The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-12-23

i suddenly and toss to and fro. Then'a
hundred hands went up, and confused
4 angry cries rose with them. The
troopers struck about them, giving
back slowly as they did SO. But their
efforts were in vain. With scream of
triumph avid torrent of people broke
through between them, leaving them
stranded; and rushed in headlong
cataract towards the steps. Beers was
close to us at the time. "S'death ?" he
cried, swearing oaths which even his
sovereign could scarce have equalled.
"They will snatch him from me yet, the
hellhounds!"
He whirled his horse round and
spurred him in dozen bounds to the
stairs at our end of the gallery. Then
he leaped from him, dropping the
bride recklessly; and bounding up
three steps at time, he ran along the
gallery. Half dozen of the troopers
about us stayed only to fling theirreins
to one of their number, and then fol-
lowed, their great boots Gathering on
I the planks.
My breath came fast and short, for
felt it was a crisis. 1t was race be-
tween the two parties, or rather be-
tween the yidame and the leaders OF
the mob. The latter had the shorter
way to go. But on the narrow steps
they were carried off their feet by the
press behind them, and fell over and
hampcred one another and lost time.
The vidame, free from this drawback,
was some way along the gallery be-
fore they had set foot on it.
How prayed-amid scene of the
widest uproar and excitement-that
the mob might be first Let there be
only short conflict between Bezers'
men and the people, and in the confu-
sion Pavannes might yet escape. Hope
awoke in the turmoil. Above the yells
of the crowd score of deep voices
about me Numbered, "a Wolf! a Wolff"
And | too, lost my head, and drew my
sword, and screamed at the top of my
voice, "a Caylus! Caylus!" with the
maddest.
Thousands of eyes besides mine were
strained on the foremost figures on
either side. They met, as it chance d,
precisely at the door of the house. The
mob leader was a slender man, saw:
a priest, apparently, though now he
was girt with unpriestly weapons, his
skirts were tucked up and his head
was bare. So much my first glance
showed me. 1t was at the second look
it was when saw the blood forsahe
his pale, lowering face and leave it
whittier than ever, when horror sprarg
along with recognition to his eyes,
when borne along by the crowd behind
he saw his position and who was before
hint was only then when his mean
figure shrank and he quailed and would
have turned but could not, that
recognized the coadtutor.
was silent now, my mouth agare.
There are seconds which are minutes;
aye. and many minutes. a man ncY
die, man may come into life in such
a second. In one Of these, it seemed
to me, those two men paused, face to
face; though, in fact, pause was for
one OF them impossible. lie was De-
twcen-and think he krcw 1.-THE
devil and the deep sea. Yet he seemed
to pause, while all! even that yelling
crowd below, held their breath. The
next moment, glaring askance at one
another like two d o. uncvenly coupled.
he and Beers slot shoulder to shouI-
der into the doorway, and in another
jot of time would have been out Of
sight. But then, in that instant, / saw
something happen. The vidame's hand
flashed up above the priests head and
the cross-hilt of his sheathed sword
crashed down with awful force, and
still more awful passion, on the others
tonsure! The wretch went down like a
log, without word, without a cry!
Amid roar of rage from thousand
throats, roar that might have shaken
the stoutest heart and blanched the
swarthiest cheek. Beers disappeared
within.
1t was then that saw the power of
discipline and custom. Few as were
the troopers who had followed him--a
mere handful-they fell without hesi-
tation on the foremost Of the crowd,
who were already in confusion, STUN
bling and falling over their leaders
body, and hurled Ahem back pell-
nell along the gallery. The throng be-
low had no firearms and could give no
aid at the moment; the stage was mar
row; in two minutes the vidame's peo-
pie had swept it clear of the crowd and
were in possession of it. A tall fellow
took up the priests body, dead or alive.
l do not know which, and flung it as
If H. had been a sack of corn over the
rail. 1t fell with heavy thud on the
ground. heard piercing scream that
rose above that babel-one shrill
scream! and the mob closed round
and hid the thing.
II the rascals had had the wit to make
at once for the right-hand stairs, where
we stood with two OF three Of Beers
men who had kept their saddles, think
they might costly have disposed of us,
incumbered as we were by the horses;
and then they could have attacked the
handful on the gallery on both fianks.
But the mob had no leaders. and no
plan OF operations. They seized, in
deed, two or three Of the scattered
troopers, and tearing them from their
horses. wreaked their passion upon
them horribly. But most Of the Switz-
ers escaped, thanks to the attention the
mob paid to the houses and what was
going forward on the galleries; and
4 u IL IA.