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Show 1" THE DARK STAR dR By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS "iJwr of "The FiriJig Una," "In Secret," "Tho Fighting Cliauce," "mo Dangor Mark," "LorTaln. S: "Cardigan," etc. "I dare not," Kho paid. 'Tii en will you take this Runslan pri rl to hr home, Wtifipoun ?" ho aHked. A nd ndded In a low voice: "Sho 1 ono of your own pouplo, you know." "All rlMht," raid SmiKoun, hll.sfifully. "I'd take tho devil homo If you anked mci! HfHides, can talk to her about my r:lmunt on the way. That will bo won i d'-rful, Neeland! That will be quit' wonderful! won-derful! I ran tail: to her in Russian about my regiment all t:je way home !" He lauKhd and looked nt hlg friend, at I'xe Iuniont, at tho drooping 11'ure hf, wiih to take under his escort. He Klancixl down u t hilfl own ntK'-d attire wlioro be stood ha ties?, rollurleas, one Hlcevn of his evening coat ripped open to the fdioulder. "In't it wondrfLilI" l;e rrted, burfltln? out Into uncontrollable lam.'; liter. "N'f'e-land, "N'f'e-land, rny dear romrad, tlil.i iiaM been tho moHt uVUtf hi fully wonderful nlht of rny entire life! Hut tha grt.at miracle is still to com'.! Tfiirrah for a thousand Innee.i! ITurrnh! Town Uken by J'rince KrJIk! I Hurrah!" i And he seized the youn girl whom he w;ih to escort to her homo wherever that hajiy locality miht be ;ind carried her In his anna to the taxlcab, arnid er.eour-aK'inK er.eour-aK'inK shouts of laughter from the line of cavalrymen who had been w aloiiin the rroc.edirirfS from tho corner of the rue Vllna. That shout of Oallle appreciation ln-flanit ln-flanit d K-'r.oun ; he reached for his hat, to lift and wave it, hut found no hat on Mr head. So he waved his tattered sleeve instead: "Hurrah for KYance!" he shouted. "Hurrah for Russia! I'm Senoun, of the Terek ! And I am to hrt ve a thousand lance.i wltii which to explain to the Germans Ger-mans my opinion of them and of their ernTTor!" The troopers cheered him from their Ftlrrupfl. In spite of their officers, who pretended to check their m-n. "Vive a Krar.ee! Vive la Russia !" they roared. "Forward the Torek Coa sacks!" Sent-'oun turned to I!se Dutrtont: "Madnme," he said, "!n gratitude and ad ml rat ion 1" and he pracefullv saluted her hand. Then, to his comrade: "Nee-land "Nee-land !" f eizintr botji the American's hands. "Such a nipht and such a comrade com-rade I shn !1 nerer forget ! I adore our nipht together; I love you as a brother. I shall see you before I po?" "Surely, Fencoun, my dear comrade!" "Alors an revolr!" Tie sprang Into the tax lea b. "To the Russian embassy !'' he girl on the seat beido him. "Where do you live, my dear?" he railed out; and turned to the half faint inar asked very gently, taking her icy hand In his. (To be continued tomorrow.) - to t:t clothes-press!' whispered 1 pointing along tho hallway where a swung o:en. sip mo lilt him! motioned Neoland. aaaie'iier they got him clear of the l,arricace, and. lugging him between deposited him on the floor of the !-nrtss and locked the door, silent had they been that, listening. ; ' -leard r.o movement from the watch-Uie watch-Uie floor above, who s'od guanJ i attic stairs. And it was evident ' & htard nothing to make htm suepi- Ru?s!an girl, dreadfully pale, leaned f . it the wall as though her limbs v iy supported her. Neeland passed -; gn unuer hers, nodded to Use Lu- ' and started cautiously down the , - :ed stairs, his automatic pistol in j Ar.d, and the revolver taken from , ur.prlsoned secret agent clutched ; j in the other. I - ,7i the ftalrs they crept, straight to- j the frightful tumult still raging be- ! lown past the wrecked clubrooms; . ; - i dead man sprawling on the land- ! . Tcsa the biood-soaked carpet down : --- the depths of the dusky building - --d the lighted cafe floor whence i 1 the uproar of excited men, while, --- - tr.e street outside, rose the frantic i - j o:' the mob mingled with the of g!a?s and the clanging dissonance n grilles and shutters which were battered into fragments. - - i my chance, now!" whispered rise nt, slipping past him like a shadow, j a moment he saw her silhouetted, '-.Sit the yeilow electric glare on the below," then, half carrying the al-; -; ..helpless Russian girl, he stumbled the last flight of stairs and pushed iy through a hurrying group of men -leemed to be searching for some- : .." lor they were tearing open cup-' .- ; i ar.d buffets, dragging out table rs ar.d tumbling linen, crockery and rare all over the black and white T s floor. j whole place whs ankle deep In j : .. ted glass and broken bottles, and ;. lace reeked with smoke and the r r wjr.e and spirits. and forced his way forward Into - - fe. looked around for Sengoun, and j r Irn almost Immediately. ! young Russian, flushed, infuriated, ; - Ikr gone and his coat in tatters, :: inigeli.ng with some men who held ; : . 'tis arms but did not offer to strike nd h!m, crowded back Into a cor-' : iar the cashier's steel-grilled desk, -. r- Use Dumont, calm, disdainful, con-- con-- I by Brandes, whose swollen, ih eyes, injected with blood, glared - i? it her. Stull had hold of him and - - y.v.z to drag him away. God's sake, Eddie, shut your h-2 pleaded !n English. "You t Io that to her, whatever she done, " !" Rut Brandes. disengaging himself with a Jerk, pushed his way past Sengoun to where Use stood. "I've got tho goods on you !" ho said in a ferocious voice tint neither Stull nor Curfoot recogmzrd. "You know what you did to n:e, don't you! You took my wife from me! Yes. my wife! She. was my wife! She is my wife! Kor all you did, you lying, treacherous slut ! Kor" all you've done to break me, double, -cross me, ruin me. drive mo out of every place I went! And now I've got you! I've sold you out! Get that? And you know what they'll do to you, don't you? Well, you'll see when " Curfoot and Stull threw- themselves against him. but Brandos. h:s round face pasty with fury, struggled back again to confront Use Dumont. "Ruined me"' he repeated. "Took away from me tho only tiling God ever gave me for my own! Took my wife!" "You dog!' said Use Dumont very slowly. slow-ly. "You dirty doc!" A frightful spasm crossed Brandes's features, and Stuil snatched nt the pistol he had whipped out. There was a struggle; strug-gle; Brand es wrenched the weapon free; but Neeland tore his way past Curfoot and struck Brandes in the fa.co with the butt of his heavy revolver. Instantly the group parted rlcht and left; Sengoun suddenly twisted out of the clutches of the men who held him, sprang upon Curfoot, and jerked tho pistol" from his fist. At the same moment the entire front of the cafe gave way and the mob crashed inward with a roar amid the deafening din of shattered metal and the clash of splintering glass. Through the dus: and falling shower of debris, Brandes fired at Use Dumont, reeled about in the whirl of the Inrushing throng enruhing him, still firing blindly at the woman who had been hl wif". Neeland put a bullet into his pistol arm, and it fell. But Brandes stretched k out again with a supreme nTort, pointing at Use Dumont with jeweled and bloody fingers: "That woman is a German spy! A spy!" he screamed. "You damn French mutts, do you understand wnat I say? Oh. my God! Will someone who speaks French tell them! Will somebody tell them she's a spy? La femme! Celte femme!" he shrieked.- "Kile est espion! Ksp !" He fired again, with his left hand. Then Sengoun shot him through the head; and at the same moment somebody stabbed Curfoot in the neck; and the lank American Amer-ican gambler turned and cried out to Stull in a voice half strangled with pain and fury: "Look out, Ben. There are apaches !n this mob! That one in the striped Jersey knifed me " "Tiens, v'la pour tol, sale mec de mal-heur!" mal-heur!" muttered a voice at his elbow, and a blow from a elung-shot crushed the base of his skull. As Curfoot crumpled up, Stull caught him; but the tall gambler's d'ad weight bore Stull to bis knees among tho fierce apaches, And there, fighting In silence to the end, his chalky facu of a sick clown meeting meet-ing uiulhunted tho o er whelming odds imalnsl him, Stull was sl-L upon by the a pac hew n nd stabbed and si ah hod until his clot hi ng was a heap of rib bona and the watch a n d m c k e t of Kr e n c h banknotes bank-notes which the nstitsslns tore from his body wcro dripping with hi blood. Sengoun and N oelund, their evening Clothes In tiitters, hatless, disheveled, began be-gan shooting their way out of tho bell or murder and destruction raging around them. Behind them crept Use Dumont and the Russian girl : dust and smoke obscure 1 Tho place where the mob raged from floor to floor in a frenzy of d struct ion, tearing out fixtures, telephones, window-sushos, window-sushos, smashing tables, bar fixtures, mirrors, ripping the curtains from tho windows and the very carpets from the ; fVor in their overwhelming rago ayalnst j thi Gorman cafe. That apaches bad entered with them j the mob cared nothing: the red lust of i destruction blinded them to everything j except their terrible necessity for the annihilation of this placo. If they saw murder done, and robbery if they heard shots in 1 he tumult and yaw pistol flashes t hrouch the dust und gray light of daybreak, they never turned from their raging work.' Out nf tho frightful turmoil Ftormed , Net-land and Sengoun, their pistols spitting spit-ting flame, the two women ciinulng to their ragged sleeves. Twice the apaches barred I heir way with bared knives, crouching for a rush; but Sengoun fired into them and Neeland s bullets dropped the ruf Man in the striped jersey where be stood over SluM's twitching body; and the sinister creatures leaped back from tne leveled weapons, turned and ran. , Through the uaplng doorway sprang Sengoun. his empty pistol menacing the crowd that choked the shadowy street : Neeland flung away his pistol and turned his revolver on those In the cafe behind him, as Ilso Pumont and the Russian girl crept throuch and out into the street. The crowd was cheering nnd shouting: "Down with the Germans! To the Brasserie Sehwarz!" j An immense wave of people surged suddenly sud-denly across the rue Ytlna, headed to- ward the German cafes on the Boulevard: and then, for the first tmie, Neeland ; caught sight of policemen standing In lit-tie lit-tie groups, coolly watching the destruction of the Cife des Pulsars. Either they were too few to cope with the mob, or they were indifferent as to what was being don to a German cafe, but one thing was plain: the police had not the faintest idea that murder had been rampant in the place. For, when suddenly a dead body was thrown from the door out on the sidewalk, their po- lice whistles shrilled through tho afreet, j a nd they started for the mob, rot?ulute-i rot?ulute-i ly. pushing, Mtrikhig with white-gloved lln.h', shout lug for right of way. I Other polleo came running, showing i that they had been perfectly nwaro that J German cafes were being attuck'M and wrecked. A mounted Inspector forced his j horse along tho a warming, sidewalks, cry- ing: I "Allons! Clrculoz! C'est defendu de ) s'attrouper dans la mo! Mais ilehcz-mol i lo camp, nom do Dleu ! I ,es A Demands no fiont pae encore duns la place 1" Along tho street and on tho Boulevard mo oh were forming and already storming three other Germuu cafes; a aquudrort of Republican Guard cavalry arrived at a trot, their helmets glittering In tho Increasing In-creasing daylight, driving beforo them a mob which had begun to attack a cafe on the corner. A captain, superbly mounted, rode ahead of the advancing linn of horses, wit ruing the throng back into th rue Vllna. up which tho mob now recoiled, sullenly protesting. Neeland and Sengoun and tho two women were forced back with the crowd us a double rank'f steel-helmet ed horsemen horse-men advanced, .-Sweeping everybody Into tho run Vlli.a. Up the street, through the vague morning morn-ing light, they retired between ranks of closed and silent Iiouh'-b, past nit i row, evil-looking mreets and stony nlleys still dark with tho shadows of the night. Into one of tiiese N'eeini.d started with Use Dumont, but Sengoun drew him back with a sharp exclamation of warning. At tho same time the crowd all around them became a ware of what was going on In tiie maze of dusky lanes and aiieys past which they were being driven by the cavalry ; and t he people broke and scattered scat-tered like rnhblts, darting through tho cavalry, dodgintr, scuttling under tne very legs of tho horses. The tronp, thrown into disorder, tried to check the panic-strr kt-n flight; u brigadier, briga-dier, spurring forward lo barn the cause of t he hysteric;' 1 stampede, drew bridle sharply, t hen whipped his pistol out of the saddle-holster, and galloped Into an im pass'. The troop cap a In, pushing his horse, caught siuht of sensojn and Neeland In the remains of their evening dress; and he glanced curiously at them, and at the two young women clad in the rags of evening gov ns. "Nom de Dieu!" h cried. "What are such peopie as you doing here? Go back! This is no quarter for honest f nlk !" "What are those police doing In the alleys?" demanded Seni;oun; but the captain cap-tain cantered his horse up the street, pistol pis-tol lifted; and they saw him tire from his saddle at a man who darted out of an alley and who started to run across the street. The captain missed every shot, but a trooper, whoa, 3 horse had come up on the sidewalk beside Neeland, fired twice more after the running man, and dropped him at the second shot. "A rood business, too," he said calmly, calm-ly, winking at Neeland. "You toureeols ought to be glad that we're ordered to clean up Paris for you. And now la the time to do It," he added, reloading his weapon. Sengoun said In a low voice to Neeland: "They're ridding the city of apaches. It's plain enough that they have orders to kill them where they find them! Look!" he added, pointing to the dead wall across the street; "It's here at last, and Paris is cleaning house and getting re-adv for it! This is war, Neeland war at last!" Neeland looked across the street where, under a ;as lamp on a rusty Iron bracket, was pasted the order for general mobilization. mobil-ization. And on the sidowaik at the base of the wall lay a man, face downward, his dusty shoes crossed under tho wide flaring trousers, the greasy casn.net still crowding out his lop ears; his hand clenched beside a stiletto which lay on the stone flagging" besldo him. "An apache," said Sengoun, coolly. "That's right, too. It's the way we do In Russia when we clean h6use for war " His face reddened and lighted joyously. "Thank God for my thousand lances!" he said, lifting his eyes to the yellowing skv between the houses in the narrow street. "Thank God! Thank God!" Now. across the intersections of streets and alleys beyond where they stood, policemen po-licemen and Garde cavalry were shooting into doorways, ba sornents, and up the somber, dusky lanes, the dry crack of their service revolvers re-echoing noisily through t'ne street. Toward the Boulevard below, a line of police and of cavalrymen blocked the rue I Vllna; and, beyond them, the last of the mob was being driven from the Cafe dos Bulgars, where the first ambulances were arriving and the police, guarding the ruins, were already looking out o windows win-dows on tho upper floors. A cavalryman came clattering down the rue Vllna, gesticulating and calling out to Sengoun and Neeland to take their ladles and depart. "Get us a taxlcab there's a good fellow!" fel-low!" cried Sengoun in high spirits; and the cavalryman, looking at their disheveled dishev-eled attire, laughed and nodded as he rode ahead of them down the rue Vllna. There were several taxlcabs on the Boulevard, their drivers staring up at the wrecked cafe. As Neeland spoke to the driver of one of the cabs. Use Dumont Du-mont stepped back besldo the silent girl whom sho had locked in the bedroom. "I gave you a chance," site said under her breath. "What may I expect from you? Answer me quickly! What am I to expect?" The girl seemed dazed: "N-nothtng," she stammered. "The tho horror of that place the killing has 6lckened me. I I want to go home " "You do not Intend to denounce me?" "No Oh, God! No!" "Is that the truth? If you are lying to me It means my death." The girl gazed at her In horror; tears sprang to her eyes: "I couldn't- I could n' t !" she stammered stam-mered In a choking voice. "I've never beforo seen death never seen how It came how men die! This this killing ie horrible, revolting!" She had laid one trembling little hand on Use Dumont's bare shoulder. "I don't want to have you killed; the Idea of death makes me ill! I'm going home that is all I ask for to go home " She dropped her pretty head and began to sob hysterically, standing there under the growing daylight of the Boulevard, In her tattered evening gown. Suddenly, Use Dumont threw both arms around her and kissed tho feverish, tear-wet tear-wet face: "You weren't meant for this!" she whispered. "You do It fnr money. Go home. Do anything else for wages anything any-thing except this! Anything, I tell you " Noeland's hand touched her arm: "I have a cab. Are you going home with her?" |