Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-12-17


NE ~ - Q blt-9ust sosugb - ho
ca snswss me arse. want 10 And
out what III THE msaaa Now ~
here. Knox. what n an this to ycuf
Why are you butting In on my game J
Was Beaucaire friend Of yoursr
NJ can hardly claim that" I admit
ted. 1--WE never met r-til I came
aboard this steamer. An / am inter-
ested In Ia Justice TO others"
"To others2 oh, suppose you mean
those girls--you know them thenf"
~ have never even seen them" !
said.
II see; a self.appointed squire OF
danes; actuated merely by romantic
desire to serve beauty In distress. Elk.
tremely interesting, my dear boy. But,
see here, Knox" and his tone changed
To seriousness. "Let the romance 60.
and talk sense a minute. You are not
going to get very far fighting me alone.
You haven't even got the law with you,
Even II I cheated Besucalre. which i
do not for a moment admit, there IL
no proof. The money Is mine, and so
10 the land ana the niggers. You can
be ugly, Of course. hut you cannot
overturn the facts. Now. you acknowl-
edge that what has occurred IL per-
sonally nothing to you: Deaucaire was
no special friend. and you don't even
know the two glrls-all right then,
drop the whole matter. I hold no
grudge on account of your striking me
and am even willing to share up with
y>r to avoid trouble"
"And II I refuse1"
'"Then, of course, We shall be COM
PEELED to shut your mouth for you.
Self.preservation IL the first law"
I looked about at them both, scarce
" able to distinguish clearly even
their outlines IN the dense gloom. The
seriousness Of the situation, coupled
with my helplessness. and inability TO
achieve the object proposed. was very
evident. II might. under the circurn-
stances, have been the part OF wisdom
for me to have sought some means Of
compromise, but was young, and hot.
fiery blood swept through my veins.
The words of Kirby stung me with
their breath Of insult--his sneerlnE, in
solent offer to pay me to remain still.
"You must rank me as one OF your
own kind" burst forth. "Now you
listen to q plain word from me. If
that was intended as an offer. refuse
II. You, and your confederate, have
coolly robbed Beaucaire. and propose
to get away with the spells. Perhaps
you viii, but that end will not be &C
complished through any assistance OF
mine. At hrst I only felt q slight In
terest In the affair. but from now on l
am going to fight you fellows with
every weapon possess"
Kirby chuckled. apparently greatly
amused.
"Quite glad, I am sure, for the dec
laraeion Of war. Fighting has always
agreed with me. Might I ask the na-
ture Of those weapoasT .....
"That remains for you to discover"
l calculated sharply. eIasperated BY
his evident contempt. Carver. take
your dirty hands Of Of me-"
IN spite of the fact Of their threat,
the ready pistol pressing against my
ribs. the grip Of Carver's fingers ut my
throat. did not anticipate any actual
assault. That either would really dare
injurs pe seemed preposterous. In
deed my impression was, that Kirby
felt such Indifference toward my ut.
tempt to block his plan. that he would
permit me to pass without opposition
certainly without the slightest resort
to violence. The action OF the two was
so swift, so concerted, as though at
some secret signal, that. almost before
l realized their purpose. they held me
helplessly struggling, and had forced
me back against the low rail. Here
I endeavored to break AWAY. to shout
an alarm. but was already too late,
Carver's hands closed remorselessly
on my throat. and. when managed to
strike out madly with one free fist, the
butt Of Kirby's pistol descended on my
head, so laeerating my scalp the drip
ping blood blinded my eyes. The blow
partially stunned me, and half fell
clutching at the rail, yet dimly con
scious that the two, strsining mer
were uplifting my useless body, Carver
swearing viciously as he helped To
thrust me outward over the wooden
bar. The next instant fell. the sheer
Ing cackle of Kirby's laugh Of triumph
echoing In my ears until drowned 10
the splash as I struck the black water
below.
I came back to the surface dazed
and weakened, yet sufficiently CON
scious to make az Intelligent struggle
for life. The oyer-hang Of the rapidly
passing boat still concealed me from
the observation Of those above on the
deck, and the advantage Of permitting
them to believe that the blow on my
hend had resulted In drowning, to
gether with the knowledge that must
swiftly get beyond the stroke Of that
deadly wheel, flashed instantly through
my brain. II was like . tonic, revivinl
every energy. Waiting only to inhale
one deep breath Of air, pldnged bach
once more Into the depths, and swan
strongly under water. The effort
proved successful, for when I agaiI
ven,ured to emerge. sasplng and ex
hausted, the little Warrior had swept
past, and become merely shapeless
outline, barely visible above the sur
face Of the river.
Slowly treading water. my lips held
barely above the surface, I drew II