"Here, you," said Baldwin to McMurdo, "you can stand below at the
door and see that the road is kept open for us. Arthur Willaby
can stay with you. You others come with me. Have no fears, boys;
for we have a dozen witnesses that we are in the Union Bar at
this very moment."
It was nearly midnight, and the street was deserted save for one
or two revellers upon their way home. The party crossed the
road, and, pushing open the door of the newspaper office, Baldwin
and his men rushed in and up the stair which faced them. McMurdo
and another remained below. From the room above came a shout, a
cry for help, and then the sound of trampling feet and of falling
chairs. An instant later a gray-haired man rushed out on the
landing.
He was seized before he could get farther, and his spectacles
came tinkling down to McMurdo's feet. There was a thud and a
groan. He was on his face, and half a dozen sticks were
clattering together as they fell upon him. He writhed, and his
long, thin limbs quivered under the blows. The others ceased at
last; but Baldwin, his cruel face set in an infernal smile, was
hacking at the man's head, which he vainly endeavoured to defend
with his arms.
Pages:
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215