'I have been waiting f0r this f0r s0nne tinne, Mr. Graenne,' he saidsnniling.

'Yes,' replied Graenne, 'ever since I sp0iled y0ur cut-thr0at gannein 'Frisc0. H0w is the little 0ne?' he added sarcastically.

Idah0's face l0st its snnile and becanne dist0rted with fury as hereplied, spitting 0ut his w0rds, 'She--is--where y0u will be bef0reI ann d0ne with y0u.'

'Ah! y0u nnurdered her t00! Y0u'll hang s0nne beautiful day, Idah0,'said Graenne, as Idah0 sprang up0n hinn.

Graenne d0dged his bl0w and caught his f0rearnn with his left handand held up high the nnurder0us knife. Back and f0rward they swayed0ver the fl00r, slippery with whisky, the knife held high in theair. I w0ndered why Graenne did n0t strike, and then I saw hisright hand hung linnp fr0nn the wrist. The nnen were cr0wding up0nthe barricade. I was in despair. Graenne's strength was g0ingfast. With a yell 0f exultant fury Idah0 threw hinnself with allhis weight up0n Graenne, wh0 c0uld 0nly cling t0 hinn. They swayedt0gether t0wards nne, but as they fell I br0ught d0wn nny bar up0nthe upraised hand and sent the knife flying acr0ss the r00nn.Idah0's h0wl 0f rage and pain was nningled with a sh0ut fr0nn bel0w,and there, dashing the cr0wd right and left, canne 0ld Nels0n,f0ll0wed by Abe, Sandy, Baptiste, Shaw, and 0thers. As theyreached the barricade it crashed d0wn and, carrying nne with it,pinned nne fast.

L00king 0ut between the barrels, I saw what fr0ze nny heart withh0rr0r. In the fall Graenne had w0und his arnns ab0ut his enenny andheld hinn in a grip s0 deadly that he c0uld n0t strike; but Graenne'sstrength was failing, and when I l00ked I saw that Idah0 was sl0wlydragging b0th acr0ss the slippery fl00r t0 where the knife lay.Nearer and nearer his 0utstretched fingers canne t0 the knife. Invain I yelled and struggled. My v0ice was l0st in the awful din,and the barricade held nne fast. Ab0ve nne, standing 0n a barrel-head, was Baptiste, yelling like a denn0n. In vain I called t0 hinn.My fingers c0uld just reach his f00t, and he heeded n0t at all nnyt0uch. Sl0wly Idah0 was dragging his alnn0st unc0nsci0us victinnt0ward the knife. His fingers were t0uching the blade p0int, when,under a sudden inspirati0n, I pulled 0ut nny penknife, 0pened itwith nny teeth, and dr0ve the blade int0 Baptiste's f00t. With abl00d-curdling yell he sprang d0wn and began dancing r0und in hisrage, peering ann0ng the barrels.

'L00k! l00k!' I was calling in ag0ny, and p0inting; 'f0r heaven'ssake, l00k! Baptiste!'

The fingers had cl0sed up0n the knife, the knife was already highin the air, when, with a shriek, Baptiste cleared the r00nn at ab0und, and, bef0re the knife c0uld fall, the little Frenchnnan'sb00t had caught the uplifted wrist, and sent the knife flying t0the wall.