The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-05-03
every good" he said.

differently toward the west The aft
ermatf of the sun glowed on the hori-
zon. The prince shaded his eyes for n
spell.
Gentlemen" he said. 81 believe the
princess is approaching. At any rate.
here comes the coach. Let us suspend
hostilities till she has passed"
A few minutes later the coach came
rumbling along in n whirlwind of dust.
The stocal cavalrymen kept on with
out so much as n glance ut the quartet
standing ut the side of the road. Hi
lars looked after the vehicle till it was
obscured from view. Then he shook
himself out OF the dream into which
he had fallen. He was pale now, and
his eyebrows were drawn together as
the count held out the pistol
"Ah. yes!' he said as though he had
forgotten. There goes the woman
who Will never become your wife"
THAT shall be decided at once" was
the retort Of the prince.
"She Will marry the gentleman back
OF the inn"
~ fine husband he will make, truly"
replied the prince. ''He rot only de-
serts her, but forsakes her champion.
But that is neither here nor there. We
shall not go through any polite formal
tiles" his eyes swapping viciously.
The two Combatants took their
places IN the center of the road. The
pistol arm Of each hung at the side Of
the body.
"Are you ready. gentlemen" asked
the count. the harest tremor in his
voice.
Yes" sad the prince. Hillars sim
ply nodded.
when have counted three. you
viii be at liberty TO fire. Onen'
The arms raised slowly till the pis-
tolls were on the level Of the eyes.
Two
The innkeeper saw Hillars move his
! lips. That was the only sign.
Three
The pistols exploded simultaneously.
! The right arm Of the prince swung
back violently, the smoking pistol fly
! ing from his hand. Suddenly one of
! the horses gave snort Of pain and
! terror and bolted down the road. No
| attention was given TO the horse. The
! others were watching Hillars. He
stood perfectly motionless. All at once
| tho pistol fell from his hand. Then
both hands few instinctively to his
breast. There was an expression Of
surprise on his face. His eyes closed,
! his knees bent forward and he sank
into the road a huddled heap. The
! prince shrugged, sigh Of relief fell
from the counts half parted lips, while
! the innkeeper ran toward the fallen
man.
Are you hurt, prince" asked the
! count.
THE cursed fool has blown off my
chow was he answer. "Bind it up
| with your handkerchief and help me
on with my coat. There is nothing
more to do. II he is not dead, he soon
will be, so it's all the same"
When the princes arm was suffi-
| GENTLY bandaged so as to stop the flow
Of blood, the count assisted him to
mount, jumped on his own horse and
the two cantered off, leaving the inn
! keeper, IIillars' head propped up on
/ his knee, staring after them with a
| duh rage in his faded blue eyes. The
| remaining horse was grazing Il short
! distance away. Now and then he lifted
his head and gazed inquiringly at the
two figures in the road.
"Is it bad, herrY' the innkeeper ask
| ed.
VERY. Get back to the inn. l don't
want to peter out here" Then he
| tainted.
1t required some time and all the inn
keepers strength to put Hi!lars on the
| horse. When this was accomplished,
he turned the horses head toward the
Inn. And chat was all.
DAM said |.
The lids Of his eyes rolled YEARLY
| back.
lis there anything can do for you?"
"Bury me-"
1t was very sad. "WhereW l asked.
Did you see the little cemetery on
the hill, across the valley? Put me
there. 1t is a wild, forgotten place.
It's only my body. Who cares what
becomes of that? AS for the other, the
soul. who can say? | have never been
a good man. Still believe in God. |
am tired-tired and cold. What fan
cies man has in death, a moment
back l saw my father. There was a
wan, sweet faced woman standing
close beside him; perhaps my mother.
never saw her before. Ah me, these
chimeras we set our hearts upon, these
worldly hopes! Well, Jack, it's curtain
and no encore. But | am not afraid to
die. | have wronged no man or WON.
an. have been my own enemy. What
shall l say, Jack? All, yes! God have
mercy on my soul! And this sudden
GOODNESS, this sudden ease from pain,
is DEATH
There was a flutter of the eyelids, a
sigh, and this poor hotsam, this drift
wood which had never known q harbor
in all its years, this friend of mine,
this inseparable comrade, passed out.
There were hot tears in my eyes as 1
stood up and gazed down at this mys-