The Washington herald., 1921-05-15


strength Of . Great Dane but wore the hand.
some. upstandins run and soft fur Of .
prise Chow. His nose was pointed. his legs
sllghtly banded, his hsurs tribe squat; but
to catch the glsam Of superhuman tntelii'
sence in his brilliant eyes was to forget At
once and forever these ignoble points.
Standing above Miss Estes bent figure and
shrewdiy giving Juan ely look for sly look.
Ridenour was suddenly seized by IN inspira-
ton. He caught his breath and then leaned
toward the owner of the dog.
"I1l take, him." he said in English and
then added rapidly in Spanish: There's an
empty booth behind you At the wall Of the
Market. While I'm nghting the dog. kid
nap the lady: take her into the booth. I'll
make . rescue: youn have your fifteen pesos
and the dog.
Juan nodded his head almost impercepti-
bly,. held out his hand for the money. and
then Transferred the chain. 1mmediats,y
the peaceful dog was transformed into .
yelpins whiriwind Of protest Hiidsgards
leaped back and erect from his piunsins. bar
lips smiled at first, then started to speak. but
the words were suddenly choked in her
throat Over her head had fallen the soft
folds of a .cbozo snatched from the shoul-
ders Of a woman who was looking on the
scene with placid amusement and who
opened her mouth to shrek but closed n
quickly at a whispered word from someone
at her back. The folds of.the rebozo drew
taut about Hhdesarde's neck. Before she
could summon her Wits and command her
limbs to struggle she was seized By the ei
bows and half rushed, hak carried into the
vacant booth. It's door slammed behind her.
Ridenour's hands were more than full. He
had wrapped the chain around his forearm.
and the dog. finding his efforts to escape
futile, now turned and attacked his new
owner with terrifying ferocity. The throns
which had watched Hildegarde's abduction
with extraordinary apathy began TO take
active delight in Ridenours predicament. and
crowded in 50 closely that he was hampered
in his struggle To free himself As well as
to protect his throat and hands from the
the ground and around, knocking over more
than one insecure onlooker.
The respite was only instantaneous, but In
that instant there came to his ears q scream
for help from farther away than the nearby
booth. The dog seemed also to hear the cry.
He regained his feet and plunged furiously
in the direction Juan had taken. To save
himself from being dragged headlong Ride
nour followed at q run. and by the time he
reached the booth had collected his senses
enough to know that he was now as eager for
pursuit a. the dog and that his foolhardy
desire to give Miss Estes the sensations of .
genuine adventure had brought upon him q
desperate responsibility.
He made short work Of crashing IN the
himsy door Of the booth with his foot, taking
good care to hold his grip on the chain. The
interior was empty: the wall between It and
the shallow shop giving on the side street
was partly demolished as though for enlarge
ment Dog and man plunged through the
breach and came out on the Tercera Gale dc
Ia Corresidoria J. Ortiz de Dominguez. Even
in his anxiety Ridenour could not help the
flicker Of q smile At the irony Of the length
of that name in the face Of = youngish mar
In a very great hurry.
But his attention was Immediately called
to more urgent matters. Almost without q
pause the dog swerved to the right and tori
along the stall cluttered street toward Capu
chinas Before they reached that thorough
fare Ridenour had sent flying q peon loadet
with q high stack Of pottery, overturned s
vendors tray Of sweetmeats, and tramples
with a sickening sinking feeling through
pile Of overripe mangoes. By the time h
and his runaway captive had turned tn
corner and Strengthened out for the lon;
dash down Capuchinas the chain was bitinl
deep into the distended muscles OF his arm
and he was taking tremendous strides Il
save himself from falling.
The wideawake driver of a public hivver
undoubtedly an acquaintance Of the dog. tool
in the situation at q glance. Dodging hi
machine through the traf1c in defiance Of a
regulations, he ranged alongside and shoute
to Ridenour to let the dog 20 and clim
aboard There is a limit to endurance, how
ever desperate the need, and Ridenour va
only too glad to avail himself Of this Las
chance. He released the chain made . sut
cessful leap for the running board. An
climbed to a seat in the careering car. !
tore along. sometimes on the right side Of tn