The Ordway new era., 1909-05-21
CHAPTER vi.

As overton had said. the meeting
was delayed exactly "a hours.
My courage always has an odd way
OF disappearing when | am expecting
to use 1t, although l must say. when |
have had actual occasion for II have
always found It easily at hand. | can
not deny that was very much fright
ened for Giles on the morning OF the
meeting. and, to add to my misery. |
heard that Oyerton was considered
one OF the best shots in England.
The dreary breakfast gulped down:
the postchaise rafting up to the door
i had hoped until the last moment
that II would not come; the humping
along the road In the cool. Bright sum
mer morning; the gruesome, long, mar
row box that lay on the front seat Of
the chaise; the packet OF letters which
Giles had given me and which seemed
to weigh a hundred tons in my pocket
all these were so many horrors to
haunt the memory forever But must
say that, apparently. the misery was
all mine; for l never saw Giles Vernon
show so much as by the flicker of an
tE mat l4t ~ tAo A4S III DtA 4lA eLAAg
way.
About half way from the meeting
ground we left the highway and turned
into a by-road: and scarcely had we
gone half a mile when we almost
drove into a broken-down chaise. and
standing on the roadside among the
furze bushes were the coachman. the
surgeon-a most bloody-minded man
| always believed him-Mr. Buxton
and Overton.
Our chaise stopped. and Giles. put
ting his head out of the window. said
pleasantly: "Good-morning. gentle
men; you have had an accident, see"
"A bad one" replied Mr.. Buxton,
who saw that their chaise was beyond
help, and who. as he said afterward
was playing for place in our chaise,
not liking to walk the rest of the dis
lance.
Giles jumped out and SO did I, and
the most courteous greetings were ex-
changed.
The two drivers, as experts, ex-
amined the broken chaise and agreed
there was no patching it up for ser
vice; one wheel was splintered
Mr.. Buxton looked at Giles mean
ingly, and then at me, and Giles
whispered to me:
Offer to take EN- up By Jupiter,
they shall see we are no shirkers"
Which I did, and to my amazement,
in a few moments We were all lumber
ing along the road; Overton and Mr.
Buxton on the back seat, and Giles
and l with our backs to the horses,
while the surgeon was alongside the
coachmaH on the box.
Nothing could exceed the politeness
between the two principals, about the
seats as about everything else. Over
ton was with difficulty persuaded to
take the back seat. Mr.. Buxton seated
himself there without any introduction.
Il hope 1t will never again be my for
tune to negotiate SO delicate an affair
as meeting between gentlemen with
one so much my superior In rank as
Mr.. Buxton.)
May I ask, Mr.. Overton, II you pre-
fer the window down or up?" asked
Giles, with great Difference.
ehci, ucdi OIL, IespOuueu oNeT-
ton. Il believe it was up when you
kindly invited us to enter"
True; but you may be sensitive to
the air, and may catch cold"
At which Mr.. Buxton grinned in a
heartless manner. The window re-
NAMED up.
We were much crowded with the
two pistol-cases and the surgeons box
OF instruments, which to me appeared
more appalling than the pistols.
At last we reached the spot-a
small. fiat place under sweetly-
blooming hawthorn hedge, with some
verdant oaks at either end.
Giles and Overton were 10 scrupu-
lous about taking prscsdencs Of aAnh