The Alaska citizen., 1910-09-12

l While Ned was dancing with very pretty fraulein a young fellow who evidently had a claim upon her came up to him and said:
 "I will pigstick you
 That's the way they have over there of telling a man that he's got to fight
 Ned turned upon with well as sumed fury and replied;
 And will let the sawdust out of you"
 Later a dapper officer with a wasp waist stepped up 10 Ned and engraved Lieutenant Ernst von Batterstein"
 Ned. understanding that the off cer addressed him as bearer of a challenge. whipped out his own card, on which he had scrawled. In structor of Fencing, No. - Dear born street, Chicago, [. s. A"
 You see, Ned had known very well what was coming and with his usual quick foresight had prepared his first move. With a magnificent sweep of his arm he referred the lieutenant to me. and I agreed to meet the gentleman at a cafe in the Unter den Linden in half an hour.
 Ned" l protested as soon as We were alone. you cant bluff one of these young Germans with so palpa- ble a device as that. My opinion is that wed better jump the town. You know well enough you've never handled a foil in your life. and at shooting you couldn't hit ten-story building at ten paces. We don't duel any in America, and it's no dis grace to flee from these fellows who do All we have to do is to lose ourselves for the rest of the night and take an early train in the morning"
 "Oh, there's some better way out of il than that. Do you know what General Grant said when going to at tack his first enemy? He said that the other fellow was probably as much scared as he was. and so he went on. Well. I've put at least the probability into this young mans head that I'm an expert and if he doesn't believe me he won't be sure that I'm not. You go and talk with his second and hear what he has to say"
 l met Non Batterstein and to help Ned on in his game assumed a con tident air. l said as little as possible for when a man is playing a des- perate game it's best to let him do il all himself The slightest interfer- ence with Ned in this instance might cost him his life When the lieuten- ant asked what weapons my friend as the challenged party would choose l simply replied Polls. of course," and as to other details l left them entirely to him. except that the af- fair should be settled at once, as my man had an engagement in Paris with pupil who needed his ser vices in an affair of the same sort.
 l 1attered myself that this was keeping up the instructor ill fenc- ing" illusion pretty we'll If the prin- cipal on the other side had been an officer in the army the pretense could not be relied upon, for a soldier cant very well back out from sure death. But the would-be pigsticker was a civilian, and that wasn't so bad. The officer didn't ap- pear in the least frightened, but he was not the man who would have to meet a fencing master
 It was arranged, in order that Ned should meet his engagement in Paris that we should be at ren- dezvous where such affairs are set tied at o'clock the same morning. went back and reported the out come to Ned.
 What are you going to do?' l asked. You're certainly not going to let this fellow run a sword through your vitals."
 "Oh, I'll keep up the bluff till the last minute, and if the thing goes against me I'll find a pretext to slide out with honor"
 At J:30 we took a carriage and drove to the rendezvous. I had left the procurement of the weapons to the enemy, saying that my principal could fence as well with a cutlass as foil and I would rely on them for weapons. When we got on the ground the picksticker was looking over a stock of foils and testing them. evidently thinking that if he was to meet a fencing master who didn't care whether he used a foil or a cutlass he must be carefully armed It looked to me that the bluff game was up and Ned would have to wiggle out.
 Just before taking position Ned sent me to the enemy to say that since he didn't wish to kill his an | tagonist he would give him the choice between losing an eve or hay