The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1889-09-19
And the other SAYS:

II Ou WOuiunC TecOpulZe Iue De-
cause my father happened to be gen.
tleman."
.sBut how do know thatp" says Mr..
Douglas.
True, how should you?" replied
the pale gentleman. "a gentleman
always resents an insult offered to
himself or friends, be the latter alb
senior, present, unable to resent it
themselves. You have slandered to-
night one of the truest women God
ever kissed ere he sent out of para
disc. | do not allude to Joan of Arc
or Charlotte Corday, but to woman
of to-day; and tell you that you are
a liar and rowdy-well dressed and
educated, but still q rowdy."
l never saw anything in my life done
so quickly Mr.. Crawford leaped from
his chair and before he touched the
ground his opened hand struck with
great a force the pale gentleman's
check.
The latter never moved. They both
glared at each other. The pale gen.
tleman said:
at certainly does,n savagely, from
CRAWFORD DOu1laS.
.'Well, | am a stranger in these
parts, and | might request any gen.
tleman here to-to-to--"
And then Col. Forrest put his card
into the pale gentleman's hand.
That's all right, Forrest" said Mr..
Cranford; 'just what l would have
asked you to do if Intended that your
services should be required. But they
won't be. | believe that the choice is
mine. Here woman" to me, "get tvo
of those little balls in the billiard
room-a white and black. Now,
sir, here is white ball and a black.
If you draw the black ball from this
mug" reaching over and taking one
of my silver mugs from the hook where
it, with four others, always hangs for
ornament, "you will pass yonr word
of honor to dispose of yourself by
shooting, hanging, drowning, poison,
or by stabbing at any time l may elect
after the drawing. If l draw the
black ball you can dispose of me,
do this because fancy you are not q
swordsman."
A faint smile played under the pale
gentleman's silky mustache at that,
"And l wish to take no unfair ad-
vantage for l am considered, right,
or wrongly, the best in Virginia. You
may be a good shot, but l doubt it.
Draw-or shall II"
Gas you please"
VERY well; you draw"
The pale gentleman drew the black
ball.
"Now, sir" said Crawford Douglas,
at is midnight. One year from 60
night. at one minute after II o'clock,
you must not be in this world. You
must send me word that you are deaG.
Here is my card. All, thanks" And,
after exchanging cards, they separated
and the pale gentleman went out after
paying me twice over for the little he
had eaten, with the saddest smile and
the sweetest have ever seen. never
saw him any more.
just one year from that night Mr..
Crawford and his friends were seated
out there waiting for message from
the pale gentleman. Mr.. Crawford
said quietly that be would wager his
horse that no message would come, and
Cram Fernell said that he thought the
message would come, as the pale gem
tleman seemed to be thorough bred.
The hours went on until II o'clock.
AT two minutes past II exactly, as |
am an honest woman, and just in the
middle Of one of Mr.. Cranford's dis
agreeable sneers about mans honor
being on par with woman's, the
voice of the pale gentleman was heard
to say:
Il have kept nv word,n
We all looked toward the door. No
one had entered. The wind walled
outside and that was all we heard af-
ter. The party looked at each other
mutely, as people do look when some
thing is said that cannot be grasped all
at once; and then with a big, round
oath, Mr.. Crawford Douglas did accuse
some one in the party of being ''ven-
triloquist;" but they all swore in their
boards that they were guilty of no
trick. and so he tried to appear as if he
believed that which they said. In a
little while they left the Swan and
Dick and locked up and went to bed
wondering and whispering until we
fell asleep.
About month after that, one snowy,
blowy night in the wild December
weather, two days before Christmas,
l think it was, at about IL o'clock,
when Mr.. Douglas and Col. Forrest
and the rest of the gentry were laugh
ing and chattering, and telling wild
stories of wilder times, the door of the
Swan was thrown violently open, and
there entered, in a whirl of snow
flakes, n gentleman that looked for all
the world like the cavaliers | used to
see when ! was little girl, long be-
fore the war came. He had on "A soft,
road-brimmed, low-crOwned hat; he
was we'll made; he had on great
cloak and high. strong boots, that
came over his knees, and large gloves
that came over his wrists. He drew
off one very slowly and warmed his
delicate white hand at the great open
fire, glancing round with his big gray
eyes in every corner of the room and
at every face at once it seemed.
"A wild night. dame?" he said to
me, in deep, rich tones.
~'It is, indeed. sir" says |. "Can
get something for you to eat and drink,
sir?n
"Not just vet" he answered. kindly;
81 came here to your tavern on busi-
ness only"
When he said II came on business
only" it sounded just like the ferrier's
hammer striking the anvil at the forge
down the road. grew very nervous.
Something was in the very air that
made everybody qniet. He looked at
Crawford Douglas and his party as if
he were trying to recognize some one
| of them. He then blew the melted
| snowflakes out of his whiskers by a
| peculiar movement of his mouth, as il
he were trying to blow specks off his
snirt-front, stamped his feet and then
said to me, loud enough to be heard by
| all in the room:
You are pretty well acquainted in
| these parts, dame, l take it?"
II ought to be, SIR" l says, with
| pardonable pride. l hope; seeing ]
| was born here in the Swan, which my
| father and his kept before me-"
| Perhaps you know Crawford Doug
| las, then?"