Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-02-05

ship.
Underfoot II was slushy with Maud, |
water and lee, the consistency varying
from a somewhat solid crust to pud. |
dies that half inundated Hamilton's
boots and quite overlooked Father
Berets moccasins-an execrable field
for the little matter in hand. They
gradually shifted position. Now II
was the governor, then the priest, who
had advantage as to the light. For
some time Father Beret seemed quite
the shiftier and surer fighter, but twas
his age telling on him. he lost per-
ceptibly in suppleness. Still Hamil-
ton failed to touch him. There was
battling something in the old mans
escape now and again from what ought
to have been an inevitable stroke.
Was it luck? 1t seemed to Hamilton
more than that-a sort of uncanny eva
sion Or was it supreme mastery, the
last and subtlest reach of the fencers
craft?
Youth forced age slowly backward
in the struggle, which at times took
on spurts so furious that the slender
blades, becoming mere glints of acicu-
lar steel, split the moonlight back and
| forth, up and down, so that their meet
| ings, following one another in q we'll
nigh continuous stroke, sent a Earring
noise through the air. Father Beret
lost inch by inch, until the fighting was
almost over the body Of Alice, and now
for the first time Hamilton became
aware of that motionless something
with the white, luminous face in pro-
file against the ground; but he did not
let even that unsettle his fencing gaze
which followed the sunken and dusky
eyes of his adversary. A perspiration
suddenly flooded his body, however,
and began to drip across his face. His
arm was firing. A doubt crept like
chill into his heart. Then the priest
appeared to add a cubit to his stature
and waver strangely in the soft light
Behind him, low against the sky, a
wide winged owl shot noiselessly
across just above the prairie.
The soul of a true priest is double;
1t is the soul of q saint and the soul Of
worldly man. What is most beauti-
full in this duality is the supreme cour-
age with which the sanity spirit at
lacks the worldly and so often hero
ically masters it, In the beginning of
the fight Father Beret let passion of
the earthly body take him by storm.
1t was well for Governor Henry Ham
ilton that the priest was so wrought
upon as to unsettle his nerves; other
wise there would have been an evil
heart impaled midway of Father Be-
ret's rapier. A little later the sanity
spirit began to assert itself, feebly in
deed, but surely. Then it was tina
Father Beret seemed to be losing agil-
ity for awhile as he backstepped away
from Hamilton's increasing energy of
assault. In his heart the priest was
saying Il will not murder him. l
must not do that. He deserves death,
but vengeance is not mine. / will dis
arm him." Step by step he retreated,
playing erratically to make an opening
for trick lie meant to USE
1t was singularly loose play, a sort
of wavering, shifty, incomprehensible
show of carelessaess that caused Ham
ilton to entertain a doubt, which was
really fear, as to what was going to
neglect of due precaution on the
priests part, to touch him seemed i'm
possible, miraculously so, and every
plan of attack dissolved into futility
In the most maddening way.
"Priest, devil or ghost" ragged Ham
ilton, with a froth gathering around
his mouth. 'I'll kill you, orr
He made lunge when his adversary
left an opening which appeared abso-
lutely beyond defense. 1t was quick,
deIterous, vicious thrust. The blade
leaped toward Father Beret's heart
with twinkle like lightning.
At that moment, although warily
alert and hopeful that his opportunity
was at hand, Father Beret came near
losing his life, for as he sidestepped
and easily parted Hamilton's thrust
which he had invited, thinking to en-
tangls his blade and disarm him, he
caught his foot in Alice's skirt and
stumbled, nearly falling across her.
1t would have been easy for Hamilton
to run him through had he instantly
followed up the advantage, but the
moonlight on Alice's face struck his
eyes, and by that indirect ray Of vision
which is often strangely effective ht
recognized her lying there. 1t was a
disconcerting thing for him, but he
rallied instantly and sprang aside, tax
Ing a new position just in time to fac.
Father Beret again. A chill crept uL
his back. The horror which he could
not shake off enraged him beyond
measure. Gathering fresh energy, he
renewed the assault with desperate
steadiness, the highest product of abso-
lutely molten fury.
Father Beret felt the dangerous &C.
cess Of power in his antagonists arm
and knew that a crisis had arrived
He could not be careless now. Hero
WAS q sMordSman of the hest school