The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1919-04-05
CHAPTER VII.
A Victory and a Defeat.

L arose silently 10 my 1eet, fully
aware that all hope of thwartin> this
villainy lay in immediate action. San
chez had turned slightly and stood
with his face toward the bay. l ven
tured 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 q stitied 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 aSsallant's Identity.
But the man was like Il 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 l crushed his wrist within my
fingers, forcing his forearm back.
There was no outcry, no noise, except
that of our heavy breathing and tram
ping feet. Personal hatred had as
tendency in both our hearts, 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 it were a poison:
ITO hell with you, you sneaking
English cur"
What followed has to me no clear
ness, no consistency. Never have I
fought with deeper realization that I
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 q
quicker movement; ] excelled in
weight of body and GOODNESS of brain.
Twice he prtcked me deep enough to
draw blood, before I 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 a bone,
as his useless fingers let the knife
drop, a snarled curse of pain, and then.
with the rage Of mad dog. Sanchez
struck his teeth deep into my cheek.
With a thrill Of exultation I gripped
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 s,'l
gripped in my hand l raced forward
along the narrow strip Of sand. reck-
less of what I might encounter. ran
on until reached the sloop. Through
the gloom concealing the deck could
perceive only dim figures, a riot Of
men, battling furiously hand to hand,
yet out of the ruck doomed through
the darkness In larger outlines than
the others-Cochose. the negro.
leaped at the fellow and struck with
the keen knife, missing the heart but
plunging the blade deep into the flesh
Of the shoulder. The next instant
was in a bears grip. the very breath
crushed out Of me, yet, by some
chance, my one arm remained free.
and l drove the sharp steel into him
twice before he forced the weapon
from my fingers. l thrust an elbow
beneath the brute's chin, and thus
forced his head back until the neck
cracked.
He was too strong, too immense of
stature. Apparently unweakened by
his wounds, the giant negro, thor
oughly aroused, exerted his mighty
muscles, and, despite my utmost effort
at resistance, thrust me back against
the stern rail, where the weight of his
body pinned me helplessly. With a
roar of rage he drove his huge fist into
my face, but happily was too close to
give much force to the blow. My own
hands, gripping the neckband of his
coarse shirt, twisted 1t tight about the
great throat until, in desperation,
painting for breath, the huge brute
actually lifted me in his arms and
hurled me backward headlong over
the rail- struck something as fell.
yet rebounding from this splashed into
the deep water and went down so
nearly unconscious as to make not
even the slightest struggle. And yet /
came up once more to the surface,
arising by sheer chance directly be-
moth the Snnall dnrY-Which my body