Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-02-27
THE FREE TRADERS

~~~~N~NN~~~~~N
way than by the death of one Of
them. 1t would be a sharp, relent-
less struggle, in which Lees disadvan-
tage lay in the fact that he could not
be the first to fire.
Lee called "Is that you, Pelly? !
want to talk to you"
No answer came. He strained his
eyes upward through the darkness.
Colors and wheels of light flashed
across his vision and went out.
"Pelly, listen to mel" Lee tried
again. "You know what I've come
for. You've got no chance. Surren-
der, and you'll get fair treatment"
Still no answer; and yet Lee could
feel that other human personality
close to him. He waited baffied.
There was no way to move, save YER
i ticalIy; and there was no possible re-
treat for him. The ice-smooth granite
walls were all about him. The tun-
mel was a straight, narrow shaft, up
and down, from the rocking stone
above to that deadly drop below.
1t was impossible to rush the other,
impossible to do anything except to
Chamber stifly up those slippery rungs
of rock. expecting every instant to
hear the roar of Pelly's pistol and to
receive the bullet in his breast 1t
was absurdity. And once again Lee
tried:
"Pelly, you'd better give up. l can
shoot you from here. Surrender,
and"
He did not end that sentence. For,
as he chung there, in a moment the
| thing above him had materialized into
| life, action, fury A below burst from
its throat, and the sound, compressed
within the shaft and detected from
wall to wall, sounded like the roar of
some prehistoric monster.
And a heavy body was precipitated
against him with force that all but
dislodged him. For an instant Lee
struggled wildly to retain his balance
and then there came blow over the
heart that knocked the wind out of
him.
| Lees hand encountered an enormous
hand at his chest. Within that hand
he felt the hilt of knife. Reaching
back, Lees fingers closed upon the
last inch or two of wide blade.
The steel appeared to be buried al
most to the extremity within his body.
| There was no sense of stab, but
for an instant Lee felt deadly faint
ness overcome him, and again he reeled
and clutched for foothold. Then he
had torn the hand away, plucked out
the knife, and hurled 1t down through
| the darkness of the tunnel into the
gorge below.
| The next instant he was fighting
the most desperate battle of his life
to win through the tunnel before ne
bled into unconsciousness.
He caught at two long, sinewy arms
that clutched his body in the endeavor
to fling him down; and, holding on by
their knees and feet, the two wrestled
in complete silence.
1t was a mantle thing that held
Lee, but 1t seemed more like mon
ster, for the naked arms were covered
with thick hair, underneath which the
sinews moved over each other like
steel bands. Lee was no match In
wrestling; he could only cling on like
grim death, feeling his lungs construct
under that pressure, and expecting ev-
cry moment to feel his injured rib
crack in his side.
His left hand encountered a groove
in the rocky rung above him. and,
gripping it, determined that nothing
should tear his hold away, with his
right fist he began hammering his as
saiIant's face and body necessarily.
His blows rebounded from the great
chest as If 1t were of rubber, and each
blow sent the breath issuing hoarsely
from the lungs with raucous wheeling
that filled the tunnel.
If the other could have got Lees
left hand he might have torn him
from his hold, but, as If unaware of
his hold, his assailant put all his
strength into the endeavor to force
breath from his body and twist him
backward; while Lee, clinging on des-
perately, continued to batter the face
anu UOuJ.
Although it was impossible to draw
back his arm far enough to deliver
blow with full force, Lees lower
position gave him the advantage of
equipoise over his strange assailant,
and enabled him to administer fear
full punishment.
For minute or two 1t was profile
matte whether Lee could withstand the
strain long enough to conquer. The
great shoulders swung Lee from side
to side in the shaft like child, and
all the while Lee. believing hi nself
seriously, if not fatally wounded,
fought on with the mechanical action
of piston, dashing his fists into his
opponents face until at last groans be-
gan to burst from the other.
Then, feeling the clutch relaxing,