isure for abstract reflection.

"I've done throwed away them guns. I reckon ye knows whether mine's
loaded or not--I don't. Now ther four of us air going ter hev a leetle
frolic, right hyar an' now--a leetle four-cornered fight--jest fist an'
skull fashion."

He walked across and locked the baggage-room door, though it was
shuttered from the outside, and dropped the key within his pocket.

"Come on boys, let's start right in," he invited. "Fer yore own sakes
hit's kinderly a pity ye couldn't git these irons offen me . . .
they're right apt ter scar somebody up."

They knew that to get out they must fight their way out--and after all
there were three of them. Flinging a heavy chair above his head, the
quickest-witted of the trio hurled himself forward to the attack.

From Halloway's eyes shot bolts of Berserker battle-lust, and from
under the down-sweep of the clubbed missile he glided as a trout slips
away from a startling shadow. Before that assailant had recovered his
equilibrium, Halloway had seized him up as a grown man might seize a
small child and hurled him headlong at the operator, so that the two
went down in a tangle of writhing bodies.

The third had not been idle and as Halloway straightened and wheeled,
he met the cyclonic lunge of a snarling adversary with a lifted and
wickedly gleaming dirk.

As the knife flashed down, the dodging Goliath felt its sting in his
left shoulder--but only with a glancing blow which had been aimed at
his throat. Blood was let but no great hurt done save that it roused
him to a demoniac fury. The embrace in which the wielder of the blade
was folded was like the snapping of a bear-trap and, not slowly but
almost instantly, its victim dropped his weapon and hung gasping with
broken ribs and stifled lungs.

Halloway cast him aside and wheeled again with lowered head, for two
men were at him afresh with whatever things of weight came to their
hands. Neither dared pause and desperation had endowed them with a
strength as unwonted and exaggerated as that which his frenzy brings to
a maniac.

The fallen figure lay quiet enough, but the remaining three swept in
tempestuous chaos about the place. The table was wrecked--the
furniture shattered--all were bleeding and panting in sob-like
brokenness of breath.

Two bore the brand-like marks of handcuffs; the other a great welt
across the forehead, left there by the large file, but at the end one
figure straightened up--