The German sergeant threw up his hand and darted forward on the
run as lithe forms in rifle green were seen quickly swarming out
of the woods encircling the old mansion. There was no sign of life
in the low, irregular hunting-lodge, save a pillar of smoke lazily
ascending from the offices in rear.
McNerney was racing along at the German officer's side, his pistol
drawn, and Atwater hardly turned his head as a squad of soldiers
darted out of the encircling thickets.
"He is in there!" shouted a corporal to the Breslau policeman, now
eager to make the capture and share McNerney's promised reward.
The screams of the frightened servants could be heard as the
assailants neared the house. Was it fancy, or did McNerney see a
grim, human face glaring out of the window of a round tower at the
angle of the facade?
"Here; this way!" cried McNerney, as he stumbled into a little
garden where trellised grapevines in olden days made a shaded walk
for the Lady of Adler's Horst.
The group of men stopped aghast as a woman dashed wildly out of
a door opening into a long conservatory. Her voice rang out in a
last, appealing cry for help. She was sorely pressed!
Not three paces behind her trailing white robes, his face convulsed
with passion, Fritz Braun leaped along, in a murderous rage, like
a tiger in pursuit. In his right hand gleamed a flashing knife, and
as the frantic woman tripped and fell, the brute's arm was raised.
But, throwing himself back into the "gallery position," McNerney
tossed his revolver at the point blank. The heavy crack of the
pistol was followed by a yell of rage as the American sprang forward,
planting his foot firmly on Fritz Braun's chest.
Atwater had kicked the knife a score of yards away, when Sergeant
Breyman thrust his burly form in front of the fallen woman.
But, McNerney was sternly covering the fallen form of Braun with
his cocked pistol. "Move, you dog, and I'll blow your brains out!"
he shouted. "Here, Atwater, get the handcuffs out of my left coat
pocket and clap them on this wretch!" There were a half-dozen men
now holding down the defiant murderer, whose right arm lay limply
at his side.
The second carriage had boldly driven across the lawn, and Leah
Einstein leaped lightly to the ground. She was all unveiled now,
and Irma Gluyas uttered a faint cry as the handsome Jewess stood
spellbound before the astounded prisoner.
Sergeant Breyman had already knotted a handkerchief around the
prisoner's bleeding arm, when Dennis McNerney, in a ringing voice,
cried, "August Meyer, alias Fritz Braun, I arrest you for the murder
of Randall Clayton!"
With one shuddering sigh, Irma Gluyas fell prostrate upon the
grassy sward. "Take her into the house, men," cried the sergeant,
as a score of hardy soldiers now closed around the excited group.
"Go with them, Leah," said Atwater. "I'll just glance at this
scoundrel's arm, and then come in to you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account