Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-23

sure that the man only awaited his
chance, just as he himself had done, as
he lay there In the bed q few moments
before 1t was to be struggle of wits
as well as of muscles
Under his pillow which the burglar had
not had time to explore lay revolver
II the man knew Of its presence, his first
move would be to secure II. This would
again give him control of very delicate
situation. Determined to remove him
from this dangerous proximity, Ruther-
ford gave him mighty wrench that
lifted both himself and his captive clear
Of the floor. Again he was warned by
the ease with which the man abandoned
himself to his rough handling. Pulling
him away from the bed and into the
middle of the room, Craig stood holding
his man, with arms pinloned to his side,
| In a bear-like embrace.
IN the tensencss of the moment, two
things came forcibly to his notice, ono
was that while he himself was breathing
fast and hard from his excrtion, the
breath of his captive was as even and
regular as II he we're sleep. The other
was that neither of them had made
! sound In their quiet encounter.
| In the silence he heard the chimes from
! the clock In the stately tower on Madison
! Square complete their quatrain. lndicat-
| ing the close of an hour; and after
| moment the bell doomed out the hour Of
| two.
Realizing that his antagonist was play
! ing with him. allowing him to use UP all
his energy, Rutherford gathered himself
together for n mighty effort The push
button on the opposite side OF the room
would summon Mike. He must reach II,
If he had to drag this inert weight all the
way across with him. He turned in that
direction.
Whether the man suspected his inten-
ton or decided that the time was now
ripe for an effort in his own behalf,
Rutherford could not guess. He only
knew of the swift change OF attitude as
a grip like the swapping shut of a steel
spring closed down upon his arm. He
knew that hold He had never felt 1t but
once. He had never in all his experience
in the world of sport met such another
In his amazement he uttered a single
word
"Helderman"'
That second of surprise with it's ac-
companying relaxation was his undoing.
The man who had submitted to being
dragged about like sick kitten became
II thing of iron and steel. He seized
Rutherford in the adept clasp of the
trained wrestler.
The two would have been pretty evenly
matched, but for the fact that Craig had
been taken by surprise. and also was not
rs fresh as his antagonist. Despite these
handicaps, however. he met the onslaught
with a skill and warincss which soon
showed the assailant he had no mean
antagonist
The man was seemingly avoiding COM
ing to blows, or doing anything which
would attract attention on the outside:
and for some occult reason It went H~ninst
Craigs grain to call for help. No, he
would fight his own battles. win or lose!
Suddenly the man wrenched himself
clear of Rutherford and darted toward the
door, as II he had but one object In view.
to make his escape. Rutherford darted
after him. The next instant the retreat
ing figure reversed its motion and met the
oncoming man with terrific momentum.
Rutherford was hurled to the floor by the
impact. He felt himself seized in the
grasp of two long. lean, powerful arms.
which seemed to him more like those of
n gorilla than human being.
Slowly but surely he was bent back
across the knee OF his cunning opponent
He struggled vainly, feeling ribs and
muscles which had not vet fully recov-
cred from his hunting accident twist and
strain. He thought he must burst asun-
der. groan was forced from his tense
lips, and the mercIless agony was ended
by Inconsistencies