New Britain herald., 1922-01-13
THE SNOWSHOE RAH
EDISON MARSHALL
dittle. Brown < Co and N. E, A, senIce)

face told her only too plainly tha his eager hand had seized and SC creted her pistol, pete's face wa drawn, too; Harold only bewildered.
 He was her last hope. hht in on, instants scrutiny she saw that thi, had vanished. too Some terribl, thought had sobercd and engrossec | him.
 What ia 1t, Nirginia?" Bin asked
 "One of these men" she answered brokeny-"has taken my pistol ] want him to give 1t back--H Joe spoke then, a single sentence in the vcrnacular for Harold's ears, With one gesture he indicated Harold, him self and Pete In turn, then pointed to the girl. His face was hideous with cagerness.
 Harold started at the words. His degeneracy was complete. He an swered with a curse.
 Why not?" he said. "The girls thrown me over. When I'm through you can do what you want. And crack the skull Of that mole with the pick and throw him out in the snow"
 The two Indians lnrchcd forward at his words. Bill left his chair In d mighty leap.
 When Bill sprang forward to inter- cept the attack upon the girl he came with amazing accuracy and power.
 By means of his acute ear he had located the exact position of every ac- tor In the impending drama.
 What was more important, he knew the location of both candles. He dashed both out.
 The act had been so swift and un- expected that neither Joe, standing nearest the girl or Harold across the room could draw their pistols and fire.
 Seemingly in a flash the darkness was upon them. Bill was face to face with his enemies in his own dark lair. The advantage of vision on which they had presumed had been in an instant removed.
 Harold cursed in the blackness; as if in a continuation of the leap he had made to upset the candles, Bill seized Virginia in his strong arms.
 He thrust her to the floor and into the angle between her bunk and the wall, the point that he instinctively realized would be easiest to defend and safest from stray bullets.
 Virginia's pistol was in Joe's hand by now, and he shot in Bills direction. Two spurts of yellow fire broke for an instant the utter gloom. But there was no time for the third shot. He was the nearest of the three attackers, and Bill's outstretched arms seized him. The woodmen's muscles gave mighty wrench.
 His grasp was about Joe's chest at first, but with 8 great lurch he slung the mans body out far enough so that he could loop his sinewy arms about the mans knees.
 Then with terrific wrench of his mighty shoulders Bill hurled him against the wall.
 His neck was broken like a match. The odds were but two to one.N
 Harold had taken out his own re- volver now and was shooting blindly in the darkness. Ducking low, Bill leaped for him; in moment they were grappling in each others arms.
 Bill wrenched him back and forth, and in an instant would have crushed the life out of him if it hadn't been for the interference of Pete.
 The latter breed leaped on his back, and Bill had to neglect Harold an in stant to stretch up his arms and hurl Pete to the floor.
 They were both powerful men, the breed and Harold; and Bill was like a wild beast.
 In the instant that he was free from Bills arms and he knew that his was out of range, Harold fired biindly with his pistol
 Their bodies crashed against the wall, broke the furniture into kind ling at their feet; they snarled their hatred and their curses.
 Bill fought like giant, a might of battle upon him never known before.
 But steadily Harold and Pete were learning to work together.
 Once a lucky blow sent Pete spin ming to the floor. and Bills strong arms hurled Harold after him.
 All three contestants seemed to sweep to the fray with added fury.
 They clinched, staggered, reeled, then crashed to the floor.
 Then-above the sound of their writhing bodies-Virginia heard Pete exclaim.
 Hold him--iust second!' Pete cried The breed had remembered his knife. It was curious that he hadn't thought of it before.
 He took it rather carefully from his holster. The two men were threshing | on the floor by now, Harold in des- | perate effort to keep his enemy down. Petes hand fumbled in his pocket.
 He didn't want to run the risk of slaying his confederate. His hand | found match; he raised his knifej nigh. The match cracked, then famed Il the darkness.
 But it was not to be that that mur- ferrous blow should go home. Virginia 1ad crawled out to find her pistol that Joe's hand had let fall, and just before Pete had lighted his match her hand