Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1902-07-05

the long tables between us and to draw
my rapier, when the crew was at the
other side of the low barrier.
Yet then 1 felt more tranquil han 1
had since entering the tavern: for the
fAair : was taking On the ook of a
fight, and / had been in so many,
large and small, of late, that there
was a certain familiarity to 1t, and it
put me more at my ease l turned the
pistol out of the nearest mans hand
with my point, and got the girl be-
hind me. when the leader (for 80 he
was) got upon his feet, purple with
rage, n roared:
Stop there! The man has insulted
me! Stop! This is not for you, clowns!
Clear away here!" And with a sober
ness l had little expected, he scattered
them to either side, and, leaning his
hands on the table, spluttered in my
teeth;
You, sir! You have struck me in
the face! Are we a coward, or will we
settle this heer now?"
Nothing could be better" / ans
wered. Indeed, nothing at this mo-
ment could have been better, for 1T
quieted the others, or else In a mo-
ment we had both been dead, or one
of us worse. Nothing could be better"
/ repeated; but 1 will not stir from
here, unless you make it a fair fight
oit Il ' lle lalI pldSs
Never fear, my fine gentleman! I'll
give We fair play enough, and a foot of
good steel to the bargain! Here, you,
Gowan," he added, turning to the a V
ern keeper, who seemed to be Surpris-
ingly sober, Of a sudden, too, push
away these tables, and you my friends,
If one of you does aught to interfere,
I'll blow IL his brains!" And he
tapped a brace of pistols In his belt.
ThpV nhava1 him JLa 10 fnAhu md cat
to work, pushing the chairs and tables
against the walls of the room, while
two dragged the Jolly good fellow" by
the shoulders under the BAR. So much
Will a serious fight do to cool the wine
heated brains of men in such riotous
times as these. For my part. 1 turned
to the girl, to find her looking up at
me with undisguised fright in her
eyes.
Keep close by the fire." said I q quick
ly; there is naught to fear"-though
there was enough n to spare. For
what might happen when l a set
tied this one. 1 could not tell.
A strange little smile passed over her
face at what l had said, and then she
answered.:
Il will. But can you fght?"
Now, l do not know why 1t should,
u 1t did, cut me to have such a cues
ton flung at me as l was on the point
of going into a struggle that she alone
a brought upon me. 1t might have
seemed that she could think of some
one but herself at such a moment; but,
as l have said I do not understand
the working Of a woman's mind. So
that, however, I may have thought, I
only said:
1--WE shall soon see, mistress, and for
your sake, at least, I can but try"
She looked straight into my face
again for a moment, and then moved
over to the fireplace without q word.
NOW, then, sir, are you ready?"
asked my man, and / answered by
moving into the middle Of the now
cleared room. l liked 1t not in any way.
The lights were bad. At best t was but
q fog, n a man cannot be blamed for
wishing n good light to watch his
enemy's eye. To n side Of the room 1
could see five Notwithstanding knaves
standing together, and what l might
expect of them at any m could
not be guessed.
Then, too, good swordsman as I was
and is no conceit that makes me say
so, for l had had three years of work by
day and night, and half a dozen before
them or constant practice with my ia
ther, Captain Balfort, of the Indian
Wars-but, good swordsman as | might
be, no fight is a surety, n l knew
nothing OF my antagonist, excepting
That he was partly under the influence
or liquor. If / fell, what might not be-
come OF the girl, what might not the
papers in my boot mean to him, and
those to whom he belonged. And 1t soon
appeared to whom he belonged, for he
crossed my sword at once, saying:
And now for myself and for the
king! Watch out, you bastard, for I am
tho host nf man 70 Y1a, ~ xrtHl III 49, 81
And, indeed, he was a master hand.
l could tell at the first thrust that he
was better tina l, and had he been
empty of liquor, his tale and my own
lie a ended there and then in hat
dirty room. He was inside my guard
a dozen times in the first two minutes
as we clrcled round each other, playing
constantly for the light of a single Lam
tern that hung over the outer door.
Still, l was growing calmer, and had
begun to gauge him better when he
shipped over my thrust and ripped the
shoulder Of my coat with a sudden
and a true stroke. Then, on the instant,
! heard a stifled cry; and, CHANGING by
his head, L saw the girl standing by the
fire, leaning forward, her hands ner-
Vously clasped together at her throat,
her hood down upon her shoulders, and
a look of terror in her eyes.
"Ah,' said the wretch, my lady
whimpers, does she? Fear not, I'll give
her comfort when thou hast gone to
hell"
Twas a spur that made me mao to,
think on, realising as I did that he had
all but done for me that moment, and
| went at him with every thrust and
stroke l knew, beating his rapier till
the room sang with the blows. But I
could not touch him. He was a mar
vellous good hand, and no mistake; for
he gave ground till / had him with his
foot at the other wall, but not once did
1 get inside his guard.
Keep your hounds in their place" T
cried, between my fast-coming breath:
for the men, whether from interest or
with some foul design, had gathered
closer to us.
Stand off, you fools!" he cried in
answer. DO We not see / have him
pinked already? Look We at thst-and
that-and that!' And he broke away
from the wall, and pressed me as | had
never been pressed before, nor wish to
be again. once he touched me above
the wrist, and l could feel the warm
blood running down into my sword
hand. This was no country lout, in
good earnest, and l knew then that I
had to do with some British officer
without his uniform.
Another stified cry came from the d.
rection of the fireplace, sounding clear
in the silent room, and a smile played
owe the mans mouth, as he muttered:
Now one for the king!' AND he
drew a little away from me. / stood
my ground and let him go. And as /
took a breath or two to catch my wind.
and brushed my left hand across nv
eyes to wipe away the sweat. I cried
at him u of the bitterness of nv
heart:
Damn you and our king, you viii
knaves! Come, are We afraid.
that we draw away?"
Before / had well finished a look came
his eyes as he stopped, and then.
with only the thought of saving myself
from a thrust / did not know, l jumped
to the right and thrust my sword
out at him.