The Monticellonian., 1919-10-24

pocket and closed over hls automatic. They were croWdins down tAe room, closing in around him now.
 He glanced quickly over his shoulder to locate precisely the position of the rear door, should it come 10 q row and instinctively stepped back a pace as hulkiug raWhaaed fellow, half drunk and carrying his liquor helliG- erently, lurehed forward.
 "Hif Q says that, wot We says is that e's bloody hImposror au- nouneed the man truculently An wot's more. we doesn't like tie leek< Of i'm when he comes in-doeS we, mates: An wof-s more-tyke that" He made q sudden wicked pass at Wallen's face
 \ veil of applause greeted the act- Bur the blow never reached fts mark Wallen had dealt loo long and loo in- rimately with the forecastIe net To rec ogHize the breed around him that was the fnrecas-Ie's curse and the curse of Jhe better men who honored it. With a quick sideStep he evaded the blow whipped his left in a lightning drive to the others chin. and as thp man assered backward into the crowd Wallen leaped for the rear door be hind him.
 He reached f. but not before they i were upon him like pack Of wolves snariing et him. tearing at hin their hreaths in his face. pounding at him trying 10 trip him up, to throw him to the floor
 Tie place was now in Tandemonium AsaiH and again Wallen's clubbed re vatFer raSe and feii, again and again l h5s fst shot in and ouJ and still he l kept his fec; but he could not free himself long enough to get the door open-and then something seemed to ] lend him added passion, added strength.
 The face of Drink House sam, l. vas just our of reach-just out Of reach.
 1 He flung two men from him and ] Iuuaed forward If he could only mark that face \ below Of fright T ~laught-and Wallen's fist had smashed straight between the red little blink iHs eXes. fbe suddeHHess of the at- tack brought aR iuStaHf's pauSe-and in thaf instant he had reached the door and thi> siae 3reHehed it=npen.
 And then Wallen laughed. net pleas aafly. and hiS revolver Hot elabbed now swept fhe crowd.
 "I.8 he oHt here somewhere in the darkness he fai1 fhem aHimly as he backed away and the frs man that steps across he threshold I'll drop the way fd drop mad dog
 They stared q him. deesed. salleH5 bat without a Uafd-aHti1 they could u8 longer see Hzm-aaa then theY an= SHcred him With eafeaIls h8atS pro faaitE and brave defiance. But ne maH crossed the threshold
 He moved backward cautiously. mak- ias 10 sound. edginz always h side wise directI8n-aH3 suddenly. to his aau surprise and relief where he had expected to encounter q fence or same other obstruction. found instead that the rear of DfiHE-Hease sans gave evidently onto only vacant ground. for he had now come out ehto what Was either q street or q lane
 But while his escape WIS now as sured. Waiien WIS in no happy frame of mind. He had vet le square ac- counts with Drink-House Sam He had accomplished not only no part of the purpose for which he had come but had. worse still probably put the man thoroughly on his guard. But the night was still young and Drink House Sam was still there,
 He WIS not through with Drink House sam yet the ill luck of his first attempt changed matters not at all; he would never be through with Drink House sam until-that murderous sweep of passion was on him again until he had not only forced the secret ont ef the other but haH paid rhe score between them as well And this time he would see 10 il that the privacy of their interview was of his own making
 WalleH made a wide circuit of the place. which owing 70 his ignorance af the neishhorhood. in which lie lost himself several times, consumed fully half an hour