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Show I I THE HOUSE OF I1 A THOUSAND I CANDLES H By MEREDITH NICHOLSON H Author et "THE MAIN CHANCE." ZELDA UAMEHON," Elc. lopjrililit IW6 lijr llbui-Mrrlli lo H CHAPTER XXIII. Continued. H "Try It iiKiiln," I lioiinl harry nd- monlsli liltn, "try that onro more, mul 1 Tho Sod, find bless II ! will novur foci the delicate Imprint of your web-foot again." Ho turned tho rmiu nbout and rushed htm toward tho Iioiiko, tho re-volrcr re-volrcr still serving ns n prod. Ills flight gavo heart to tho wary Invaders Immediately behind him and two fel-lows, fel-lows, urged and IlmI by Morgan, charged our lino at a smart pace. "Holt for tho front door," I railed to Larry, and Stoddard and I closed In after him to guard his retreat. "They're not rthootlng," called Htoil-dard. Htoil-dard. "You may bo sure they've had their orders to capture tho bouse with as little row as possible." Wo wore now hearing 'the edgo of tho wood, with tho open meadow and wntor tower at our bachs, while Lurry was malting good tlmo toward tho house. "Lot's not wait for them hero," thouted Stoddard. Morgan was advancing with a club in his hand, making directly for mo, two men at his heels, and tho rest I veering off toward tho wall of St. Agatha's. "Wittch the house," I yelled to tho chaplain; and then, on tho edge of tho wood Morgan canio nt mo furiously, furious-ly, swinging Ills club over his head, and In u moment wo were fencing away nt a merry rate. Wo both had rovolvers strapped to our waists, but I had uo Intention of di.iwlug initio unless In extremity. At my right Stoddard was busy keeping off Morgan's Mor-gan's personnl guard, who seemed reluctant re-luctant to close with tho clergyman. 1 have been, In my day, something of a fencer, and my knowliulgo of tho foils stood mo In good stead now. With n tremoudous thwack I knocked Morgan's club Hying over tho snow, and, as wo grappled, Hates yelled from tho house. I quickly found that Morgan's Mor-gan's wounded arm wns still tendor. Ho flinched nt tho first grapple, and his anger got tho bettor of his Judgment. Judg-ment. Wo kicked up the snow at a great rate as wo feinted and dragged each other nbout. Ho caught hold of my bolt with one hniid mid with a great wrench nenrly dragged. mo from my feet, but I pinioned his arms nnd bont him backwnrd, then, by a trick Larry had taught me, Hung him upon bis side. Meanwhile Hates continued n call lustily from tho house. "Come on nt uny cost," shouted Stoddard, putting himself hotweon mo nd tho men who wcro Hying to Morgan's Mor-gan's aid. "Shoot, you fools, shoot!" howled Morgan, nnd as wo started across tho open meadow nnd ran toward tho liouso a shotgun roared back of us and buckshot snapped nnd rattled on tho etono of tho water towor, "Thoro's tho sheriff," callod Stoddard Stod-dard behind mo. Tho olllcor nnd his deputy ran Into the park from tho gnto of St. Agatha's, whllo tho rest of Morgan's party woro klrtlng tho wall to Join them. "Stop or I'll shoot," yolled Morgan, and I felt Stoddard pauso In his gigantic gi-gantic stride to throw himself betwocn mo and tho pursuers. "Sprint for It hot," ho callod very coolly, as though ho woro coaching mo In a contest of tho most nmlablo sort Imaginable. "Got away from those guns," I panted, pant-ed, angored by tho vory generosity of his dofonso. "Feint for tho front door and then run for tho terrace and the library door," ho commanded as wo crossed tho Uttlu rnvlno bridge "Thoy'vo got us bonded off." Twice tho guns boomed behind us, and twice I saw shot cut Into the anow nbout mo. "I'm oil right," callod Stoddard, reassuringly, re-assuringly, still nt my back. "They'ro sot a bit anxious to kill mo." I was at tho top of my speed now, but tho clorgymnn kopt close at my heels. 1 was blowing hard, but he made equal tlmo with perfect ease. "Now for tho sheriff horo wo go!" cried Stoddard bosldo mo whon wo woro close to the frlngo of trees that ahlelded tho entranco. Then off wo veered suddenly to tho left, close upon Hj tho terrace, where ono of tho French -windows was thrown opon and Larry and Dates stepped out, urging us on "with lusty cries. They caught us by the arms and dragged us over whoro tho balustrado "was lowost, and wo crowded through the door and slammed It. As Hates snapped the bolts Morgan's party dls-charged dls-charged their combined artillery and withdrew across tho ravine toward tho lake. CHAPTER XXIV. The FlQht In the Library. It was nearly 11 o'clock when the at-tacking at-tacking party roturnod aftor a parley on the Ice behind the boat house. The four of us wero on tho torrace ready tor them. Thoy camo smartly througn IM wnr'l I'.o fdieri'f nnd ?Tor;an aiT'i'lv In n'Hanrf of the n'horM. I "Xpected them to slacken their paro when they enmo to the open meadow, but they broke Into a quick trot at the .vator towor and camo toward the house as steady ns veteran campaigners. campaign-ers. "Looks llko business this time!" exclaimed ex-claimed Larry. "Spread out now nnd tho first head that looms over tho balustrado bal-ustrado gets a dose of hickory." Tho attacking party now divided, half halting hot ween us nnd tho bridge and the remainder swinging nround the house toward the front entranco. "Ah, look nt that!" yelled Larry. "It's n battering ram they have. O man of peace! have I your Majesty's consent to try tho elephant guns now?" Morgan and the sheriff carried between be-tween them n stick of timber from which the branches bad been cut, and, with n third man to help, thoy rnn It up the stops and against the door with a crash that camo booming and echoing back through tho great halls of the house. A gun roared again nt tho sldo of the house, and I ran to tho library, whoro Lnrry had pushed furnltuic against all tho long windows save ono, which he hold opon. He stepped out upon tho terrace and emptied a revolver revol-ver at tlir? men who woro now creeping creep-ing along tho etlgo of the ravine beneath be-neath us. Ono of them stopped and discharged a rllle at us with dollbor-ato dollbor-ato aim. The ball snapped snow from tho balustrado and screamed away harmlessly. "Hah," such monkeys!" ho muttered. mut-tered. "I bellovo I've hit that chap!" Ono man had fallen and lay howling In tho ravine, his hand to his thigh, whllo his comrades paused, demoralized. demor-alized. "Serves you right, you blackguard!" Larry muttered. I pulled him In and wo Jammed a By a Trick Larry Had Taught Me I Threw Him. cabinet against tho door and roturnod to tho hall. Meanwhile tho blows nt tho front door continued with Increasing violence. vio-lence. Stoddnrd still stood whoro I had left him. Hates was not In sight, but tho barking of a revolver above showed that ho had returned to tho window to wreak vengoanco on his enemies. en-emies. Stoddard shook his head In deprecation. depreca-tion. "Thoy fired first wo can't do loss than get back at them," I said, hotweon ho-tweon tho blowB of tho battering ram. A panel of tho great onkon door now splintered, but In their fear that wo might 'so tho broken panel ns a loophole, they scampered out Into range of Hates' rovolver. In roturn wo heard a rain of small shot on tho upper up-per windows, and a few seconds lntor Larry shouted that tho flanking pnrty was again at tho terrace. This movement evidently heartonod the s ho; Iff, for, under a tiro from Hates, his men charged again and tho log crashed Into tho door, shaking It freo from tho upper hinges. Tho lower low-er fastenings woro wrenched looso an Instant later, and tho men camo tumbling tum-bling Into the hall tho sheriff, Morgan Mor-gan and four others I had novor seen bofore. Simultaneously tho flanking party began smashing the small panes of tho library windows. Wo could hoar the glass crack and tlnklo above tho confusion at tho door. In tho hall he was certainly a lucky man who held to his weapon a moment mo-ment after tho door tumblod In. I blazod at tho sheriff with my rovol-vor, rovol-vor, hut ho stumbled and half fell at tho threshold, so that the ball passed over him, and ho promptly gripped me by tho legs and had .mo prono nnd half dazed by tho rap of my head on tho floor. I stipposo I was two or three mln-utos mln-utos at least getting my wits. I was first conscious of Hates grappling with tho shorlff, who snt upon mo, and as thoy struggled with each other I got tho full benoflt of their combined, swerving, tossing weight. Morgan and Larry woro trying for a chonco at each other with rovolvers, while 'Morgan hacked tho Irishman slowly toward the library. Stoddard had solzed one of the unknown deputies by tho col lar and rivr Mm a tromendms (mine Jfrklng him high In the air nnd ilrlv Ing him against another Invader with n blow that knocked both fellows spinning Into a corner. ' "Come on to tho library!" shouted Larry, nnd Hates, who bad got mo to my foot, pushed me down tho hali to-wurd to-wurd tho open library door. Wo woro now betwocn two fires. Tho sheriff's party had fought vnllant-ly vnllant-ly to keep us out of the library, and now that wo were within, Stoddard's big shoulders held tho door half closed against the combined strength of the men In tho hnll. This pauso was fortunate, for-tunate, for It gave us nn opportunity to deul singly with tho fellows whe wcro climbing In from tho terrace Hates had laid ono of them low with a club nnd Lnrry disposed of another who hail made a murderous effort tc stick a knife Into him. I was with Stoddnrd against tho door, where the sheriff's men woro slowly gaining upon mo. I "Let go on the Jump whon I Bay three," said Stoddnrd. nnd nt his word wo sprang nwny from tho door nnd Into the room. Larry yelled with Joy as tho sheriff and his men pitched forward for-ward nnd sprawled upon tho floor;-then floor;-then wo wero nt It ngnln In n hnnd-to-hand conflict to clear tho room. "Hold thut position, sir," yolled Hates. Morgan had directed tho attack against me nnd I wns driven upon tho hearth before tho groat fireplace. Tho shorlff, Morgan and Ferguson hemmed mo In. It was evident that I was thej chief culprit, nnd they wished to ellm-Innto ellm-Innto mo from tho contest. Across tho room, Lnrry, Stoddard nnd Hates wcro ongnged In n lively rough and tumble with the rest of tno besiegers, and Stoddnrd, seeing my plight, leaped tho overturned tnblo, broke past tho trio and stood by my sldo, swinging n chair. At that moment my eyes, swooping tho broken outer doors, saw tho faco of I'lckorlng. He had como to boo that his orders woro oboyod, nnd I ro-mombor ro-mombor yet my satisfaction, ns, hemmed hem-med In by tho men ho had hired to kill mo or drive mo out, I felt, rnthor than Baw, tho cowardly horror doplctcd upon his faco. Then tho trio pressed upon mo. As I throw down my club and drow my rovolvor, some ono across tho room llrod sovernl shots, whoso roar through the room seomed to arrest tho light for an Instant, nnd then, whllo Stoddard stood nt my side swinging his chnlr dofonslvoly, tho great chnn-dollor, chnn-dollor, loosened or brokon by tho shots, fell with a mighty crash of Its crystal pondants. Tho sheriff, leaping away from Stoddard's chair, was struck on tho bend and borno down by tho heavy glass. Wo wero all gottlng our second wind for n renewal of tho fight, with Morgan Mor-gan in command of tho enemy. Ono or two of his men, who had gone down early in tho strugglo, woro now crawling crawl-ing back for rovengo. I think I must have rnlsed my hand nnd pointed at Pickering, for Dates wheeled llko a flash, and bofore I realized what happened hap-pened ho had dragged the executor Into the room. "You scoundrel you in grate I" howled the sorvant. Tho blood on his faco and bare chest and tho hatred In his oyes mado him a hldoous object; but in that lull of tho storm whllo we waited, watching for an advantage, I heard, Bomowhoro In the wall, that same sound of footsteps that I had remarked before. Larry and Stoddard heard It; Hatei heard It, and his oyes fixed upon Dickering with a glare of malicious delight, "There comes our old friend, the ghost," yolled Larry. ITO DE CONTINUED.) |
