The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-01-24

uol w duCHlnS WHoH ne was IN tne street.
At last, after week of prolonged sus-
pense, the bolt fell
We were sitting in Fowler's office
one day, when the door opened and a
voice said:
"This is Mr.. Fowler, believe"
"That is my name," said Will, as
his hand slid to his revolver, and he
eyed the speaker, tail, well-built and
rather handsome-looking man, appar-
emily under thirty.
81 should like to speak with you
few moments in private" continued
the newcomer, with bland, ambassar
dorial air, at the same time giving me
get-out-of-the-room look.
This gentleman is connected with
me-" replied Fowler, "and anything
you may have to say may be said in his
presence"
/" am not here on business errand,
Mr.. Fowler, but to speak with you about
purely personal matter. | refer to
certain letters which you have lately
written. You understand what mean.
Would it not be better under the cir
cumstances to be by ourselvesP"
|
cuss with me, SIR" answered VIII,
twill be none the worse for ventilation
before Witness"
"If that is your decision, must, of
{course, comply with it. To come to the
point then, sir, l am here to represent
my friend George Travers, of Milwau-
kee, who claims that you have grossly
lnsulted him by sending Objectionable
letters to member of his family. Do
you admit the fact that you wrote those
lettersP and will you grant Mr.. Ira
vers the satisfaction which one gentle
man expects from another in such
casesp"
81 admit nothing and deny nothing,
but If by satisfaction you mean will l
give some unknown, or for that matter
well-known, man an opportunity to
murder me, shall unquestionably an
swer, "Nor'
"Mr. Fowler, my friend and were
officers in the same Confederate regi-
ment, and from long acquaintance with
him / can assure you that he is a man
of his word. His directions and my in
clinations were to treat you as courte-
ously as possible, and only employ pos
tive action if it became positively nee
essary. Your reply forces that alter
native; so | must inform you that he
has absolute proof that you are the man
whom he has been seeking, that he is
determined to treat you as he believes
you deserve, and that no evasion or
bubble will turn him from his purpose
which purpose is explained in this
letter"
Will blanched little as he read the
document, but he handed it to me and
quietly said to the stranger:
eff you'll return in half an hour l
will give you an answer, or, if you pre-
fer it, l will send you one through q
friend"
The man of war accepted the first
article and retired. The letter read as
follows:
SIR; Feeling sure that, although you hold
the position Of gentleman, you do not pos
sess the spirit of one, and will not be willing,
therefore, to offer the redress naturally ex-
pected from one, l send you the following hint
In writing, that my friend may be relieved
from the disagreeable task of delivering it
personally. If you have spark of manhood
you will accept the proposition which he has
delivered to you verbally, and will treat you
| as though l believed you to be a man of cour-
age but If you refuse l solemnly swear that
| will horse-whip you in the public Streets
and brand you as a coward.
(The Man Whom You Know
GEORGE TRAvERs.
We looked blankly at each other for
a few moments, and then Will said:
"Great heavens! This is the devil S
own. What am l to do? The fellow
seems to be in earnest, and his deputy
certainly doesn't look like blackmail-
er, and it's nice pickle, anyhow. If |
accept the challenge I'm sure TO be dis
graced, for of course the whole middle
will get out in the papers, and by the
law in this State will forfeit all chance
of promotion, officially or professional
ly. If, on the other hand, refuse to
have anything to do with this absurd
business, l run the chance of being at
tackled on the street, in which case, as
have no great physical strength, I
shall certainly shoot the man, and
either be shot myself or be hauled into
court dripping with scandal"
The situation certainly was not en-
couraging, and 1 felt quite sorry for
Will as he raved along in an incohe-
rent tumble of Z" ifs " and "ands," I'M
til finally said:
"Brace up, old fellow! This sort of
thing won't do. The chief need now is
time for consideration; so why don't
you put bold front on the matter and
accept his challenge, referring him to
me for the arrangements If there is
anything fishy in the business this will
stop their little.game, and if it proves to
be what it seems, a real case, why a
compromise may be effected, and if
that should fail, you'll be no worse off
than you are now, and can fight or de-
cline, as you see fit"
Fowler adopted my suggestion, and
when Powder-and-Balls returned, Will
said to HIM, in a quietly fierce manner:
"You will be kind enough to inform
Mr.. Travers that it will give me great
satisfaction to lodge bullet in his i'm
pudent body. My friend, Mr.. -,
has kindly undertaken the management
of the affair, so for further particulars
1 must refer you to him."
The ambassador looked at me rather
curiously, and asked if l could call on
him at the Sherman House in an hour.
Receiving an affirmative reply, he de-
parted.
7 did not find him of tho Sherman