The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-07-18
BY Percy Brebner.
Copyright. 1913, by
Little, Brown & Co.

CONTINUED from our last ISSUE }
Unless one has had experience
of fierce hand-to-hand fighting
such as this, he cannot know how
the lust to hurt and kill takes
possession of a man, gives
strength to every nerve and sinew
and blots out every other thought
and consideration of which his ma
ture is capable.
Not until a fierce cry from
Huismann, piercing through all
the tumult, reached my ears, had
/ any real knowledge of what was
happening.
Liars and cheats. Your Males
ty!" he cried in impotent rage.
Curse them! The Guard has been
bought"
For an instant l turned to look
into the faces of the men fighting
behind me, to prove the Captain s
words false. Bought. The Guard
bought. At what moment the few
who had followed me had DESERT
ed, l did not know; l only knew
that l was alone Traitors! With
an oath | flung the name at them.
and then shouted once again:
For the King! For the King!"
l was a few feet nearer to the
dias. l saw the King and Huis-
mann side by side. battling every
effort made to rush the dias. Then
an ill-timed blow was the Cap
tain's undoing. II was murder.
no less. with score of,villainous
blades to consummate it.
Come, Heselton!" shouted the
King. They lied. They aid You
were a traitor. | thought to hang
you tomorrow. but here's a more
glorious death"
Heaven knows, l strove to obey
him, but was one man against a
hundred. l heard Varna shout an
order. l did not catch the words
of 1t, but l think 1t was a blow
from behind that brought the
King to his knees, the first blow
of many which cut and thrust the
life out of him.
A thousand swords seemed to
dance and culver before me. A
burning flash ran through my
body, and | fell-down, down into
depths unfathomable.
When | opened my eyes again
l was lying on my back in one of
the barrack hospital beds. There
was a sudden movement near me,
and O'Connell, the one man in the
Guard with whom I had become at
all friendly, rose from a chair near
the window.
"You!"
"Ah. that's good. You recog-
nized me. You are better"
The sound of our voices brought
In a nurse who ordered no more
talking. / began to mend rapidly
once I had taken the road towards
recovery, and with my returning
strength O'Connell's attendance
became constant.
You're a disappointment to
me-" said to him one day. You
don't look the kind of stuff Of
which traitors are made"
"All kinds of stuff are worked
up into that article, sir; still, I
shouldn' call myself a traitor.
You see, the circumstances are
peculiar"
There are no circumstances
which excuse a man for allowing
himself to be bought"
Bought! Faith, I had no
chance of selling myself. The
Guard was bought, that's true
enough; whether they've done
much harm is another matter.
Captain Huismann they didn't at
tempt to buy, and he's dead. They
didn't attempt to buy you, and
how you come to be alive is a
marvel"
lis the Count master of Draw
.stadt? Do the people call him
King?"
They will as soon as he has
time to get crowned"
And the Princess?" I asked.
"She is still in the city, but who
knows whether Christian of Varna
will marry her now?"
And what do you suppose the
Count intends to do with me?" !
asked after a pause.
That is more than I can tell,
but the Count sends you this"
IO'Connell said. ct slipped from
tyour tunic when you we're picked
up that night. Love seems to have
armored you to some purpose"
He tossed upon my bed little
gray shoe. Gray-yes, and dainty
still; but there were narrow, clean
cuts in 1t, and a deep hole in the
heel, and the gray Of IL was STAIN
ed, dark and red, stained with
blood-mine.
Undoubtedly this shoe had saw
ed my life. These cuts in 1t must
have served to change a little the
direction of the thrusts which
made them, and from one vigorous
blade the heel had saved me alto
gether.
But as to what the Count want
ed of me I did not learn until,
healed of my wounds, I was able
to answer a summons to his pres
ence.
The Count was seated in the
room where King Philip had been
wont to give audience to his Off.
GERS. With him, besides several