Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/314

MY LADY OF THE SOUTH The venture did not seem to me a dangerous one; to be sure the woman carried a knife while I was unarmed, yet she could not approach unobserved while I bore the lantern, and my strength would easily overcome her weapon. Besides, she would never attempt an attack in that straight tunnel which afforded no opportunity for surprise. Always she had struck her death blows in the dark, and I felt no fear of her so long as that yellow flame flickered in advance along the stone walls.

Once safely below I removed the lantern from my belt and held it out before me, so as to throw its meagre rays as far as possible, and stepped forward into the gloomy passage. There was nothing to awaken alarm, the silence was profound, no sense of movement anywhere. So complete was my feeling of security that I even came to a pause, exploring my jacket pocket for pipe and tobacco, experiencing a desire to smoke. I found these, and was searching for a match, when something seemed to whiz out of the blackness, crashed against the glass of the lantern, instantly whiffing out the yellow flame. I dropped the pipe, reeling back against the wall, blinded by the intense darkness, and scarcely comprehending what had occurred. I could not even tell where the missile had come from; it was not a bullet for there was no report, yet surely the woman could never have thrown a stone with so precise an aim. This flashed over me instantly, for I was given no time for thought; something rushed at me through the blackness, and we grappled each other in mad, desperate struggle, yet the [ 296 ]