out of sight. she was at once all solicitude. "Oh, Philipl" she cried, with wide eyes. swimming You're hurtl I was awful. IL was heathen- ishl wish we had never dared-who