Nogales international., 1936-08-15

cI Gu II.
Fallon jerked it from his hand.
"Any other little thing you'd like"
he inquired sardonically.
"They's one other thing" ac-
knowledged Speed, still looking at
Rose. Il amt heard no music for
some time. If the lady will play
song while l finish this cigarette"
Fa1lon wheeled, but Rose did not
see his scowl.
A chord as clean and sweet as
the tinkle of the wind at twilight
through a desert canyon flowed
from the strings under her touch,
and shed an almost instant lull on
the crowd. Then her voice dis
solved into the music-a clear, eX-
quisite contralto, plaintive, strong
and deep, like the shore wash that
sounded through it, sustaining the
rhythmic lapses of the song.
In that beguiling, fuently riding
spell of sound, the prisoner forgot
everything apparently, but the
singers magic. But his eyes
drifted to Lefty's W. a sidelong
glance at the accordion which
dangled in the hands of its owner
in the orchestra. Fallon, watching
Rose and waiting for the end of her
song, did not notice the invisible
prompting. Eyes and wits less
sharp than Lefty's would neither
have perceived the look nor inter-
preted it; but the dip quietly de-
tached the instrument from the list
less fingers, and before he was
aware of what had happened, tossed
it to Speed. The pass was hardly
observed before Speed had chimed
the accordion with the closing bar
of Roses song.
She looked up in wonder, but
continued playing an accompani-
ment as the accordion repeated her
melody The sudden unexpected
ness of the gesture took the
crowds breath no less than the per-
feet chording of the two instru-
ments. He lured Roses song into
a lighter, brisker measure which
she instinctively matched with the
guitar until the melody itself was
subtly changed.
Here was dance music such as
few camps have heard, played by
two artists who had music in their
hearts and fingers. And as Speed
swayed slightly with the playing,
his eyes evading the nmoke that
cur1ed up from the shortening ciga-
rette butt, his feet were just viSibly
weaving too-as it seemed, to the
infection of his own music, but with
crafty, studied strain against the
rope. "Come on, boys" he chanted
suddenly. "Take your pardnersF
The crowd was almost swept off
its feet. In another moment the
miracle might have been done.
Lefty, with cape of awed admira-
ton, caught the meaning of Speeds
strategy.
But Fallon came alive with a
roaring curse.
"I'll make you dance, you jig
gin'-!"
He made a stride for the table to
kick it over.
The kick, however, was not COM
| pleted. The crowd had buckled and
swayed inward from the door,
cleaved apart by powerful pair of
shoulders, and by a dark, youthful
battling head which Speed had
never hoped to see again. 1t was
| Maitland.
There was a sharp crack of fist
| against bone, and Fallon was stiff
| fened to his toes by terrific driv-
ing smash to the jaw.
He rocked and went backwards
but saved himself from falling by
lurching into the piano keys with a
loud discord.
To the crowd it was like a gong
A lynching was one thing; this was
something more; the challenge
laced their blood with strong in
toxicant. The night had head OF
| steam.
Fallon shook his head groggily
A movement of one hand to his belt
brought roar of protest from the
crowd - on their own account no
less than that of fair play. But Fal-
lon had no intention of shooting.
He pushed the gun tight in the
holster, and bracing himself against
the piano, leaped for his antagonist.
The crash when they met sounded
like an impact of bulls. Both men
were magnihcently strong, and
toughened by the snow trails,
though weight and matured expert
ence were in Fallon's favor. He
drove in pounding barrage of body
punches. Maitland closed in, trying
to smother the assault, but taking
meanwhile thrashing rain of jack
hammer blows to the head and
body. The instructive balance which
sailor learns on heaving decks
must have steadied him now; he
thrust back of sudden, and Fal-
Ions foot, less sure of the CLASSY
floor, slipped a little. The boy
lashed up with a short left that cut
the others upper lip, and then drove
home a ful1-shouldered right, as
Fallon's head snapped back. He
came back with a spring that tore
through Maitland's guard by sheer
weight and fury. They slipped and
came up in a swaying grapple.
~ - NJ =. VT1