The daily sentinel., 1910-05-10
AGood Buffer
BY c B. BURGESS
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.
BY c B. BURGESS

The best buffer / ever knew was
Ned Thornton of Chicago One win
ter Ned and ! met in Berlin and went
together TO students ball. While
Ned was dancing with a very pretty
fraulein a young fellow who evidently
had claim upon her came up to him
and said:
Il will pigstick you"
That's the way they have over there
of ts'ling man that he's got to fight
Ned turned upon him 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 TO Ned and
hanAsd him a card on which was en-
gravs1 Lieutenant Ernst Won Batter
stein"
Nod, understanding that the officer
addressed him as bearer of a chal-
lense. whipped out his own card, on
which he had serawled, Instructor OF
Fencing, No Dearborn Street. Chi
cago, U. S. A."
You see. Ned had known very well
what was coming and with his usual
quick foresight had prepared his first
move. With magnificent sweep OF
his arm he referred the lieutenant to
me, and ! agreed to meet the gentle
man at cafe in the Inter den Linden
in half an hour.
Ned" | protested as soon as we
were alone. you can't blufr one OF
these young Germans with so palpable
a device as that. My opinion is that
we'd better jump the town. You
know well enough you've never han
died a foil in your life, and at shoot.
ing you couldn't hit ten story build,
ing at ten PAGES. We don't duel any
In America, and it's no disgrace 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
1t than that DO you know what Gen
eral Grant said when going to attack
his first enemy? He said that the 9th
er fellow was probably as much scared
as he was, and so he went on. Well.
I've put Mt least the probability into
this young mans head that I'm an eX-
pert, aud 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"
] met Won Batterstein and to help
Ned on in his game assumed conf
dent air. said us little as possible.
for when a man is playing a desperate
game It's best TO let him do 1t all him
self. The slightest interference with
Ned In this instance might cost him
his life. When the lieutenant asked
what weapons my friend as the chal-
lenged party would choose simply
replied, ''Folls, of courser' and as to
other details left them entirely to
him. except that the affair should be
settled at once, as my man bad an en-
gagement in Paris with pupil who
needed bis services In an affair Of the
same sort
battered myself that this was keep
ing mp the Instructor in fencing H.
fusion pretty we'll, II the principal on
the other side had been an officer i'll
the army the pretense couldn't be re-
lied ON. for soldier can't very well
back out from sure death, But the
would be pigsticker was civilian
and that wasn't so bad. The officer
didn't appear In the least frightened,
but he was not the man who would
have to meet fencing master
II was arranged. In order that Ned
should meet his engagement in Paris.
that we should be At rendezvous
where such affairs are settled at q
O'Clock the same morning went
back and reported the outcome TO Ned
What are you going to dos" ! asked
You're certainly not going to let this
fellow run a sword through your vi
,als''
oh. I'll keep up the bIuff till the
last minute, and IL the thing goes
against me IN find pretext to slide
out with honor"
AT $50 we took a carriage aud drove
TO the rendezvous. had left the pro
curement of the weapons to the enemy,
saying thar my principal could fence
as well with a cutlass as a foil and
would rely on them for weapops
When we got op the ground the pig
sticker was looking over a stock of
foils aud testing them. evidently think
ing thnt If he was to meet fencing
master who didn't care whether he
used foil or a cutlass he must be
carefully armed. 1t looked TO me that
the blur game was up and Ned would
have TO wiggle out
Just before taking position Ned sent
me 10 the enemy TO say that since he
didn't wish to kill his antagonist he
would give him the choice between
losing an eye or having his nose cut
OFF. WAS TO bring back word which
of thass tAa t,f,yti.t-ar nrafar-oJ 90