The Holly chieftain., 1923-03-22

that man, and what he was after now
was the same thing Eaton was after.
He drew his pistol, and loOslng the
safety, he made 1t ready to FIRE; with
his left hand, he clung to the short,
heavy Jimmy. He stepped into the
great room through the curtains. and
treading noiselessly in his stocking
feet, he advanced upon the man. NOV
ing forward In each period Of dark
ness between the flashes Of the cleo
tric torch.
Now, at the further side Of the
room, another electric torch flashed
out. There were at least two men in
the room. working together-or rather,
one was working, the other super.
vising; for Eaton heard now steady,
almost inaudible grinding noise as the
second man worked. Eaton halted
again and waited; If there were two,
there might be others.
His pulses were beating faster and
hotter. and he felt the blood rushing
to his head and his hands growing
cold with his excitement; but he was
conscious Of no fear. He crouched
and crept forward noiselessly again.
No other light appeared In the room,
and there was no sound elsewhere
from the darkness; but the man who
supervised had moved. closer to the
other. The grinding noise had
stopped It was followed by sharp
click; the men, side by side, were
bending over something; and the light
of the man who had been working,
for fraction Of a second shot into
the face Of the other. He muttered
some short, hoarse imprecation. but
before Eaton heard the voice. he had
stopped as II struck, and his breath
had gone from him.
His instant's glimpse Of that face
astounded. stunned, stupefied him.
He could not have seen that man The
fact was Impossible! He must have
been mad; his mind must have become
unreliable to let him even imagine It.
Then came the sound Of the voice
the voice Of the man whose face he
had seenl It was he! And, In place
Of the paralysis of the nrst instant,
now wild, savage throe Of passion
seized Eaton; his pulses lsaped 30 1t
seemed they must burst his veins, and
he gulped and choksd. He had not
filled In with insane fancy the fea.
lures Of the man whom he had seen; |;
the voice witnessed too that the man
in the dark by the wall was he whom
Eaton-if he could have dreamed such
fact AZ now had been disclosed
would have circled the world to catch
and destroy; yet now with the de-
struction Of that man in his power
for he had but to aim and empty his
automatic pistol at Ave paces-such
destruction at this moment could not
suffice; mere shooting that man would
be petty, ineffectual. Eaton's fingers
| tightened on the handle Of his pistol,
but he held 1t now not as weapon
to fire but as dull weight with which
to strike. The grip of his left hand
clamped onto the short steel bar, and
with lips parted-breathing once, 1t
seemed, for each heartbeat and yet
choking, suffocating-he leaped for
ward.
| At the same instant-so that he
could not have been alarmed by Ea-
toms leap-the man who had been
working moved his torch, and the
light fell upon Eaton.
Look out!" the man cried in alarm
to his companion; with the word the
torch vanished.
The man toward whom Eaton rushed
did not have time to switch OFF his
light; he dropped It instead; and as
Eaton sprang for him, he crouched
Eaton, as he struck forward, found
nothing; but below his knees, Eaton
felt mans powerful arms tacklinR
him; as he struggled to free himself
swift, savage lunge lifted him from
his feet he was thrown and hurled
backward.
Eaton ducked his head forward and
struggled to turn, as he went down
so that shoulder and not his head
or back would strike the floor first
He succeeded In this, though in hii
effort he dropped the Jimmy. He
clung with his right hand to the pistol
and as he struck the floor, the pistol
shot of; the flash Of flame spurted
toward the ceiling. Instantly the griI
below his knees was loosed; the mar
who had tackled him and hurled bin
back had recoiled In the darkness
Eaton got to his feet but crouchet
and crept about behind table, aim
ing his pistol over 1t in the direction
in which he supposed the other mer
must be. The sound of the shot hat
ceased to roar through the room; tn,
gases from the powder only made tn,
air heavier The other two men IL
the room also waited, invisible ant
silent. The only light, in the grea
curtained room, came from the single
electric torch lying on the floor. Thli
lighted the legs Of chair, corne
Of desk and a circle Of books In thu
cases on the wall. As Eaton's eye
became more accustomed to the dark
ness, he could see vague shapes o
furnit1,rn If man ynovod ho pnioh