Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-08-20
CHAPTER VIII.
A Victory and a Defeat.

| L dEOSe silently 10 my IeeL, 1ully
aware that all hope of thwarting this
villainy lay In immediate action. San
chez had turned slightly and stood
with his face toward the bay. l ven
| tured a cautious step forward and
stood on the open sand, scarcely
yard to his rear. Some vague sense
of my presence must have influenced
the man, for he swung suddenly about,
uttering a stifled cry of startled sur
prise, as we met face to face. For an
instant we were locked so closely
within each others desperate grip, his
head bent beneath my arm, with my
fingers clutching at his throat to block
any call for help, that he possessed no
knowledge of his assailant's identity.
| But the man was like tiger. The
surprise of attack was to my advan-
tage, yet almost before l realized what
was being done he had rallied, broken
my first hold, and his eyes were glar-
ing straight into mine. Then he knew
me, his free hand instantly grasping
at his knife. Even as he jerked 1t
forth I crushed his wrist within my
fingers, forcing his forearm back.
There was no cutlery, no noise, except
that of our heavy breathing and tram
ping feet. Personal hatred had as
tendency In both our hearts-zI doubt
If he ever thought Of aught else but
the desire to kill me there with his
own hands. Only once did he even
utter a word, kissing out the sentence
as though 1t were poison:
ITO hell with you, you sneaking
English curt"
What followed has to me no clear
ness, no consistency. Never have
fought with deeper realization that
needed every ounce Of strength and
every trick Of wit and skill. Now I
knew the fellow possessed greater
knowledge Of the game than I and a
quicker movement; I excelled In
weight Of body and GOODNESS Of brain.
Twice he pricked me deep enough to
draw blood, before 1 succeeded in
twisting backward the arm with which
he held the blade. He met the game
too late, falling half back upon one
knee, hoping thus to foil my purpose.
There was the sharp crack Of bone,
as his useless fingers let the knife
drop, snarled curse Of pain, and then,
with the rage of mad dog. Sanchez
struck his tnnthzzaass,& 20 san -a,,.a..;.-
With a thrill or exGftation sTipped
the knife, driving Instantly the keen
blade to Its hIlt into the mans side. |
He made no cry, no struggle-the set |
teeth unlocked, and he fell Imply |
back on the sand, his head Tapped by |
the waves.
The fellow lay motionless, his face
upturned to the sky. but invisible ex-
cept in dim outline. / rested my ear
over his heart, detecting no murmur
Of response; touched the veins Of his
wrist, but found there no answering
throb of life.
With the death-dealing knife still
gripped in my hand l raced forward
along the narrow strip Of sand, reck
less of what might encounter. ran
on until l reached the sloop. Through
he gloom concealing the deck l could
perceive only dim figures, a riot Of
yet out of the ruck doomed through
the darkness In larger outlines than
he others-COchose, the negro. /
capped at the fellow and struck with
he keen knife missing the heart but
)lunging the blade deep into the flesh
If the shoulder. The next instant
vas in bears grip, the very breath
rushed out of me, yet, by some
chance, my one arm remained free,
and l drove the sharp steal into him
vice before he forced the weapon
rom my fingers. / thrust an elbow
beneath the brute's chin, and thus
'orced his head back until the neck
tracked.
He was too strong, too immense of
stature. Apparently unweakened by
lis wounds. the giant negro, thor
,ughly aroused, exerted his mighty ,
muscles, and, despite my utmost effort ,
It resistance, thrust me back against
he stern rail, where the weight Of his ,
'ody pinned me helplessly. With a ,
oar of rage he drove his huge fist into ,
ny face, but happily was too close to
i've much force to the blow. My own
lands, gripping the neckband of his /
oarse shirt, twisted 1t tight about the /
reat throat until, In desperation, I
'anting for breath, the huge brute
lifted me in his arms and I
Iurled me backward headlong over ,
he rail. l struck something as fell, G
of rehOunding from This smashed into ,
he deep water and went down so I
early unconscious as to make not t
ven the slightest struggle. And yet I I
anne up once more to the surface, v
rising by sheer chance directly he 4