Part 32 (1/2)

It was the end of the prelian in earnest They were both powerful men, the breed and Harold; and Bill was like a wild beast--quick as a cougar, resistless as a grizzly--a fighting fury that in the darkness was terrible as death Mightyarlory of battle was upon hiht--in the darkness--and thatthat called forth those most deep and terrible instincts that in the first days of the earth were stored and ier men of the twentieth century

They were si to the death in a cave It was a fa thus in the darkness: Neither Harold nor Pete ht now They were carried back to no less furious battles, fought in dark caverns under the sea; murder flamed in their hearts and fire ran riot in their blood

They were no longer conscious of tih the long roll of the centuries It was hard to reht It didn't matter now, anyway; the only issue left was the life of their adversary To kill, to tear their enemies' hearts from their warm breasts and their arteries from their throats,--this was all that any of the three could remember now It was true that Bill kept his adversaries away froinia's corner as well as he could, but he did it by instinct rather than by conscious planning He had not hated Harold in these arded hih in those firstacross the cabin, they encountered soft flesh that tried to escape froht it was Joe, returned to consciousness But in an instant he knew the truth ”Go back to your corner Virginia,” he couess, she had seen fit to crawl forth from her shelter; whether or not she returned to it he couldn't tell

There was no chance to warn her again His foes were upon hiht, at first So that they would not attack each other, Harold and Pete cried out often, to reveal their location and to signal a coainst Bill In the instants that he was free froe, Harold fired blindly with his pistol Their bodies crashed against the wall, broke the furniture into kindling at their feet; they snarled their hatred and their curses

Bill fought like a giant, a ht of battle upon him never known before

He would hurl away one, then whirl to face the other; his fists would lash out, his hty shoulders would wrench More than once their combined attack hurled hiain his feet Once he seized Harold's wrist, and twisting it back forced him to drop the pistol But Pete's interference prevented hi his arether They were used to the darkness now; Pete obeyed the white ht, and they knew that by concerted action they could break hi to the floor, and Bill's strong arms hurled Harold after him Just for a fraction of an instant he stood braced and alone in the center of the cabin For the instant a silence, deep and appalling past all words, fell over the room But Harold's voice quickly shattered it

”Up and at hi upon hiood holds, and as they came from opposite sides, Bill found it inized their great chance; if they could retain their hold only for a moment they could break him and beat him down Harold also knew that this was the moment of crisis All three contestants see on his reserve strength--the battle could only last a few ht in silence now They did not waste precious breath on shouts or curses There were no pistol shots, no warnings; only the sound of troubled breathing against the shock of their bodies as they reeled against the walls Bill was fighting with all his ht to keep his feet

But the tower that was his body fell at last All three staggered, reeled, then crashed to the floor Pete had le froled at Bill's left side; Harold was on top But for all that he lay prone, Bill was not conquered yet With his flailing arms he knocked aside the vicious blows that Harold aiht with a final, incredibletheir holds to climb once more upon his feet

Then--above the sound of their writhing bodies--Virginia heard Pete exclairee of terror swept through her But she didn't cry out She had her own plans

”Hold him--just one instant!” Pete cried The breed had reht of it before

He took it rather carefully fro on the floor by now, Harold in a desperate effort to keep his enemy down, and there was plenty of ti and his savagery he realized that the supreme opportunity for victory was at hand; but he must take infinite pains

He didn't want to run the risk of slaying his own confederate His hand found a h The match cracked, then flamed in the darkness

But it was not to be that that otten Bill's lone ally,--the girl that had seemed so crushed and helpless a few minutes before She had not remained in the safe corner where Bill had thrust her, and she had had good reasons The price that she paid was high, but it didn't matter now She had crawled out to find her pistol that Joe's hand had let fall, and just before Pete had lighted his match her hand had encountered it on the floor

It seemed to leap in her hand as the match flamed It described a blue arc; then rested, utterly motionless, for a fraction of an instant For that same little time all her nervous forces rallied to her aid; her eyes were re in the silence The knife dropped froht for the little hollow in his back that his raised arhastly surprise

Then he went on his face, creeping like a legless thing toward the door

With a hty effort Bill rolled Harold beneath him

The battle was short thereafter Harold had never been a match for Bill, unaided The latter's hard fists lashed into his face, blow after bloith grim reports in the silence Harold's resistance ceased; his body quivered and lay still Reinia Bill leaped to his feet

But Harold was not quite unconscious But one impulse was left,--to escape; and dued to open it; but he crawled past Pete's body, strangely huddled and still, just beyond the threshold Then he paused in the snow for a last, savage expression of his hate

But it was just words No weapon reet you yet, you devil!” he screamed, alet away! The wolves have got your grizzly o without food”