The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-02-01

For heavens sake, NOT, said the
woman. There are reasons why that.
would ruin everything. If you are tho
brave sman >you4, look to be, you will
como. with me. II not, we are LOST, I
L E IN comes m9am, il you insist
aipontit' said Il trough ftsll you in,
advance that III there is any fighting
tolbe done Soi'lfNhaye 10 count ne Dat,
Cor fKhavenf gotGmy yevolver, aud
I'm not fighting man, anyway
"She said there wouldn't be any
call for me to fight, and that, as soon
as 1t was seen that she had a man
with her, she and her sister would be
allowed to go. She said 1t would bo
better II were to follow short way
behind her. instead of walking by
her side. That suited me. we'll enough.
so the woman went on walking pretty
fast and l came along about two rods
behind her. 'Jiil sW jtJ ,tTeli3;7 vWC
II tell you Ii gave me chill to 90
into that narrow, dark street. You
see, have been afraid of it for going
on to twenty or twenty-five years. Be-
sides, the place was cold, for l don't
believe the sun ever got down into 1t,
the houses were so high and so close
together Nobody met us, and didn't
see the least sign of life in the street.
We went, as / should judge, pretty
near an eighth Of mile, and the only
street light we passed was an oil lamp
hung out from one OF the houses on
an iron bracket 9nHoJ 11O .5kcr
"The woman stopped at the door Of
IA house on the1left and waited for me
in the shadow When ! came UP, she
said: Take my hand, for there isn't
any light and the stairs are long, lh
ct was. a great big room, with
queer, old-fashioned furniture, and not
much of that. In one corner there was
ia figure in armor standing leaning
on its sword. The chairs and sofas
we're covered with elegant velvet, but
it was threadbare and in places hung
in rags. Il The tables had had their
legs gilded when they were new, but
the gliding was mostly gene, and the
marble slabs we're stained and crack
ed. There were two tall candles burn
ing on the mantelpiece, where there
was an old-fashioned clock which said
it was 11:20, though probably it lied.
"'Sit down. said the woman, TAX
ing off her hat and throwing it on a
chair. | noticed then that she spoke
with some sort Of foreign accent, and
it came into my mind that she wasn't
English, after all. &c., .r. Name A.
tt''Where is your sister, l asked.
- She burst out laughing.
"'My sister! Oh, you shall see her
presently. Meanwhile, sit down and
be comfortable -ra1r 2.ioI -'1Hf
."This made me pretty mad, for I
was pretty sure now that she hadn't
any sister, and that she had brought
me into a trap. / didn't stop to ask
myself what her motive was, though
for the life OF me can't see any point
in laying a trap for poor artist. o1
.r'What Il had to do was to get out
of that room and that street as soon
as possible. So / said: 'That'll do,
ma'am. You can't play any game on
me, and I turned to the door. Just
then two men burst into the aroom,
making as much noise as lot of med
zeal students coming into a sick room
to see an operation. One of them was
a big, red-faced fellow, who was sure
enough an Englishman. He even had
top boots, such as men used to wear
in -Hogarth's time, Though i don't pre-
tend to know when that was. The
other man was smaller, but deal
wickeder looking, and | Judged that
he was a low-class Frenchman. ans
"The big man had a drawn sword
in his hand, and as soon as he was in
the room he called out to the woman,
1 have caught you at last and I'll
attend to- you when 1llhave killed this
scoundrelr The woman shrieked and
fell on her, knees The man paid no
attention to her, but came towards me,
cTsing like an Alderman, While the
other man kept crying out, Down with
him! Down with himn no1i b911c9.
> Snow comes In what is to me the
queerest part of the whole business.
Considering wasn't armed, and con-
sidering that neither Of the men had
Q. pistol what ought to- have done
was clear enough Any, man, brought
up as / was ih a coniinunity where
rough-and- tumble fighting was the
National amusement as you. might
say, would have thrown the first thing
that came handy into the big mans
face, and then Knocked him and his
companion down beforeehe could have
used his sword. iButei1i didn't n do
anything of the sort nL1sprang into
the beornerG of the room where
the . figure, in armor, stood and
snatched the sword that 1t had
in its hand. Then put my back
against theiwalI and pulled one of the
marble-topped tables in front of me,
and said very quietly to the man:
Unless, You beg this lady's pardon
and mine on your knees shall do
you the unmerited honor of killing
you.l a2y1 5yrd 90 y3 r5ik fEr{
al"Well, the big man came oorl, 4, and
for theyneKt five minutes we had some
Of the prettiest fencing you ever
dreamed Of. ] told You had never
had a sword In my hand before, yet
there I was Tending as If Idhad been
at it all my life,rand felt just as con-
fldent that the fellow sword would
never touch me. and kthat should kill
him, as | ever felt of anything since
! was born. GOOD gracious! how ! did
enjoy that fight! Presently. the man
stopped to get his Breath and bow
Cd very politely to him, and said that
parhapsg his comradel owould take his
place while he was, resting. n, However,
the, little, man didn't, seem to banker