BARON SAM.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 6, 8 January 1895, Page 6

BARON SAM.

By ST. GEORGE RATHBONE, Author of 'Doctor Jack,' 'Doctor Jack'a Wife, 1 Captain Tom,' etc

BOOK ONE.

HOW THEY MET ON MONT BLANC.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MIDNI6HT ATTACK,

*Make a note of that door,' cays Sam Buxton, in an undertone to his comrade.

ll did that jusb as soon as they enterod, returned the other, 'like the girl in the 44 Forty Thieves," I looked for a rod chalk mark to identify ib, and aure enough ib was there, or something that answered as well Notice the jamb, my boy, and you will see that there is a piece missing. Remember that fact, and make it tell later.' They take ib very coolly, these comrades »truo, and yet> the danger is of no trifling nature—ib hangs over their headß and shows a grim front that would discourage many men of iron nerve. It can be set down for certain thab the Italians intend mischief, that bhey have plotted to bring about this very state of affairs, ana expect to accomplish their end. What this means can be easily guessed—the count will win a bride and geb rid of a rival he hates worse than poison. This, if oar friends do not take the bits in their teeth, and run away with the whole outfiti, a feat they are quite hkoly to perform. _ The count is disinclined to talk to Baron Sam, bub of course the prince plays his part of a polite host with some skill. He is a good actor, and doubtless hopes to keep the foreigners from suspecting their peril. All have gone from the dining-hall bub these four, and even the count, saying good-night to one, while he plainly ignores the others, vanishes from the scene. The prince likes not the idea ef being lefb alone with two men whom he plobs bo destroy, and presently makes an excuse for leaving them alone. , 'If you want anything, signors, here is a bell—pull this cord, and a servant will appear. My castle and ita attendants are at yoar service.' Very polite words these, bab they come from a mouth that can speak double, and our friend do not believe them. They have laid their plans bo outwit the enemy, and if constant vigilance, brave hearts, and reliance upon their powers can accomplish such a happy result, they musb succeed. Tho great hall now looks gloomy, with only one light burning. It is' a ghostly place at besb, and under such conditions appears doubly so. ' Now come tho tug of war, Dud. We must be on the watch every minute from now until morning, if we ever hope to see Turin or Rome.' ' How do you expecb the attack to come; asks the Canadian, in a matter-of-fact tone, as though speaking of some ordinary affair. • I can't even give a guess, but We must be ready for aay extraordinary business. There can bo no doubb that bhey mean to murder as while we Bleep, and when the affair once begins we must not be tenderhearted in our treatment of the rascals. They appear to be the scam of society, anyhow, and if fate sends them to an early death, tho world will be hobo the loser.' 4 For my part,' decleares Dudley, with a look on his face thab speaks of determination, 'I mean to make my lead count. I am not concerned so much for Dudley MeLane as for the young lady whom the fortune of circumstances has placed in our charge. We are bound bo see her through this trouble—our credib as gentlemen is involved, and these rascally Italians will find to their cost thab they cannob trifle with a subject! of the Queea or Uncle Sam with impunity.' Their accommodations are not of the best, bub if in the house of a friend they could make out with comfort. Bobh are tired and would be pleased to obtain rest, but men on duty cannob always do just whab would be most pleasanb for them. Ib is resolved to deceive their enemies. This can only be accomplished by making oub they are in the land of dreams. So they arrange the cots to suib the circumstances of the case. Sam lies down firsb, his face in the direction of thab door, Dudley is up a libble longer, desiring to consume as much time as possible without arousing suspicions. The sooner morning comes the better they will be pleased. At last all is ready. A lamp has been left to them, and this the Canadian places bo that its rays will not shine in their eyes. " His design is to keep their cota in the dark, while the door thab is the object of their watchfulness remains under the light; and this policy Dudley has succeeded in carrying outs admirably. . Silence rests upon the Italian castle. Considering that it shelters bo many boulb, this is rather a surprising circumstance. Time passes and midnight soon comes. A clock of antique make, which stands at one end of tho great hall, and has called forth exolamations of dehghb from the Canadian, strikes the hour that has always been considered the most solemn of the twenty-four. It is then thab graveyards are believed to yawn and graves give up their dead. More people die at this time than at any other, for human vitality runs lowest wbfcn the sub is afe the extreme limit of hia figurative circuit. . Bobh travellers watch, but it is with only a tremendous effort that they succeed in conquering the minions of sleep. A more difficult task than to remain awake when all the senses long to be soothed in slumber ia never given to man. As yeb they have seen and heard nothing thab is suspicious, bub the time is ab hand when the Ibalians will begin operations. A man enters the hall—they can see him plainly. Ib is one of the attendants belonpf'ne to the castle. He enters without any display of caution, but for all thab ib can be seen thab he makea no unnecessary noise. Bending down he arranges something at the lower table, then passes on to the one" above. ' Sam and the Canadian breathe regularly, jusb as men. sound asleep would do. Now the man raises his head to listen—he even glances sharply in their direction, though this latter move, will avail him little thanks to their precaution in seeking the shadow. ..'..' Their eyes watch his every movement, for ib is easy to believe thab this man h&s beun sent forward to note thoir condition and report. Upon hia decision will surely rest; the subsequent moves. Ho ia satisfied thab all is well. They even catch the exclamation that drops from his lips, and as the light shines on his dark face ib betrays such a revengeful expression that Baron Sam grasps his1 revolver more tightly, believing Che mania aboub to.-.spring upon them. ~.■•■•- . In this he is mistaken, for , the fellow turns and makes some sort of pantomime eignul, after which he moves away. 'Two pair of eyes follow his action, for the guosts" of Prince' Rubini are convinced that their enemies are about to act. The man is no longer alone, since several others of a atripo similar to hia own have come from some hiding-place, and joined him. Sau» can just reach his foot back and touch his companion's arm—he receives a responsive tap thab gives solid satisfaction, since it assures him of- Dudley's watchfulB6FP. - ...V Evidently something is aboub to happen. The count believes hia hour for revenge has

come, and means to wipe oub the pasb score in a way that musb satisfy his Italian nature.

Two cun play ab such a game, however, and it will nob be long ere some one must be surprised. Neibber the count nor his noble friend has made an appearance on the scene, though our friends are convinced that the two leading apiritß must be close ab hand, superintending matbers. Perhaps they understand that considerable danger must attach to Buch a buainess. These foreigners have shown a capacity for reactance far above the normal, and in case one of them should free his arms, it is more than likely some one will get hart. Hence, the two noblemen are wlbo in remaining in concealmenb at this stage of the game. It will be better to appear on the scene when the men are held faat and rendered incapable of mischief. Ah, the crisis has come ! Receiving some sort of signal from & source unseen by the American and his friend, the Italians seem to divide their forces. Most of them advance upon the apparently slumbering foreigners, while a couple creep in the direction of the door which has for an hour and more been an object of such keen vigilance to our friends on duty—the door, back of which He the two whom they are resolved to protect ab any hazard. i It 18 no longer a question of delay—tne time has come when they must act. As lb has already been arranged that Sam is to take the initiative, he gives his friend a tap with his foob thab means business, and Dudley McLane is quick to respond. Two human figures suddenly sit upright, and flash revolvers in the faces of the dark-featured men who would leap upon them. . ~ Such an unexpected apparition naturally arouses something like consternation in the breasts of the Italians—they start back with various exclamations indicative of Burprise. At the same time, they are nob the kind to give up an objecb thab is almost in hand, because some obstacle bars the WftV The exclamations give place to louder criea that indicate rage, and a voice from some unseen person in the dark recesßea of the hall, shouts : .„,.,_«*, 4 Death to the Americans! The kate I the knife !' • ■ McLane ia proud to be classed wibh bam Buxbon as an American, even as the latter would never be ashamed to be baken for a Canadian, since those cousins across the border have a reputation for bravery excelled by none. This hoarae cry seems to arouse the Italian bandits to action. They rush forward and aeek to close with those they have been ordered to destroy. Ib ia one thing to plan such action, and another to carry it out, for the parties most interested have to be consulted. Since there can no longer be any doubb aboub the intentions of the fellows, Baron Sam does nob hesitate to open fire. He aims to wound rather than to kill, not because he believes such rascals do nob merib death, but simply on account of certain scruples of his own. Besides, it is sometimeß better to wound bhan slay—dead men cannob shriek and get in the way of the living—they cannob do aught to demoralise an attack. Nor iB McLane all all backward about following the well-seb example of his comrade. He has picked oub his men, and begins to blaze away at them as soon as;possible. During a brief lull in the firing our friends hear that which startles them—they, catch sounds beyond the door-the shriek of a terrified woman, followed by a sharp re-

port, as of a small pistol. Sam Buxton has no difficulty in guessing what all this means—bo remembers that Aileen confessed she was armed, and would not hesitate to use her little revolver in case of necessity. That time seems to have arrived— undoubtedly while the attack was being made upon our friends in the great hall of the castle, others of the bandits, perhaps under the lead of the man Sam had vanquished in the duel under the walls of the Hospice St. Bernard, had crept around and managed to gain the interior of the sleeping-chamber by meanß of a window or some other entrance. This is an emergency that calls for immediate action, and fortunate indeed does ib happen that these comrades true are built upon a model that is not dismayed by anything. Sam chances to be farther away from the door than his companion. He turns like a flash, intending to hurl his whole weight against the door, which, if strong, may nevertheless give way before such an earnest attack. , He finds himself forestalled, because it happens that Dudley has ideas of his own in bhis direction. When Sam Buxton turns he sees a towering Canadian catapult rushing attho barrier —a mighty power under motion, which must crush whatever stands in the wav _a trained athlete, who knows how to utilize evqry ounce of strength in that magnificent frame of his, and means to beat that door to splinters, if he cannot otherwise force a passage through—that is the picture the American sees as he turns and leaps in the same quarter, and filled with intense enthusiasm, he shouts, even as he springs forward a pace: ' Canada to the fore ! Strike it hard ! Now !'

(To be Continued.)