The Elbert County tribune., 1918-02-01

the room and vanished through the
doorway opposite Jimmy. He crossed
the room very quietly and stood listen
ing at the door.
Then suddenly he cautiously opened
the door an inch and looked through.
Gaillard was brandishing his revolver
threateningly, and Miles and pretty.
light-halred girl, who Jimmy guessed
at once was the missing Jean, were
covering away from it.
Then Jimmy saw the counterfeit
ers making certain preparations which
fairly caused his blood to boil. They
were tearing slips of paper into differ
ent lengths and dropping them into a
hat. Jimmy knew that that simple
proceeding had a very sinister portent
evidently they were going to draw
lots-and the loser would be appoint
ed to do away with the helpless man
and girl who, If they escaped alive,
would have such dangerous Informal
ton to disseminate.
Jimmy knew his time was not yet.
Single-handed. he could hardly hope to
manage the four desperadoes. Half to
himself he murmured little objurga-
ton against John Miles. ''For the
love of Mike, you're a husky brute,
Miles-stand upon your feet and act
like man" But Miles showed no
signs of spirit. lie covered in the
corner In terror that seemed as abject
as jeans very evident fright.
There was a single moment when
Jimmy felt that John Miles dispirited
eyes had glImpsed him lurking in the
blackness of the room beyond. He
thought he saw a flicker of some I'M
named emotion pass over Miles face,
and then he dismissed it hopelessly.
1.-THE poor boobI Ee hasn't got any
more spirit than his cows and chick
ems. Blue Cove doesn't seem to raise
any very doughty native sonsl''
playing it alone" against four men
with murder in their hearts wasn't
anything less than taking desperate
chances, but Jimmy, for all his friend
ly righteousness of countenance, and
in spite of the cheerful grin which sim
ply couldn't keep away from his face,
was an entirely fearless youth.
Perhaps his grin was an asset-it
often made dangerous foes measure
him very casually. Jimmy had al
ways the advantage of knowing the
strong points of his foes ana giving
danger due credit. But he was gen
orally the unknown, unmeasured
knight in any tourney.
Now he reached through the crack f,
in the doorway and pressed the cleo.
trio switch.
In one second Gaillard realized that
he had drawn the fatal chance, picked
up his gun to aim it, and Jiramy made
his plans to fight it out alone.
But in another second John Miles
put his own plans into action. He
leaped across the room with panther
like speed; the gun in Gaillard's hand
fell to the floor with crash, and the
counterfeiters' re-enforcements sprang
forward. At that point Mr.. Barton en-
tered the fray and the lights switched
on again on scene such as 1 had
never before witnessed.
There were men rolling about on the
floor, splitting and snarling like Wild
cats. All the animal instinct of hui
manity seems to come to the fore in
u fight.
When 1 crept down the dark and
narrow stairway in search of Jimmy
had expected almost anything sinister,
menacing, CHASTITY and terrifying. But
this primitive rough-and-turnble fight,
with human bodies thudding over each
other and human lungs expelling air
in harsh gasps seemed almost laugh
able in its ugly reality.
I found myself on the edge of the
fray-there were men all about me,