The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-03-29

letters of q certain Tom Gordon, who
from his account of him, was one of til,
best of fellows possible, beside havinl
helped him materially in making his way
in that distant land; and, as Arthur wa.
q very favorite brother of mine, it be
hOOved me naturally to show my affection
for him by great cordiality to his friend
| In one of the last letters had received
he mentioned the fact of Mr.. Gordon hav
| ing returned home, enumerated his nu
| merous kindnesses to him and asked me II
came across him to show him all the
kindness could.
So the ceremony of introduction did
not occupy long. I welcomed him most
heartily, and was thoroughly glad to find
he hadbc0unted on my doing so, and had
brought his portmanteau with him, quite
prepared to accept what he felt sure would
he offered an invitation to remain as long
as he felt inclined. He accompanied me
the stable, where left my horse, to be
afterws I'd cared for by q rather unpresent.
able rustic who resided in sufficient prox.
unity to our abode to permit of his serv.
ices being put into occasional requisi.
ton. We were just returning tothe house
when, on passing Rover's kennel, in
place of the usually demOnstrative, un-
mistakably glad welcome he accorded me,
he showed an amount of irritation and
fierceness anything but encouraging to Mr..
Gordon, who stood at safe distance,
whilst stopped to quiet and soothe the ex.
cited animal.
BE quiet, Rover, good dog; lie down,
SIR" said.
But Rover treated me with perfect in
difference, contenting himself with viO-
lent plunges toward my visitor, whose
safety evidently lay only in the strength
of Rover's chain.
els he savage ?" asked Mr.. Gordon.
Mot in the least" I replied; with us,
at all events. l daresay he could be to
strangers; he keeps intruders at distance
If he is unclaimed"
DO you ever unchain him?' he asked.
+" | have such strange horror of dogs that
hope you won't let him loose whilst
am here. They say every one has some
pet aversion; dogs are mine. Perhaps l
ought not to confess my dislike, but it is
the truth; l don't like dogs and dogs don't
like me"
l could fancy that the latter part of his
sentence was perfectly true. Gentleman
ly and nice as Arthur's friend seemed,
there was thinness about the lips and q
peculiar GOODNESS in his eyes that enabled
me to imagine it was possible his dislike
might beget dislike in animals so won
drOusly gifted with instinct as those four
footed friends. But the thought was a
passing one. We moved on to the house !;
and, after dismissing his cab. Mr.. Gordon
and ! entered the library, which, though
dignified on account of its book-shelves,
suppose, with that name, was a small
room adjoining the grander but far less
comfortable drawing room.
Mr.. Gordon informed me that he could
only remain two or three days at the ut
most, as he was obliged to be in the city
on some very important business by the
end of the week.
l was truly glad to hear of my brother,
and after dinner we sat talking Of him for
long time. Mr.. Gordon was a most
by most pleasantly, and it was quite late
when it first occurred to me to propose re-
firing to bed. It was only then that
thought of telling him of the chances that
our rest might be disagreeably disturbed !;
but once having got upon the subject,
unburdened myself pretty freely. That
my house would escape 1 confessed felt
more than doubtful; and l detailed, with
one exception, my various modes of de-
Tense, the revolver, the cutlass, and last,
not least-ROver.
Pray, let me be Rover's substitute for
tonight said Mr.. Gordon. II am a
particularly light sleeper, and l don't
me. Why don't you send away your
have them deposited in the bank at Low.
TOM
ut certainly would not be bad plan,"
blow to be robbed.'
II should think so," replied Mr.. Cor
don. :" But do you mean to say you would
shoot man in cold blood if you saw him
in your house:'
Undoubtedly" replied.
"Or run him through the body with
your cutlass ?" laughed my companion.
"Or run him through the body with my
crtlassg' l answered, with an immense
tone of unhesitating valOr and courage
lust as coolly as l could take my break
fast"
You are brave man." observed Mr..
Gordon. ~ would rather be robbed than
commit murder"
Would your" l responded, my cour-
0ssO AAoA0SS Will uu w OuVCNt dCCllSdIlOu
of bravery. ~ wouldn't" l felt an ar
rant impostor as / spoke, as knew we'll
enough in my heart that my sentiments
fully Endorsed the opinion he had ex-
pressed in preferring to be royalty robbed
rather than imbrue my hands with the
blood of a fellow-creature; however, the
weapons gave me q feeling of security,
though l had often wondered, if it came
to the scratch, what use I could possibly
make of them.
should be inclined to trust to a good
thick stick" he replied; "you may rely
upon my cooperation as far as that goes
BY the BY" he continued, II am not
sure that ever saw a cutlass. 1t has a
piratical sound about it; I should like to
have good look at it."
Of course l gladly acceded to his re-
quest; and another hour or more was
spent in my dressing room examining the
weapons and talking over various matters
concerning them. The cu;lass. a long,
keen bladed steel, was handled very care.
fully by Mr.. Gordon, and the revolver
also came in for very searching inspec-
ton.
"You are q bold man." he said, as he
placed it in its case, Ito keep loaded fire.
arms in your house; it has often led to
serious accidents"
To tell you the TRUTH" said, "these
are the last cartridges l possess. l have
ordered some more, but they haven'tcomc
yet"
"And, for safety's sake. you keep those
you have already for immediate use.
Well, don't present this at me, beg, in
the hurry of the moment, ii we should be
attacked" responded my visitor, in a joe
ular sort of manner. II shouldn't like
to have it within six PAGES in your hands
I am beginning to think you are rather q
sanguinary individual. / fancy you are
the terror of the neighborhood.
This ridiculous assertion tickled my
vanity; the sensation was so perfectly
new to me, and was so pleasant that,
though l uttered . faint dissent, I felt
sure that left him under the impression
that / was q regular rufflan by reputation.
At last we parted for the night; but be-
fore doing so. cOnfided the cutlass to my
friend, retaining the pistol myself. SO that
in the event of anything occurring, we
were both fully prepared.