Produced by Al Haines. _The Last Ditch_ BY WILL LEVINGTON COMFORT AUTHOR OF "CHILD AND COUNTRY," "DOWN AMONG MEN," "MIDSTREAM," "RUTLEDGE RIDES ALONE," ETC., ETC. NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Copyright, 1916 BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO JOHN *CONTENTS* PROLOGUE: HANKOW The Yellow Rug Woman PART ONE: THE GREAT DRIFT Sundry Adventures PART TWO: THE GOBI Anna Erivan PART THREE: THE GOBI Rajananda PART FOUR: TIENTSIN The Hunchback PART FIVE: CONCLUSION The Hill Country *PROLOGUE: HANKOW* *THE YELLOW RUG WOMAN* *I* Romney saw the rug before he saw the woman. It was the yellow of India, the yellow you see on the breast of the purple martin and on the inner petals of an Emperor rose. The weave of the rug was like no other. Its folds looked heavy like raw silk, yet the fabric itself was thin. It would last a life time, and then become a priceless gift for the one held most dear. It was soil-proof as a snake’s skin. It was either holy or savage. They were on the little river steamer, _Sungkiang_, a day’s passage below Hankow. The woman had boarded that forenoon at Wu-chang. Romney had come through from Ngan-king. The yellow rug lay across the knees of the woman. The afternoon was breezy and bright. It was May, and the rice was green along the flats of the southern shore.... She was either English or American, Romney reflected, and also that the world was well supplied with pretty women, but not with rugs like that. Just now the woman held out her arms to a missionary’s child—a passing boy-child of five in sandals. His legs were bare and brown and scratched. His name was Paul and he was a stoic from much manhandling. He went to her arms in silence, and there was a burning now in Romney’s chest. Her voice had been a thirsty primitive note, like a cry, as if the presence of the child hurt her.