The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1921-08-11
CHAPTER XIV.
The Death Of a Murderer.

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livious of all else but the money, now
almost in his possession, was, upon
his knees before a bookcase, dragging
out the heavy volumes from the low
er shelf, dumping them on the floor.
From behind these he had already
drawn forth into view a black leather
valise, when Wine found voice, utter
ing a strange crF Of terror, which
caused him to glance about He
leaped to his feet instantly, his eyes
glarfng into mine, one hand flung Dack
as though in search Of weapon.
gave him no time. I leaped
straight at him, striking so hard even
as we grabpled that the blow sent him
reeling back against the bookcase. He
knew me then, and the recognition
brought with it a fury which trans
formed the Russian into wild beast.
Coward as 1 felt him to be, now that
he was cornered, with the spoils OF
victory tn his very grasp, he became
q demon, a mad dog, whose only de-
sire was to kill.
you're fighting man this time,
yer h-l-hound; not q whitfet like
Harris. I'll blow a hole clear through
yer! Sneaked in, did yer? Well, yell
never sneak out again! Say, how do
yer like the taste O. thatT He struck
with a knee in the stomach, grinning
as I loosened my grip on his beard,
and tried to butt into me with low
cred head. I caught him instantly,
with free fist, rocking his head back
and cutting a cash In his cheek from
which blood spurted. If he possessed
any self-control before, he lost it then,
crazed with. hate and the desire to
kill. he was barroom fighter, bound
by no rules, capable Of any ferocity-
|. biting, gouging, using hands and feet,
ruthless savage. 1t was this which
defeated him, for while I was neither
cool nor clear of mind, kept my head
sufficiently to remember my training
and accept every advantage that pre-
sented itself; more than that, the very
threats with which he tried to goad
me were guides to his own action,
giving me the swift hint needed for
defense.
Realizing Wine was back Of me,
mana ged to whirl the big bulk OF
the battling Russian about so as to
block any surprise attack from the rear.
This movement gave me the support
of the wall, and, using it as a de-
fense, I resorted to the same TACTICS
adopted by Waldron, assaulting him
with feet as we'll as hands, breaking
his strangle hold on my throat and
forcing him backward, so that q swift
kick sent the fellow stumbling over a
pile of books, clawing at the empty
air for support. He would have gone
sprawling upon his back if Wine had
not been directly in the way. AS it
was, he struck the other, the force Of
his big body hurting the smaller man
heavily against the ledge Of the outer
window. AS the fellow struck, the
glass shivered and crashed into a
thousand pieces, but before Waldron
could regain firm footing, or realize
what had happened, was again upon
him, breaking through his dazed guard
and driving my fists straight into his
face.
The revolver In Wines hand was
discharged, the bullet whistling past
me, but even as the report cracked, the
pressure Of the Jews bsdy forced the
smaller man relentlessly backward
over the sill. He gave utterance to
one wild yell of fright, releasing the
gun and gripping desperately at Wal
dron's collar for support, then toppled
over backward and went down.
We both heard the crash as the
splinters of glass gave way, and the
dull, dead thud Of the body as 1t struck
somewhere far below. The Russian
seemed paralyzed with terror, unable
tc quite comprehend what had occurred
behind him. But I had seen the trag-
edy, and my mind worked like fash.
he made one weak effort to spring
aside, forgetful of his own danger, his
guard dropped, and let him have it.
straight in the jaw. The clenched 1st
crunched into his whiskers, and, with
arms flung up, he went over as II
shot. his head striking an edge OF the
overturned bookcase as he fell, and
Law there motionless, a tr1ckle or Dlooa
slowly oozing out upon the floor.
stepped back and leaned out
throu2s che broken window; three
stories below, on a graveled root, lay
something black, huddled up gro
tesQuely, which l knew was human
body, crushed helpless, Its bones
broken. l drew back from the grue-
some sight, so sickened I reeled dizzi-
ly, clutching at the sill for support.
AS I clung there, uncertain. dazed,
my mind for the moment a blank,
some Que began rattling and pounding
against the door leading into the cor