Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-09-11


down. The panels crashed In and then
the door burst open. With swearing
and cries Of alarm the three men broke
Into the little room. The Others who
had been In the salon 1.-The three w"
men and two girls and one of the men
had now gone into the hall. too. ana
left the large front room deserted. Jim
crossed behind them into the salon.
Outside the house as well as within
there was disturbance. 1t might mean
that Sibert and his men had arrived;
It might mean that the guards without,
alarmed by the confusion within, were
entering to investigate. In either case
It was the moment In which Jim must
hct-the moment In which he must
take his chance. He swept up heap
Of letters from the larger table and.
5undling them together he thrust them
under his cuat before any one turned
about.
Then the person who turned was
the young girl who had sat facing the
door. Jim had made no noise which
could have caused her to suspect bis
presence. She seemed to have realized
before any of the others that the fact
that Bole was bound meant that the
one who had been Bole's prisoner must
be free in the house. She spun about
to the salon to protect the documents
there, and, seeing Jim. she did not re-
coil: she cried to the others and ran
ut him.
The rest, still much amazed, did
not follow her at once and she advanc-
ed alone upon Jim. He backed toward
the nearest window and. pointing his
revolver, tried to frighten her.
"Stopr' he warned her sharply. go
backr'
"shootw she dared him. "Please
fire." and she rushed at him.
He skipped back to the curtain over
the window. and as she reached him
he fired. The firing did not frighten
her. He had pointed the revolver far
to one side to avoid all chance of hit
ting.
She saw this before he shot, and
she laughed at him tauntingly as she
seized his hand. He dropped the re-
volver and tried to throw her off, but
she held him. A man rushed up to
help her. 1t was the young man In
evening clothes. Jim threw the girl
back from him, and as the man came
Jim caught him with n fist under the
Jaw, but the man came on and Crap
pied at the same moment that the girl
tripped Jim, and he crashed back
against the window, shattering the
glass about him and the man who
fought with him.
The girl cried out shriiiy as the glass
smashed on the floor. Then she stided
her cry. and as Jim struggled with his
antagonist he felt the girls small,
tense hands selling him. He was roll
ing on the floor amid the broken glass
with the man who had grappled him
when a pistol shot rang out in the
street.
Another shot replied from beside
the house. Now there were shouts all
about, and whistle blew. AS Jim
wrestled and rolled over below the
window, from outside man smashed
in the rest of the glass and stepped in.
A window farther down the room was
burst open. and as another man ap-
peared the lights in the salon went
out.
In their place fame hared sud-
denly from the center Of the room and
jumped from rug to table and to the
hangings before the door, and Jim as
be gasped for breath sucked in the
fumes of sasoline.e~
The man with whom he was wres.
ting was trying no longer to hold him.
Instead the man now was struggling
to get away. and Jim was the one who
was holding. The girl no longer inter
fered. Now, Jim made out Sibert's
voice calling commands to his men In