The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1921-09-30
CHAPTER xIl-continued.

1t was n dull, red glow, q mere pin
prick In the black curtain. yet it
seemed to change in brilliancy, like an
evil eye winking at us out of the
dark. There was something ~uncanny
about the thing, yielding me no sugges-
ton as to what it could be, yet
frightening by it's baleful CLEAN at
such a time and place. Then there
was borne to my nostrils the faint
odor of tobacco smoke; 1t must be a
mar sitting there smoking: what we
saw was the red tip Of his cigar.
Could WI slip by unheard?
doubted 1t, yet whatever happened.
II of is. at least, must escape from
the house before any alarm was
sounded. There was but one ct,1nce
left-for her to slip silently Gown
that other flight Of stairs to the street
door, while l remained behind to rro-
tect her flight. II there was no alarm.
no notice taken Of her passage,
possibly l might venture to follow
without being overheard; but she
must &c first. her step was light, and
she was more sure Of the way. Be
sides, I could block pursuit. by a
fight il necessary. and thus give her
ample time In which to unchain and
open that front door. Once without.
these fellows would never follow.
1 put my lips close against the gir"s
ear.
1T Is a guard there smoking. Do6t
try to answer but do exactly as l
say. One Of US, at least. must get
out: you stand the better chance,
with my remaining behind to hold
these fellows back II there should re
any alarm. II there is not, I'll follow.
Do you understand ?-answer with
your hand"
l felt the firm pressure Of her fingers
in quick response.
1.-The fellow evidently hasn't heard
>nythins yet-you better GO"
I felt her creep past me without 4
sound, her hand slipping from my
grasp as her foot touched the level
floor Of the hall. She was invisible,
no longer v e a shadow In the black
gloom. Then suddenly from somewhere
a chain c'anked family the ear could
not determine from what direction the
sound came. yet II was clear enough
to be heard plainly. The man stood
still. evidently listening; 1 lost sight
of the red glow. al though he had re-
moved the cigar from between his
lips. and slowly Strengthened myself
up, braced for any emergency. She
had reached the outside door, and was
preparing to open it. For an instant
nothing happened. Then the sharp,
r%esoundinx click Of q heavy lock
echoed up from beneath, like the tap
Of a hammer.
The fellow snapped On the cleo
tricity. flooding the large hall, and,
uttering 4 gruf oath, started forward.
We met face to face. There was
nothing else for 1t but to fight It out.
II l ran the act would only expose
her before she could distance pursuit /:
besides that first glimpse had revealed
my antagonist. and l was glad-it was
Gentleman George! He knew me
almost at. the Same instant, splitting
out q curse as he reached back for
his gun.
"You. hey! How the HI did you
get down here!"
But I was quicker. the 0 ready,
gripping the wrist. and twisting the
arm back until the torture caused him
to drop the weapon, as we struggled
back across the width Of the hall. We
were both w~eaponless, relying only on
the efficacy of haze hands, but he
turned into a sewage. a dangerous
fighter who cared only to disable his
opponent In any why possible. 1t was
like battling with 4 wild Cat. infuri-
atcd, crazed with hate and fear. And
for the moment the follow had me.
driving me back against the rail, help
less before the ~fierceness Of his
assault.
Some one was coming. l could hear
a voice, and flying steps on the stairs ;
then q woman's scream somewhere
above. l broke away. getting q grip
on his throat, and feeling my feet
Arm on the floor. He could see what
couldn't, and found voice In spite
Of my throttling.
Its that Id skunk, Severn, got
out. Hit him, Ivan! Smash In, I've
got the guy-Quick nOw!"
/ whirled with him. ducking my "
head behind his shoulder, gaining as
did so one blurred glimpse Of Wal
dron as he swung full at me with
what looked like the leg Of Z chair.
Harris caught the full force Of the
blow just over his yes and the power
OF it, added to the swirl of my arms,
sent him hurtling along the rounded
rail, headlOng down the stairs. Wal
dron stood paralyzed. stunned, his
hands still on the club, his eyes follow
ing that flying figure. With all my
strength l drove q INST nat to his face,
and. as he reeled, stumbling backward,
sndeavoring 70 retain his feet, !
,rrsn1 rast, and raced down the steps.