Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-11-01
I need not describe him to you, mad

l IL
am; it was your husband.
Your name is Peters? % he observed.
eyes," said I; "but pardon me, you
have the advantage of me-"
"I seek none," he replied. "You
desire my death, and have followed
you here to give you a fair and equal
chance Of comprising it. also desire
yours"
>" My dear sir" said I, "you are la
boring under 8 great mistake. [ have
no ill-feeling toward you. Why should
| wish the death Of a perfect stranger?"
because you could marry his
widow"
And then, madam, he mentioned
you, and said that he had been watch
ing me for month past. And he put
a most extraordinary Interpretation
upon our innocent acquaintanceship.
When protested that he was in er-
ror, and that I had not even known till
that moment that you were a married
woman, he said that such a cowardly
evasion should avail me nothing, and
producing a brace Of pistols, he chal-
lenged me to fight him.
1 explained to him that if ne had any
cause of complaint against me, which
was absurd, he had his remedy at law;
but the practice of dueling was foolish,
unchristian, and obsolete; that no one
had fought with deadly weapons in this
country for a quarter of q century; that
if we now revived the custom the sur
vivor would be hung.
"Not So" said your husband, eve
are alone and in a desolate part Of the
mountain. The one who falls might
be here for months before his skeleton
was discovered; and who would sus-
pect how he came by his death But
the safety Of the survivor can be fur
Their secured; he has but to drag his
defeated enemy to the brink of yonder
mine shaft; little force would suffice to
tumble it into the gulf; ard then, what
trace would be possible? But | am here
to fight, not to argue. Here is your
pistol-loaded but not capped-and
here are the caps. Stay where you are
and will take up my position near the
edge of the shaft, which will save you
trouble if luck attends you"
"Do not fatter yourself that your
precaution viii avail" I cried, in con
siderable trepedation. Murder vii
out, and you will forfeit your life fo1
mine"
"That makes no odds to me-" he re
piled. "Fops like you have made my
life an insufferable burden to me-"
"Poor man how he loves me
sighed the lady.
&c could hardly believe that he was
| in earnest" continued Mr. Peter; "bu
he retired to the spot he had mention
ed, near the mouth Of the hole, thirtee1
or fourteen yards off, and presently
called OUT
Have you capped your pistol5"
I had not but did SO mechanically.
do not know why; but think had NJ
intention of firing at him. But, il
truth, [ was like one in dream"
"After I have counted five, it is law
full to fire." he cried, presently.
81 had seen The Rivals performed
and knew from Bob Acres how to stant
SO as to show the smallest front to tn,
adversary. / also held my pistol point
ed toward him, covering my body will
it and my right arm as we'll as [ could
Az UAidG 1CIuClllOC1
gleam Of comfort shot across my mind
was it all practical joker"
"One, two, three, four, FIVE !"
~ felt sharp pang in my right leg
which, I suppose, caused me to clutch
the weapon held convulsively, for i
exploded as 1 fell to the ground.
knew that [ was hit and determined tC
lie quite still and pretend to be lnsensi
bic. / had heard that such plan an
swered with bears, and thought it might
with duelists. Only-oh, horrors The
might come and drag me to that awful
hole, and thrust me over the edge. I
have greater dread of falling from a
height than of any other kind of death
even that by fire. 1t is very foolish
and illogical, for such an ending must
be painless; but it is not a matter Of
reason. The cause is purely physica
and has som ething to do with the brain
or stomach. have often experiment
ed upon myself, and observed-on the
brink of a precipice / lose my hu
mainly and become the most ignople OF
reptiles. don't suppose there is any
meanness and crime but would com.
nit to save myself from being showed
over. / determined to grapple with
my foe in good earnest when it came
to that. How | regretted that my pis
toll had gone off! [ was quite ready tc
shoot him with it when he stepped over
me.
"But he did not come. When q
minute, I suppose, had elapsed,
opened my eyes and glanced around
he was nc here. I cautiously raised
my head, so as to see in the direction
where he had last stood; he was not
there. sat up. Where had ne gone
to?"
"The blood was flowing rather freely
from wound in ny leg, just above the
knee. / tied my pocket-handkercbief
as tightly as [ could around the place,
and got on to my feet. My hurt, did
not, to my surprise, prevent me from
walking, so | advanced to the edge of
the shaft and saw-his pistol"
/" Well, WE'LL" said the lady, "pray
go on. Here, take another glass of
sherry. That is it. Now, what next?'
My first idea was one of relief, that
if he was proving in the neig hbor-
hood, he was at least unarmed. My
u