The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-07-26
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opened them again, and, acting on a
sudden impulse, glanced up at Pen
nington. He was kneeling on the
soft earth, one eye to the narrower
portion of the chink that served as a
spy-hole, while the barrel of his auto,
matte was thrust partly through the
wider extremity of the aperture She
caught something of the infection Of
the calm that seemed to pervade his
being, and looked back into the hut
in time to see tall Chinaman in
black rise to his full length, hide-l
Gus grin Illuminating his swarthy
features, the Yellow Seven held aloft.
The cultural chattering began again,
the cards were swept INTO neat
pack, disappearing into the capacious
sleeve of the man who had originally
spread them out, and the hand of the
Oriental who held the Yellow Seven
slipped to his waist.
Every head was turned toward the
commissioner as a long blade flashed
IN the lamp-light, and the Cinnamon,
still gesticulating, rose one by one.
spreading themselves out along the
walls; but the figure in the mandarin
Jacket, embroidered with a many-
headed dragon, remained in precisely
the same position as that in which
Monica had first seen him.
The tall Oriental in black drew
back his sleeve and tested the blade
with grimy thumb. A sudden hush
fell upon the entire assembly and
the girl, cramped and trembling, be-
came aware of the ticking of the
watch at her wrist. In all this
CHASTITY nightmare, these ceaseless.
regular pulsations rang out as the
sole links with the normal existence
she had left behind her. She tried
to think of the bungalow on the hill.
the long cane chairs with their manv
cushions, the winding path that led
ribbon-like to the road, the wooden
Jetty whree the coasting- stcamcrs
lay at anchor; but these phantom
creatures refused to materialize and
her eyes, sore and tingllng, gazed
straight before her, fixed, because
she was powerless to withdraw them.
upon whom the lot had fallen to de-
stroy her brother.
Someone came forward and threw
aside the log, and the hand that held
the knife swung suddenly aloft.
Pennington's pistol broke upon
the stiffness. The man with the dag
ger spun round awkwardly-andc col
lapsed in heap. Cries of terror
resounded on every side, and hand,
reaching upward. plunged the build
ing in darkness.
Monica and Pennington rose 81
stop where you are" he called
back to her. "Lie close up to the
wall. They'll be too scared to look
for you there"
He raced on toward the entrance
and Monica, too dazed to. catch the/
meaning of his words, followed in
his wake. As she stumbled through
the underground she remembered
that she still carried the torch. Vague
shadowy forms slithercd past her,
stampeding as if surprised by regi.
ment of soldiers, rather than by one
white man and girl. She heard
them crashing away into the dis
lance and somewhere man scream
ed in mortal terror as he ran, as if
fearful that the friend who strove
to keep pace with him were the
avenging Englishman seeking his
life.
AS their footsteps died away,
Monica switched on the torch. The
door of the building stood wide open
before her and she let the light trh-
vel from left to right, from Pennint-
ton kneeling over something on the
floor to the huddled heap that
sprawled awkwardly within a foot of
where her brother lay She ran for
ward with little cry and fell on
her knees at his side. She was
reaching out for the knife the China
man had let fall when Pennington
'ired, when a voice. called to her from.
the darkness.
,Monlca!-er-Mrs. Viney!-Just
switch that light over here a second,
There's something l don't quite un-
Inc Commissioner stirred and his
eyes blinked up at her.
With shaking hands, she stcered
the narrow ray until it concentrated
on the disguised features of Pen
nington, who was slowly rising to
MS feet from the thing over which
ne had been kneeling.
She saw preposterous effigy, a J
f,sr,
with china mask and hands, over
which a coat of blue embroidered
with many-headed dragon was still
lrawn!
Continued in Our Next Issue.)