the Dark Master's
mail-shirt; O'Donnell caught his wrist in turn, and there the two stood
heaving each at the other for a long minute. Brian's eyes struck cold
and hard into the evil features of the Dark Master; the other's breath
came hot on his cheeks, and so beastlike was the man's face that Brian
half expected those snarling teeth to close snapping at his throat. But
the Dark Master was strong, for all his hunched shoulders.

Then a great flame of vengeance seemed to cleave Brian's soul, and with
a curt laugh he threw out his strength and flung the Dark Master back
bodily so that he fell into the hearth and burst the mud chimney and the
thatched wall behind. Before he could rise again Brian had whipped out
his other pistol and fired; he saw the man's figure writhe aside, then
up through the powder-smoke rose a burning brand that smote him over the
brow heavily. At the same instant the scattered sparks caught the
thatch, and the whole house broke into flame.

Brian's eyes found the dark figure once more and he rushed forward. At
the broken heap of mud from the chimney his feet struck on the sword,
which had fallen from the Dark Master's hand, and he caught it up with a
cry of joy and bore forward.

That brief instant of delay lost him his quarry, however. Brian flung
through the shattered wall, with the whole structure flaming up behind
him; he saw a dark figure on the snow and ran at it, only to find
himself striking at Turlough Wolf, and stayed his hand barely in time.

"Where is he?" he panted hoarsely, looking around with fierce eyes.

Then he caught the Dark Master's figure running across the snow toward
that camp amid the trees, where fighting was still forward and men were
shouting and firing. Brian rushed off, with Turlough staggering after
him; but with a sob of despairing anger he saw the Dark Master flit into
the trees, and heard his voice ringing at his men.

It turned out afterward that Brian's fifty men, weary and chilled, had
made a somewhat heartless assault on the score of horsemen camped in the
trees; therefore, instead of carrying O'Donnell's men off their feet and
cutting them down straightway, they were held off for a little.

The Dark Master knew that he was lost if he stayed long in that place,
however, and when Brian reached the clump of trees he found that he was
too late. With two or three men behind him, O'Donnell had cut through
Brian's men and was galloping away. Brian groaned sava