Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1908-07-17
A STRAN N G E
DUEL
BY CAPT. JAMES WELLS.


ready had been there n week, and
was sure that he had the better
chance. She smiled at him as she
never smiled at me. 1t made me
angry. That was why l challenged
him to duel, with pistols. l thought
he was coward and that he would
not fight.
"Ah captain" said he, "let us not
mess up the hacienda with shooting
one another. Let us settle 1t another
way"
He led me out into the yard where
the senior had two condors chained to
iron posts Great birds they were,
with wings that spread perhaps ten
feet. The senor had raised them
from chicks, they told me.
"The birds, captain-they give me
an idea. They never have flown, but
their strong wings will bear them far.
If basket were fastened to them,
they could lift a man in the air-per-
haps 1t would be worth trying"
What do you mean?" l asked
Since you wish duel to the death,
let us toss for 1.-THE loser to voyage
into the air with the birds"
1t was a foolish idea, but l would
not be bluffed by the Chilian.
"All right, Almaraz," | said.
1t is a queer country down there at
the foot of the Andes. When Inez
and the senior heard ABOUT 1t. instead
of trying to prevent the odd duel be-
tween Alamaraz and myself, they en-
couraged it. The neighbors rode in
from nearby haciendas, and all the
servants and riders on the rancho
gathered to see the senior toss the
coin.
Tails" said he. Capt. Wells
wins. Almaraz will make the voy-
age"
Pretty Inez kissed the Chilian good
by, and / almost wished that / had
lost.
"Adois, dear one" she said. "The
saints and the blessed virgin will save
you"
Almaraz climbed into the wicker
basket which had been harnessed to
the giant birds. The senor unfas-
tened the chain and the condors took
wing.
For an instant it seemed certain
that Almaraz would be upset from the
basket The birds resented their
close partnership, and so to 100 feet
in the air he performed like an aero
bat keeping them together. There
were some angry attempts at swoop-
ing on the part of one of them, with
talons splayed, and quite bit of con-
dor music.
But the bigger of the two was q
steady-minded bird, with its eye on
the snowy peaks of the Andes in the
west. The rebellious one, after min
ute's hesitation, saw the point, and
they went rapidly aloft and westward
together. With a superb sweep of
their wings they rose and rose, so
near each other that the tips of their
pinions seemed to touch.
We leaped upon our horses and gal
loped after them. The horror of it
was upon us. l was sorry that | had
challenged my rival. The girl loved
him, and why should l have been so
selfish as to interfere with his happi-
ness? l vowed that if he ever came
down from his mad flight in the heav-
ems would be his friend forever.
The condors rose tirelessly. They
were u half mile, mile high. They
became two tiny specks in the blue
South American sky. Almaraz looked
like a toy-like a doll. Yet with sub
lime nerve he stood upright in the
basket and guided as best he could
his feathered steeds toward the dis
tant crags.
l soon outstripped the others, for
my horse was a thoroughbred. Mile
after mile we went, and still | kept in
sight of the dizzy voyagers. With my
field glasses, which | put to my eyes
now and then, could see them
plainly.
AS the harnessed condors neared
the first crag, | could see Almaraz
above me, waving his white handker-
chief at me, and | answered him with
shouts which he doubtless did not
hear. The condors circled with ma
jestic grace and then swooped down
and settled upon the crag-a mere
splinter that pierced the heavens.
The basket bumped against the stone,
and was still. 1t seemed almost that
Almaraz was doomed. He was 1,500
feet above the earth, where no human
help could reach him.
My glasses surveyed him, and | saw
him wave his handkerchief again.
Then saw him take his revolver from
his pocket, and pointing it at the near
est bird fired.
/ could not hear the sound, but ]
saw the puff of white smoke and un-
derstood his plan. He had killed the
smaller bird 1t toppled over toward
him. The weight of the dead bird
and of the basket was too much for
the big condor. He clung to the crag
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