Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-23
men at the windows, Harrison strobe de-

men at the windows, Harrison strobe de-
liberately towards him
''That kin wait - he said: siiest now
we propose 20 take you and your letters
and drop 'em and you outer this yer
township OF Injin Springs. You kin take
'em back to the woman or critter YOU got
'em OF. But we kaliilate you re little
too handy and free in them sorter things
to teach school round yer, and we kinder
allow we don t keer TO have our gals and
boys dedicated up to your high toned
standard. So eff you choose to KEN along
easy wen maxi you conf bile on boss
we We got waitln outside, an escort you
acrss the line. Eff you don tive II take
you anyway
The master cast rapid glance around
him. In his quickness of perception he
had already noted that the led horse
among the cavalcade was fastened by
lariat to one of the riders so that escape
by fight was impossible, and that he had
not single weapon to defend himself
with or even provoke, in his desperation,
the struggle that could forestall ignominy
by death. Nothing was left him but his
voice, clear and trenchant as he faced
them,
"YOu are twelve to one,'' he said
calmly, "'but if there is single man
among you who dare step forward and
accuse me of what you only together dare
do, will tell him he is liar and cow
ard, and stand here ready to make it
good against him. You come here as
judge and jury condemning me without
trial and confronting me with no accuS-
ers; you come here as lawless avengers
of your honor, and you dare not give me
the privilege of as lawlessly defending
my own. -
There was another slight murmur
among the men, but the leader moved
impatiently forward. ''We've had
enough o. your preachin'; we want
You, he said roughly. "Come.'
"Stdp, - said Il dull voice.
1t came from mute figure which had
remained motionless among the others
Every eye was turned upon it as it rose
and lazily pushed the cloth from Its
face.
''Hiram McKinstry!" said the others
in mingled tones of establishment and
suspicion.
That mel" said McKinstry coming
forward with heavy elaboration. 81
joined this yer delegation at the cross
roads instead o my brother who had the
call. l recon cts all the same-or mebbe
better. For perpose to take this yer
gentleman of your hands.
He lifted his slumbrOus eyes for the
first time to the master, and at the
same time put himself between him
and Harrison. 81 perpose, - he con-
tinued, ''to take him at his word, L
perpOse ter give him chance to answer
with gun. And ez 1 reckon, by all ac-
counts, there s no man yer ez hez Il bet
ter right than me, l perpOse to be the
man TO put that question TO him i'll the
same way. 1t may not suit some gents, -
he continued slowly facing an angry ex-
clamatiOn from the lank figure behind
him, ''ez would perfer to hev eleven
men to take up their private quo Ills, but
even then | reckon that the man who is
the most injured hez the right to the first
say and that man s me.
With a careful deliberation that had a
double significance to the malcontents,
he handed his own rife to tine master,
and without looking ut him continued.
81 reckon, sir, you seen that afore,
but eff it ain t quite to your hand, any of
those gents, | kalkilate, will be high
toned enuff to Civ you the chyce o theirs.
And there 5 no need o trapsin beyOn
the township lines TO fix this yer affair;
propose to do it i'll ten minutes i'll the
brush youder.'
Whatever might have been the feel
ings and intentions of the men around
him, the precedence of Mckinstry's
right to the duellO was Il principle too
deeply rooted il their traditions to deny;
if any resistance to it had been cOntem-
plated by some of them, the fact that the
master was now armed, and that Mr..
McKinstry would quickly do battle at his
side with Il revolver i'll defense of his
rights, checked any expression. The
silently drew brck as the master and Nc
Kinstry slowly passed out of the schooly
house together, and then followed i'll
their rear. In that interval the master
turned to Mckinstry and said in low
voice-'I accept your challenge and
me Il greater whatever [ have
done to you-yet l want you to believe
that neither now nor them meant you
any harm. -
''Ef you mean by that, sir, that We
reckon We won t return my fire, ye're
blind and wrong. For it will do you no
good with them - he said with Il signif-
cant wave OF his crippled hand toward
the following crowd, 'nor me neither. -
Firmly resolved, however, that he
would not fire at McKiustry, and clinging
blindly to this which he believed was the
last idea of his foolish life, he continued
on without another word until they
reached the open strip of chemisal that
fanked the clearing.
ITO be Continued Merit Week.