Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1901-03-08

We'll I unused. '-there's consolation
IN knowing that Ia Two l"urs shall be
either d,-ad Ur aiiVc-
! fiuuz thc sane inta tie corner. To
I'as> away the time I par,,l hack and
forth. II passed i"o quirkly. and il
was not lone err heard the clauer Of
the returning cayalrymcn. some one
knocked al nay decor swuns Il open
AMI MAS ghnnwn a. the finur. llound and
gagged In = tenth III u minute.
Put Linn uu the hyd.~ whispered the
leader If my as>aiiants. When this
WAS done. the voice added. Now you
can 20 tn IN. stables and walt there tin
! call YOU"
IL was tire innLccpcr. lie surveyed
me for a moment aud scratched his
chin.
"Will herr keep perfectly quiet II
take the handkerchief from his
mouth!' he asked. | nodded. how'll
drrcd
what In tophct does this mcany' |
asked. lid not say tophct. hut 1t
looks better In writing.
1t means nothing and everything"
was the answer. In the first place.
herr will fight no duel The man with
whom you were TO fight was sent ON an
errand 10 this ont of the way place as
a punishment for his ducling at the
capital. | know him lay reputation
Ia il "a hpuss-l.t. 1.ttf Tufs
man. He would halvc you as would
a chicken. There is another who has a
prior elan on him. II there is any
thing Tft of Herr Lieutenant M the
end of the fray. you are welcome To IT,
Yes: there will he a duel. but YOU will
not he one of the principals. II is all
arranged"
But do not understand" cried.
ut is not necessary that you should"
He laughed and rubbed his hands in
pleasurahle anticipation. There is a
young man down stairs who arrived a
few moments before the lieutenant.
He has a special affair. There were
words. Herr Lieutenant is mad enough
to fight "A whole company"
Then why in heavens name am |
up here in this condition." | cried.
Let me 20 and be the young mans
second, though | can't for the life of
me see where he has come from so sud
denly and ! might say OPPORTUNITY.
Come, cut me loose"
1T Is too late"
.roo latc:'
yes. Herr Lieutenant has been in
formed that YOU ran away"
IRAN away" / roared, You told
him that ran away? Curse your inso-
lence! I'll break every bone in your
body for this" | cried. straining at the
ropes.
THE ropes are new" said he. You'll
hurt yourself"
You told him that | ran away"
I mis- was too much.
Yes. All, but you will be surprised
The duel will last five minutes Herr
Lieutenant will thrust The thrust will
be parried. lie will feint: useless.
Thrust on thrust parry on parry. Con
sternation will take the place of conf
dence He will grow nervous. He
will try all his little tricks, and they
will fail Then his eyes viii roll and
his breath come in gasps. Suddenly he
thinks he secs an opening. He lunges.
Ach. the fool. il is all over." The old
mans voice Quivered with excitement.
He had passed his time in the barracks
and had seen many sword skirmish.
We'll. are YOU going to take off these
ropes?"
mo. You would break every bone in
my body"
l groaned IN evaporation.
You will soon be out of breath"
Oh, could have but loosened those
cords.
"Stahlberg, who left the service n
year ago, will act in the capacity of
second" Stahlberg was at the head of
the vineyard Il shall watch the af-
fair from the window here The scene
| of action will take place in the clearing
beyond. 1t will be an affair worth wit
Messing"
And where is GretchenE"
Where she should beat the bar. q
dutiful barmaid." Then heard moth
ing but the deep examinations of the
innkeeper, There was something in
the affair which appealed to his humor.
| could not see it. For ten minutes my
vocabulary was strictly unprintable
"Will You kindly tell me what the
meaning of all this is?'
Herr Winthrop, the idyl has come to
an end. The epic now begins