The Washington times., 1913-04-30

= 1T We're well,' said young Ayskew
that We should seek him out and cnal
lenge him., one after. another. we thai
| We're Basifs friends
I'm that case, Bah" said Borlase, anS
| again took up the lutte, and. with a face
of malice, struck the chords Of the do
Iorous Hanging Tune" there were
like to be five households clad tr
Thereat Musgrave clamored. ever
notsier than his wont, in the sequel OF
, six cups or SO, to- know II Ned Borlast
| thought foreign cullion could better
| five stout English gentlemen. and wa;
| not quieted until Erisey. in the inter
ests of peace. called for more sack. and
would have them drink round again.
While the central table was thus con-
genially employed. a silence fell. for a
| moment, in the common room. Into
that silence dropped hesitant voice:
"A crown piece have / laid down.
| Thou wilt be pleased to give me three
| shilling and ninepence.
The gentlemen at a table, ever keen
for sport, shifted in their places in order
to view what promised to be quarrel
They saw that the murrey-colored
| elders had vanished from the hearth
side and that 1t was the lad in leather
who stood at the bar, face to face with
the pert drawer. whose very attitude
| was insolence.
With little turn of speech that was
! not so much accent as the painstaking
effort to avoid accent, he repeated his
| statement:
"A crown piece have I laid down.
| Thou wilt give me three and nine
/, pence"
He was a slender youngster, so slen-
der that he seemed shorter and smaller
than perhaps he was.
From heel to head he was all brown
brown leather boots. strapped faulty be-
a Ivnx
thigh; close brown breeches. brown
doublet. somewhat travel-stained, with
sleeveless jerkin Of brown leather
laced across II; brown hat Of felt, with
a brown plume. and beneath the hat
the close-cut hair was brown, and so
was the smooth young face.
So young and travei-worn and tired
did he look, SO altogether alien to their
own staggering, vdricolored world, that
the men at table grinned; whereat. the
drawer. eyeing them across the brown
iads shoulder, waxed strong In inso-
lence:
Twas a half-crown you gave me,
master he spoke, fieerfngly.,
"A crown piece have l laid down.
The hesitant voice was more gentle
afraid. and. noting that, Walter Mus
grove was inspired of sack and the
tence:
Thou wilt be pleased to give me
III rec and ninepence."
Young Ayskew cackled with laughter
Erisey broadly was agr1n.
All, let the child alonei" said Trevor
with insolent good nature.
The lad In brown turned toward them
young face, wherein Wat Musgrove
saw only the rounded chin and the
troubled mouth. and scented further
sport. but Borlase noted that the eyes
beneath the brown felt were narrowed
to brown Sits, and he had a comforta-
BILE notion that haply here was sport
have.
Slowly. almost shyIy. the brown youth
crossed the room and halted by the
drinkers.
~You-were pleased-to mock me.
sir?" He picked the words with labor,
but he aimed them unerringly at Wal
ter Musgrove.
Musgrove, asprawi on a form. with
his broad shoulders in the red velvet
doublet lolled against the table. laughed
in his face.
.! vas pleased so to do" he said
with relish. For he verify believed that
the young fool meant to show fight-to |
fight him, Roaring Wat Musgrove-and |
had seldom known since. as a lad at
school, he had broken fags nose with |
a bootheel.
The lad in brown shifted his left hand |
toward his sword with a twitching |
movement that might-or might not
betoken dire nervousness.
He moistened his lips, that fairly |
quivered. Others than Musgrove would |
have sworn that next moment he might |
burst into tears.
"You-do not-understand me-" He |
hesitated out the words. and then. with
the swiftness of daring snake. he |
swept a cup of sack from the table into
his right hand and dashed the liquor
o, f,ntn NEnf r,,t,,
face
''Verstehst du das, du, unrevschaem-
ter lump?''
No hesitancy in those words. at least,
nor was their intent of insult dubious. I
Wat Musgrove leaped. half-blinded, .
to his feet. but Erisey held him back !
In his headlong rush.
Ayskew has kicked over his stool in 1
his urspring. while Trevor had taken !
post by the door to intercept the draw |
to below for the watch. Only Borlass
kept his place and, as was his custom.
watched the game.
You'll fight ME for this. my brave
srrfngal." Musgrove sputtered. as he
wiped the wasted liquor from his eyes.
''Gt wise:' said the brown youth.
At that moment the conviction came
TO the observant Borlase that there was
no question of a boy to bait.
This was a man of that deceptive
slim compartness and self-color that
might match with any age from fifteen
TO fifty. AS matter of fact. this man
looked about five-and-twenty, now that
i3orlase eyed him closely He stood
some five inches under two yards. but
no seemed of the slender hardness of
steel
Bracing the rounded. boyish chin. the
hat jaw was like iron. The mouth
small only because the lips
we're firm and thin. The face was not
DparlleSs but clean-snayen-a vastly |
lifferent ma tier.
The intense hand upon the sword
Iilt was the strong. alert hand of the
1racticed swordsman and the deep-set
Irown eyes that rested on Roaring Wat
fusgrove had I'm them a CLINT of some
h'Tg disconcertingly akin TO the con-
ernpt that kills and goes its way.
''Tomorrow-davbre stornnd Mus
,rove. the unobsefvant, land with
words. Ny friends shall bring ye