Show tf A WARRIOR BOR by ST GEORGE of on tin the sp der i a web sr U si caprice etc 1901 street and sud smith new now XII contin aed we must have another deal all perhaps a better and more gen erous lover will appear the next time one who will appreciate little favors at their true value you can consider our seit dismissed with nith a wave of the hand that should have struck dumb terror into the heart of the other but which on the contrary only excited his secret mirth thanks but I 1 shall take my dis charge only from the proper author ity and in this case that does not happen lappen to be ahem capt brand very good remember I 1 am her father and the rightful custodian of our family honor perhaps I 1 may re sort to other and more drastic meas ures tires should you continue to force your unwelcome attentions upon my daughter you would find me ready and will ing to give you back as good as you send sir why you young scamp I 1 could break every aone in your body if I 1 chose almost frothing at the mouth with rage better not try it captain in new sew york state they electrocute for mur der and its a worse fate than hang ing which aou ou know has terrors enough never to be forgotten charlie acting upon the spur of the moment could not help bining git ing him this little thrust it was a I 1 een one the others jaw dropped his eyes momentarily rolled in a spasm of agony and the sweat seemed to break rut out i ut upon his brow charlie ii saw and was satisfied he ile had given the conscienceless wretch a body blow I 1 in n return for his vile threats capt brands spasm lasted but a brief space of time and then be he re covered his self possession there was a peculiarity about the captain that seemed very marked when in a rage his eyes became quite I 1 bloodshot and glowed like the orbs of a hyena upon the deserts of which he loved to tate and just now they were fiery in deed the look he gave stuart had mur der in it though charlie showed no sign of alarm here in this public place the man would never dare assault him besides charlie possessed the idea that he could hold his own at an any Y time against the fellow true he was smaller than the captain but a life devoted to occasional dissipation must have sapped some of the aston ashing powers which a generous na ture had originally bestowed upon the worthy man of many faces but capt brand restrained himself reason had not quite deserted him he smiled grimly and there waa was a world of meaning in bis his sardonic look very good my hearty you have chosen to throw down the glove giove and from this hour its war to the knife between us you may live to rue the day lay you made an enemy out of one who held out the olive branch de pend vend upon it arline brand Is not for you A fond parent must guard the interests of his sweet child go your way young sir and when next me meet it will be as toes foes to the death I 2 wash my hands of you CHAPTER XIII the fateful hour ilour charlie looked after the retreating ligure of capt brand and was in doubt whether to take him seriously or consider his threat a huge joke he soon resolved to dismiss from his mind capt brand and all he typify typified led and seek repose he gained the sanctity of his room and lighting the gas sat down to have a last deliberation ere retiring all seemed capable of running in a smooth groove but the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley bobby debby burns tells us and who has not found it true tru in his owned own ex per lence charlie retired whether he slept soundly or not concerns us little but under the circumstances it is hardly probable that his slumber was very refreshing there was too great a load on his mind he ile felt very much as a man might who stands upon the brink of a preci pice success or failure his whole fu ture depended upon one little word was balanced in the hollow of a girls girl s hand charlies previous bitter experience bad had caused him to feel more or less caution with noth a shade of distrust to ward the gentle sex and against this thid be he had to fight could he have known what lay be fore him under what fearful condl eions he was fated to win his sweet heart even his bold warrior spirit might have quailed a little it Is just as well perhaps that these things are mercifully hidden from our view just as well that we need only grapple with each difficulty as it ap pears in view instead of crossing bridges fridges before we come to them the day dawned there was more or less of a bustle in the air new nev york contains more sons of erin than probably any irish city out side of dublin and these patriotic exiles never neglect to fittingly celebrate ta all st pat ricks rick s day no matter weather may be charlie felt he must have something to distract his attention ortemus was not in sight the daily paper had been exhausted and as a last resort he sauntered out to watch the crowds never once did he wander far from the hotel which fact later on he m was as inclined to believe was a special dis sensation pens pensa atlon tion of providence the magnet was there that held him he smoked and walled wall ed and so the time dragged by until the hour of fate arrived charlie the better to see and be out of the anticipated jam had mounted a convenient carria carriage gestone stone standing in front of a dwelling bouse house halt half a block from the hotel great as was the excitement around him it seemed to be doubly intense fled fied further along the line of march especially in front of the hotel he ile saw the procession break at this point melt away as it were men ran toward the hotel in squads waving their arms wildly was it an opportunity to quench the thirst that frequently burns irish throats on this glorious holiday 7 charlie knew of yore all about the battle of the boyne and how an orange flag arouses the hatred of a st patrici s day even as the red flag stirs the mada maddened ened bull to frenzy had some bold and incautious soul dared to invite immolation by thus flaunting in their faces the color they despised he supposed this must be the case to his surprise however the ex e cit ement spread the crowd pressed madly forward mounted officers came galloping back shouting out some thing that at first he could not catch never to his dying day would char lie stuart forget the intense anxiety of that moment when he seemed to feel as though the fate of empires was at stake and then he heard distinctly above the roar the stentorian voice of a leath leathern brn ged officer turn opt the avenue Is ispass able the windsor hotel Is on fire turn out outi doubtless that stentorian shout sent a shuddering chill to many a heart when those who heard it glanc ed up at the massive pile and compre bended the hundreds of precious lives that were endangered to none could it appeal with more irresistible lorce torce than to charlie stuart all his hopes and ambitions on earth earth were centered there the girl he loved with heart and soul was far up in the doomed structure perhaps asleep under the influence of an opiate after a wakeful night with an aching brow at first his blood seemed congeal ed into ice lee then it leaped through his veins like boiling lava fresh from the throat of vesuvius charlie did not waste time in re fleetion time was worth more than money now worth all the world to him he ile had leaped to the pavement like a deerhound and dashed toward the hotel in great bounds some men would have lost their wits but it seemed that the greater the emergency the keener became his mind even as he ran and elbowed his way through the excited crowd with irresistible ft f q he nas aas mapping out a plan of really there seems no limit to the human mind its capacity Is astonish ing it rises to meet the emergency regardless of what Is needed now even when thus fighting his way through the crowd charlie saw the hopelessness of attempting to reach the main entrance on the ave nue the space for half a block was densely packed with a whooping mass of humanity partly imbued with the eager cur curiosity iosty that always distin crowds the world over and at iame u a desire to be of use somehow it if he desired to reach that door he must perforce walk over the heads of the packed crowd A better plan suggested itself he ile remembered a side entrance which admit him much more now he was at the corner he took one look up and around the picture was impressed upon the tablets of his memory forever no longer were handkerchiefs and green ribbons waving from the numerous windows of the hotel in stead panic stricken girls threw out their arms appealingly and shrieked in terror the wand of an evil magician had touched the scene and transformed it in a twinkling smoke already oozed from several openings proving to charlie that his hopes of the fire being trifling were groundless it was most serious the holocaust of the parisian charite bazar was about to be repeat ed in new aorl and that st pat rick ricks s day would be marked as the most grew some gotham had ever known charlie now bad had a better chance to push ahead already he feared he had delayed too long there were many people and much excitement in the side street but it was of course not to be compared with the avenue where the crowds had gathered witness the parade straight to the door charlie dashed A man stood there endeavoring to keep out those ho had no business inside for it is well known that dar ing thieves will take advantage of such occasions to ply their nefarious trade even it if they do not at times even create the opportunity ten men could not have kept our charlie from pushing in he shouted that he was a buest guest and then rushed inside nor did the man after one look at his haggard face attempt to say him nay charlie avoided the office where men swarmed and orders were shout ed that could never be obea obaed ed his business was aloft she was there exposed to a fright ful death and he felt that he lived but to save her so up he bounded three steps at a time one thing he must remember the windsor was famous as a caravan sary where a stranger might easily lose him elf in the many passages to do so no now would be indeed fatal fata to all his hopes he lie found smoke everywhere and even fancied he could hear the crack ling of flames though the whole place was in such a turmoil that one could not be sure of this he also met numerous persons fly ing this way and that maddened with fear some hardly knew whither they went and appealed frantically to this coolheaded cool headed man beseeching him for heaven s ake cake to tell them where the stairs could be found nor did he fail to direct them every one even while he pushed on to the next flight up up h went still finding smoke circling along the halls through which women staggered shrieking their appalling distress it was a terrifying picture there were comical elements in ejected into it of course but no one had the heart to laugh 7 charlie knew in his heart a dread tul ful calamity was impending nothing short of a miracle could save the great structure now and the days of miracles appear to be past perhaps scores of human lives would be sacrificed to the demon of fire mostly helpless women worried em ein aloyes or guests who had been view ing the parade from the upper win dows the mere fact that such a draught passed through the halls from these open windows would hasten the total demolition of the whole structure and make it more certain had charlie no sacred duty of his own to perform he would have gladly devoted all of his time toward effect ing the rescue of these terrified girls As it was he could only think of arline her lovely face was before his eyes and seemed to plead with him to make haste the smoke was growing even more dense and he had to push close to the doors to distinguish the numbers in order to mal e sure that he was on the right floor at last this knowledge came to him the opportunity was in his grasp here the same conditions seemed to abound there was smoke in plenty frenzied maids and flying figures darting through it all like spectres spec tres charlie was somewhat out of breath as a result of his steady climb but otherwise in good physical condition he ile had the number of arline s rooms well in his mind the house had been crowded and these were the best at her service though the clerk had promised her a suite near the McKin mckinless leys after that day what it if he could have made a mis take in any waya the wretched con sequences almost paralyzed him to even think of it eagerly he had scanned each flying or crouching female figure he met in the hope that he might thus discover the one he sought but as yet he had not found her even in that smoke laden atmos phere he knew he could not mistake her figure while one note from her voice must have thrilled him through and through to be continued |