Show STORY c THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CANDLES = = D1 MEREDITH NICHOLSON 01 THE MAIH CIUNCE ZELDA A llllOr fUAML1i0tN1 M CL1 UpjrMl1 1WP b1 UuUli M rrlll Co CHAPTER XXIII Continued Try It I again l heard Larry ad nlsh him trY that once more and Sod God bless III will never feel e delicate imprint of your web feot In Ie turned the man about and him toward tho house the lever led ver still serving as a prod His the Invaders ht gave heart to wary inedlatel behind him and two fel s urged and led by Morgan rged our line at a smart pace Dolt for tho front door I called Larry and Stoddard and I closed after him to guard hla retreat Theyre not shooting called Stod rd You may be sure theyve had Ir orders to capture tho house with little row as possible iVe were now nearing the edge of wood with the open meadow and ter toner at our backs while Larry s making good time toward the useLets not wait for them here uteri Stoddard ilorgan was advancing with a club his hand making directly for me e men at his heels and the restring rest-ring off toward the wall of St athas Watch the house I yelled to the plain and then on the edge of B wood Morgan camo at mo furious swinging his club over his head d In a moment we were fencing ay at a merry rate We both had olvers strapped to our waists but ad no Intention of drawing mine less In extremity At my right ddard was busy keeping oft Mor as personal guard who seemed re tant to close with the clergyman hae been in my day something a fencer and my knowledge of tho Is stood me In good stead now 1th a tremendous thwack I knocked > rgans club flying over the snow d as we grappled Dates yelled from a house I quickly found that Mor as wounded arm was still tender flinched at the first grapple and anger got the better of his judg nL Wo kicked up tho snow at a eat rate as we feinted and dragged h other about He caught hold of bell with one hand and with a > at wrench nearly dragged me from feet but I pinioned his anus and nt t him backward then by a trick rry had taught me flung him upon side Meanwhile Gates continued If call tHy from the houso Come on at any cost shouted ddard putting himself between mod mo-d 1 the men who wore flying to Morns Mor-ns > aid Shoot you fools shoot howled rgan and as we started across tho en meadow and ran toward the use a shotgun roared back of us and ckshot snapped and rattled on the ne of the water tower Theres the sheriff called Stod rd behind me he officer and his deputy ran Into park from tho gate of St Agathas lie the rest of Morgans party were rung the wall to join them Stop or Ill shoot yelled Morgan d I felt Stoddard pause In his glUe gl-Ue stride to throw himself between I and the pursuers Sprint for lt hot he called very lIy as though he were coaching mea me-a contest of the most amiable sort finable Get away from those guns I pant angered by the very generosity of defense I Feint for the front door and then for the terrace and tho library C he commanded as vo crossed little ravine bridge Theyve got beaded offIce off-Ice the guns boomed behind us twice I saw shot cut Into tho w about men me-n all right called Stoddard re Wngly still at my back Theyre a bit anxious to kill me Was at the top of my speed now t the clergyman kept close at my Is I was blowing hard but he f de equal < time with perfect ease f Now for the sheriff hero wo go ed Stoddardbeside mewhen we 1 re close to the fringe of trees that elded the entrance Then off wo t red suddenly to tho left close upon terrace where one of the French taws was thrown open and Larry d b hates lusty cries stepped out urgIng us all hey caught us by the arms and d fftdus ovur where the balustrade S lowest tluough est and wo crowded through i door and slummed It As Dates a taped lhe bolts Morgans party diet ed Uhd L their combined artillery and 1 ew toward across tho r e ravine toward the CHAPTER xxiv t liThe Fight In the Library kl nearly 11 oclock when the at a thnc lee Party returned after a parley nr behind the boat house Tho s rot Us hhem wero on the terrace ready 1 em They ey came smartly through the wood the sheriff nnd Morgan sl = hUy in advance of tho others I 1 expected Uiom to slacken their pace when they came to the open meadow but they broke Into a quick trot at tho water tower and came toward tho house as steady as veteran campaign ors Looks like business thin time ex claimed Larry Spread out now and the first head that looms oer the bal tistrade gets a dose of hickory The attacking part now divided half halting between us and the bridge and tho remainder swinging around the house toward tho front entrance Ah look at that yelled Larry Its a battering ram they have Oman O-man of peace have I your Majestys consent to try tho elephant guns now Morgan and the sheriff carried be I tween them a stick of timber from which the branches had been cut and with a third man to help they ran It up tho steps and against the door with a crash that came booming and echoing back through the great I halls of tho house I A gun roared again at tho side of time house and I ran to the library where Larry had pushed furnituto against all the long windows save one which he held open HP stepped out upon tho terrace and emptied a revolver revol-ver at the men who were now creep ing along tho edge of the ravine be nuath us One of them stopped and discharged a rifle at us with deliberate deliber-ate aim Tho ball snapped snow from tho balustrade and screamed away harmlessly Bah such monkeys ho muttered mut-tered I believe Ive hit that chap I One man had fallen and lay howling In the ravine his hand to his thigh while his comrades paused demoralized demor-alized Serves you right you blackguard Larry muttered I pulled him in and wo jammed a cabinet against tho door and returned to tho hall Meanwhile tho blows at the front door continued with Increasing violence vio-lence Stoddard still stood where I had left him Dates was not In sight but the barking of a revolver above showed that ho had returned to tho window to wreak vengeance on his enemies en-emies Stoddard shook his head in deprecation depreca-tion They fired firstwe cant do less than get back at them I said between be-tween tho blows of the battering ram A panel of the great oaken door now splintered but In their fear that wo might so tho broken panel as a loophole they scampered out Into range of Dates revolver In return wo heard a rain of small shot on tho upper up-per windows and a few seconds later Larry shouted that tho flanking party was again at the torrace This movement evidently heartened the sheriff for under a flro from Dates his men charged again and the log crashed Into the door shaking It the hinges Tho low free from upper er fastenings were wrenched loose an Instant later and the men came turn sheriff Mor hung Into the halltho gan and four others I had never seen before Simultaneously tho flanking party began smashing tho small panes windows We could of tho library above hear the glass crack and tinkle the confusion at tho door In the hall he was certainly a lucky man who held to his weapon a moment mo-ment after the door tumbled In I revol blazed at tho sheriff with my ver but ho stumbled and half fell at the threshold so that tho ball passed him and ho promptly gripped over and me by the legs and had mo prone head on of my half dazed by tho rap the floor thl suppose I was two or wits three I minutes was min-utes at least getting my conscious of Dates grappling first and tho sheriff who Rat upon me with struggled with each other I as they combined full benefit of their got the weight Morgan and tossing swerving trying for a chance at each were other Larry with revolvers while Morgan backed he Irishman Stoddard pad seized toward onetime one-time library col deputies by the unknown or the tar and gave him a tremendous swing Jerking hIm high In tho air and driv bug him against another Invader with a blow that knocked both fellows spinning Into a corner Como on to the library shouted Larry and Hates who had got mo to my feet pushed me down tho hall toward to-ward tho open library door We were now between two fires The sheriffs party had fought valiant ly I to keep us out of tho library and I now that wo were within Stoddards big shoulders held tho door half closed against the combined strength of the men In tho hall This pause was fortunate for-tunate for It gave us an opportunity to deal singly with tho fellows who were climbing In from tho terrace Dates had laid one of thorn low with a club and Larry disposed of another who had made a murderous effort to stick a knife Into him I was with Stoddard against tho door where the sheriffs men wero slowly gaining upon me Let go on the Jump when I say three said Stoddard and at his word wo sprang away from the door and Into tho room Larry jelled with Joy as tho sheriff and his men pitched forward for-ward and sprawled upon tho floor then wo were at It again In a handto hand conflict to clear tho room Hold that position sir yelled Bates Morgan had directed the attack against mo and I was driven upon tho hearth before tho great fireplace Tho sheriff Morgan and Ferguson hemmed mo In It was evident that I was the chief culprit and they wished to ellm Inato mo from tho contest Across tho room Larry Stoddard and Bates were engaged In a lively rough and tumblo with tho rest of the besiegers nnd Stoddard seeing my plight leaped tho overturned table broke past tho trio and stood by my side swinging a chair I At that moment my eyes sweeping r l j j i j Jraf I Il p r I tr u By a Trick Larry Had Taught Me I Threw Him the broken outer doors saw the face of Pickering He had come to seo that his orders were obeyed and I remember re-member yet my satisfaction as hemmed hem-med In by tho men he had hired to kill mo or drive me out I felt rather than saw the cowardly horror depicted upon his face Then the trio pressed upon me As I threw down my club and drew my revolver some one across the room fired several shots whoso roar through tho room seemed to arrest tho fight for an instant and then while Stoddard stood at my side swinging his chair defensively the great chandelier chan-delier loosened or broken by the shots fell with a mighty crash of its crystal pendants Tho sheriff leaping away from Stoddards chair was struck on the head and borne down by tho heavy glass We were all getting our second wind for a renewal of the fight with Morgan Mor-gan m command of the enemy One or two of his men who had gone down early In the struggle were now crawlIng crawl-Ing back for revenge I think I must have raised my hand and pointed at Pickering for Dates wheeled like a flash and before I realized what happened hap-pened he had dragged the executor Into the room You scoundrelyou I n g rat e I howled the servant Tho blood on his faco and bare chest and tho hatred in his eyes made him a hideous object but in that lull of the storm whllo wo waited watching for In I heard somewhere an advantage tho wall that same sound of footsteps that I had remarked before Larry and Stoddard heard It Bates heard It and his eyes fixed upon Pickering with a glare of malicious delight There comes our old friend the ghost yelled Larry TO DE CONTINUED COMPLAINTS ABOUT PAINT i Tho tlmo to complain about paint IB before tho painter applies It The limn who puts up tho money should not shirk the responsibility of choosing choos-ing tho paint True tho painter ought to know paint better than the banker the professional mnn or tho merchant The troublo Is tho house owner too often deliberately bars tho competent and honest painter from time Job by accepting a bid which ho ought to know would mako an honest job impossible Secure your bids on the basis of National Lead Companys pure White Lead and pure Linseed Oil and see that you get theso materials No one need bo tooled by adulterated adulter-ated white lead A blowpipe testing outfit will bo mailed to anyone interested Inter-ested In paint Address National Lead Company Woodbrldgo Building Now York City |