Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1922-09-01

| noise.
| A flash of lightning split the black
| ness.
Clay dropped to his knees and
crawled away. Another bolt, with It's
accompanying roar, famed out.
Still the westerner did not fire in an
swer, though he knew just where the
target for his bullet was A plan had
come to him. In the blackness of that
room one might empty his revolver
and not score hit. TO wait was q
take a chance of being ported, but
did not want the death of even sue
ruffian as Durand on his soul.
The crash of the autamatica and
| rattle of glass filled the room. il
blazing away at some fancied so
had shattered the window.
Followed long silence. Du]
was resolved to wait until his a
grew restless and betrayed himsel
The delay became a test of
| stamina. The contest was not
| grit, but of that unfiawed nerve
is so much the result of perfect
cal fitness. Clay's years of clea
on the desert counted heavily now
was master of himself, thought
mouth was dry as whisper and t
were goose quilts on his flesh.
But Durand, used to the fetid
mosphere of barrooms and to the,
living of the great city, found
nerve beginning to crack under II
| strain. What kind of a man was
enemy to lie there in the black siIen
and not once give sign of where IL
was, in spite of crashing bullets? Was
| 1t possible that he could have killed
| the fellow at the first shot? The COM
| fort Of this thought whispered hope in
the ear of the ex-priZe-fighter.
A chair crashed wildly. Durand
| fred again and yet again, his nerves
giving way to panic that carried him
| to swift action. He could not have
| stood another moment without scream
| ing.
There came the faint sound of a
hand cropping on the wall, and imme-
| diately after a flood Of light filled the
room.
Clay stood by the door. His revol.
yer covered the crouching gang leader.
His eyes were hard and pitiless.
"Try another shot," he advised iron.
ically.
Jerry did. A harmless click was all
the result he got. He knew now that
ba hoI
his last shots at a bit of furniture
flung across the room.
you'll tell me what you did with
Kitty Mason" said Clay in his low,
| persuasive voice, just as though there
| had been no internission Of flying bull
let's since he had mentioned the girl
before.
"You can't kill me, when / haven't
a loaded gun," Durand answered be-
| tween dry lips.
The other man nodded an admission
| of that point. THAT'S an advantage
you've got Of me. You could kill me If
| I didn't have a gun, because you're q
yellow wolf. But 1 can't kill you.
| That's right. But can beat h-ll out
of you, and I'm sure goin' to do it."
Talks cheap, when you've got a
loaded six-gun in your fist" jeered
fJerry.
With a fiirt of his hand Clay tossed
| the revolver to the top of bookcase,
out of easy reach of a man standing
on the floor. He ripped open the but
tons Of his overcoat and slipped out of
it, then moved forward with elastic
step.
"It's you or me now, Jerry Du-
rand"
The prize-fighter gave snort of de-
risive triumph. "You d-n fooli I'll
eat you alive"
"Mebbeso. l reckon my system can
assimilate any whalin' you're liable to
hand me. Go to it."
Durand had the heavy shoulders and
swelling muscles that come from years
Of training for the ring. Like most
pugilists out of active service he had
taken on flesh. But the extra weight
was not fat, for Gerry kept always In
good condition. He held his leader
ship partly ct least because of his
physical prowess. No tough in New
York would willingly have met him In
a rough-and-tumble fight.
The younger man was more slightly
built. He was Hermes rather than
Hercules. His muscles flowed.
They did not bulge. But VIII N he
moved it was with the litheness of a
panther. The long lines of shoulder
and loin had the flow Of tigerish grace.
The clear eyes in the brown face told
of soul indomitable in a perfectly
synchronized body.
Durand dashed out with swinging
left, all the weight of his body behind
the blow. Clay stepped back, shot a
hard straight right to the cheek and
ducked the counter. Jerry rushed him,
failing at his foe blow on blow, intend
ing to wear him out by sheer hard
hammering. He butted with his head
and knee, used every foul trick he had
learned in his rotten trade Of prize
fighting. Active as a wild cat, the
Arizonan side-stepped, scored left
on the eye, ducked again and fought
back the furious attack.
The gangman came out Of the rally
uyindnd pnrnloyad and Disturbed Hia