Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-10-31
Continued from last week


the first time his voice really ex-
hibited temper. I'D kill you with this,
but for the noise. No, by God there
is a safer way than that to settle with
you. Have you got the skunk, Carver?"
You can bet / have, Joe. / kin
choke the life out O. him-shall II"
mo; let up bit-just enough so he
can answer me first. | want to find
cut what all this means. Now look
here, Knox, what is all this to you!
Why are you butting in on my game?
Was Beaucaire a friend of yours?"
II can hardly claim that" | admit.
ted. "We never met r"til l came
aboard this steamer. All / am inter
ested in is justice to Others"
'"To others? Oh. suppose you mean
those girls-you know them then?"
81 have never even seen them."
said.
II see; a self-appointed squire Of
danes; actuated merely by a Romantic
desire to serve beauty in distress. Ex-
tremely interesting, my dear boy. But,
see here Knox," and his tone changed
to seriousness. "Let the romance go,
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 if / cheated Beaucaire, which /
do not for a moment admit, there is
no proof. The money Is mine, and so
is the land and the niggers. You can
hn ri Of lint
Overturn the facts. Now, you acknowl-
edge that what has occurred is per-
Sonally nothing to you; Beaucaire was
no special friend, and you don't even
know the two girls-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
you to avoid trouble"
Sand if l refuse?"
"Then, Of course, we shall be COM
PEELED to shut your mouth for you.
Self-preservation is the first law"
/ looked about at them both, scarce
ly 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. 1t might, under the circum-
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 sneering, in
solent offer to pay me to remain still.
You must rank me as one of your
own kind" I burst forth. "Now you
listen to a plain word from me. If
that was intended as an offer, refuse
it. You, and your confederate, have
coolly robbed Beaucaire, and propose
to get away with the spoils. Perhaps
you WILL but that end will not be &C
complished through any assistance of
mine. At first / only felt slight in
terest in the affair, but from now on
am going to fight you fellows with
every weapon possess"
Kirby chuckled, apparently greatly
amused.
"Quite glad, I am sure, for the dec
laration of war. Fighting has always
agreed with me. Might I ask the ma
ture of those weapons?"
'"That remains for you to discover"
1 calculated sharply, exasperated by
his evident contempt. Carver, take
your dirty hands off Of me-"
In spite of the fact of their threat,
the ready pistol pressing against my
ribs, the grip of Carver's fingers at my
throat, did not anticipate any actual
assault. That either would really dare
injure me seemed preposterous. In
deed my impression was, that Kirby
felt such Indifference toward my at
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
/ realized their purpose, they held me
helplessly struggling, and had forced