The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-04-20

am about to give Is such dln1cult one,
and its actual performance SO readily
disbelieved, that have. in order to
preclude any possibility of doubt as to
its genuineness, decided to ask to assist
me several gentlemen of prominence
who are known to you all and whose
probity and veracity cannot be ques.
toned. / will ask your mayor, Mr..
Coulter, Col. WEIGH, Maj. Freeman,
Capt. Doxey, Judge Cole, Mr.. Long
man, Count Won Hoffman, Peter Gala
CHER, Ambrose Newton, Mr.. Darby
and" (here he mentioned two or three
others to come forward"
All were forthcoming, more or less
embarrassed, and when they were
seated on the stage the professor con-
tinued:
Before commencing, must beg the
audience not to be alarmed, whatever
happens, and to please keep their seats
Now, first, will give you bit of his
tory, the application of which you will
not be long In discovering.
about year ago down in Louisi-
ana number of young men were out
one evening making merry, and were
so exceedingly hilarious that they in
Cured the displeasure of the officers of
the law, who attempted to arrest them.
In the struggle the town marshal was
shot and killed, very unfortunately.
One of the young men, Mr.. De Russy,
was suspected of having fred the fatal
shot, and, while he was innocent, it
was thought best for him to disappear
for time, until the mystery was
cleared up. 1t is cleared up, the man
who killed the marshal having re-
Gently confessed"
Here it was noticed that the leading
citizens on the stage were looking
anxiously out toward one of the wings
aud seemed extremely uneasy, but
none left his seat. The professor con-
tinued speaking very rapidly:
"De Russy came to your glorious
state and sought temporary asylum.
He found employment and settled him.
self to remain until the trouble should
be cleared up. In his new position he
was pleasant and obliging, but, through
fear of discovering himself to the
authorities, was so mild in his manners
that nearly everybody in town took
advantage of him; although / know
him to be one of the bravest men, of a
fighting family, quick to avenge an in
suit, and always ready, under ordinary
circumstances, to meet any man in fair
combat.
For what he has had to undergo he
does not ask much, but he is bound to
have that, and'-here he produced
brace of six shooters and covered the
audience, just as the new bar boy from
the Binford house, who had been COW
ering from wing the semi-circle of
prominent citizens on the stage,
armed as was the professor, and with
eyes sparkling with the lust of longed-
for vengeance about to be satisfied
''lest any gentleman in the audience
gets excited while the gentlemen on
the stage are satisfying M. de Russy
of their desire to expiate past wrongs
done him, would call attention to
the fact that it would be very dam
gerous to draw a return fire from the
stage into this crowd. Pray be calm,
ladies and gentlemen. The violinist
will please play old Grimes while
the gentlemen on the stage rise and
dance"
Here confused murmur interrupted
any further remarks he may have in
tended to make, and one or two of the
gentlemen of probity and veracity,"
who had hitherto seemed half stupefied,
reached for their weapons
Easy, easy!" commanded the bar
boy of the Binford, with menacing
gesture. ''Get their guns. john"
Jenkyns did so, securing eight weap-
ons, from which he removed the cylin-
ders, and threw them into a pile of
rubbish back Of the wings.
sNow!" ordered the bar boy, with a
motion to the violinist. Dance! Dancel
Quick!'
Bang! Bang A couple of rifle shots
hit the floor in close proximity to the
feet of two or three dilatory ones, and
they rose with some alacrity, for the
CLEAN in the bar boys eye meant bust
ness.
Funny spectacles nowaday sin Nitrate
are compared, especially in CONVERSE
ton with eminent citizens, to the aero
batic dancing of the flower of the
camp on that memorable Fourth of
July. For it was funny, very funny;
the funniest thing Nitrate had ever
seen, and presently the audience began
to realize it. Somebody laughed. Then
it became contagious, and the whole
audience laughed, roared, almost cried,
in an excess of merriment.
But it wasn't funny for the perform
ers, not bit, although one or two of
them tried to look as though 1t was
huge joke, being duly reminded, how
ever, of the seriousness of the situation
by an occasional shot from De. Russy's
revolver. For fifteen or twenty min
utes the violin droned on mournfnlly
and the dancers leaped and cavorted
frantically. Then, when two or three
of them-notably old Welcl, and fat
lid cso %