Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/313



MAY have staggered as I crossed the room, but I accomplished the feat unaided, each movement giving me renewed strength. The wooden bar fitted tightly into its grooves, and, once firmly in place, left us secure from any unexpected intrusion. My brain cleared, and my gaze wandered about the bare, squalid apartment, as I swiftly reviewed our dangerous position. Noreen had drawn away from the body of the dead man, and stood against the further log wall, with face hidden in her hands. Cowan lay at full length, one arm thrown across his eyes. It was hard for me to conceive that the man was actually dead, and I bent over him, touching his flesh with my fingers to assure myself. The ball had penetrated his abdomen, and how the fellow ever fought so fiercely after receiving that death wound I can never understand. I think that in his mad ferocity he was scarcely aware that he was hurt—his one overmastering desire being to kill me. I turned him partly over, and drew out from the inside pocket of his blouse a handful of papers concealed 293