In the Name of the People

by Arthur W. Marchmont

At the same time, he had the two most powerful motives which can drive a man to set his life on an issue such as that involved in this attack on me. He knew that in some way I had thwarted the plot, and the knowledge filled him with a frenzy of rage, while he believed that, on his success in overpowering me, depended not only his own safety but that of all who were relying upon his leadership. This rendered him desperate.

My advantage was that I was as fresh as paint after the hours of sleep I had had during the night; and I felt that if I could hold my own in the first minutes of the affair, the frantic efforts he was making would tire him out and give me the victory. Time would give me another advantage. The Stella would soon be alongside, when Burroughs would quickly have command of the Rampallo.

The struggle between us began in a somewhat curious fashion. The attack had taken me by surprise, as I have said, and forced me back against the side of the cabin. As he grabbed for the revolver, I shot my right hand up as high as I could stretch it, to hold the weapon out of his reach. You may have seen one child use a similar tactic when teasing another, and you may know how difficult it is to bend an arm held rigid in such a position, when there is no marked advantage in height.

That was the problem the captain had to solve, and he fought with tremendous energy. He held my right wrist in his left, tugging and straining to lever it down so that he might venture to release his right, which held my left in a grip of steel, and grab the prize.

His shouts to the others to break the door open were not answered, and he soon ceased to call, concentrating all his strength in the struggle for my weapon.

He displayed such strength that I realized he would beat me before the energy which frenzy gave him was exhausted; and as I was convinced that the first use he would make of his victory would be to put a bullet into my head, I resolved to empty the revolver as a defensive measure.

I fired three shots in rapid succession when he suddenly released my left arm and fastened both hands on my right wrist and tugged and strained at it in the desperate effort to drag the weapon within his reach.

This was more than I could resist, and I thought he would dislocate my shoulder and wrench the sinews. But I succeeded in discharging two more cartridges before my power of resistance was broken, and then I let the weapon fall and at the same moment I got my left hand on his throat and pressing my foot against the wall pushed him violently backwards.

The manœuvre took him by surprise and he slipped and fell, dragged me down with him, to resume the struggle under different conditions. I had some advantage now, however. I was top dog. But he writhed and wriggled with such agility that I could make little use of my position.

He fought at this stage like a savage. He kicked me viciously, butted my face with his head, tried every trick to get his hands on my throat, writhing the while like a snake to change his position so that he could wriggle back to the spot where the revolver lay, the possession of which meant life or death to me and freedom or ruin to him.