It was for scarcely an instant,
yet it served; for as he bent aside, swinging his burly opponent with
him, some one struck a vicious blow at his back; but the descending
knife, missing its mark, sunk instead deep into Slavin's breast.
Hampton saw the flash of a blade, a hand, a portion of an arm, and then
the clutching fingers of Slavin swept him down. He reached out blindly
as he fell, his hand closing about the deserted knife-hilt. The two
crashed down together upon the floor, the force of the fall driving the
blade home to the gambler's heart.
CHAPTER XII
THE COHORTS OF JUDGE LYNCH
Hampton staggered blindly to his feet, looking down on the motionless
body. He was yet dazed from the sudden cessation of struggle, dazed
still more by something he had seen in the instant that deadly knife
flashed past him. For a moment the room appeared to swim before his
eyes, and he clutched at the overturned table for support, Then, as his
senses returned, he perceived the figures of a number of men jamming
the narrow doorway, and became aware of their loud, excited voices.
Back to his benumbed brain there came with a rush the whole scene, the
desperation of his present situation.
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