The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-12-29
A FIGHT IN
THE CLOUDS
By r, A. mitchell

for tourists TO make short trips visit
Ing Swiss places OF interest. Perhaps
the most interesting of all these trips
Is to take train Mt lnterlaken fol
Grindelwald. thence up the steep sid,
Of mountain to Scheidegg
When | made this trip the railway
from Scheidegg TO the top of the Jung
frau was just begun. In the car as
cending from Grindelwald was young
American with two guides who was
intending to ascend the Jungfrau from
Scheidegg. He was quiet, inof.
fensive fellow, but the fact that he
carried an Ice ak indicated that he was
a climber. A Frenchman with wax
| ed mustache and goatee proportions
ately small seemed disposed to guy him.
/ Webster, the American, kept his tenn
per, but. being quicker at repartee, got
the better of him and set the car
laughing at him. This made the
| Frenchman. whose name was Du
Pierre, angry. and he insulted Webster
Since they were sitting opposite each
other Webster reached forth his hand
and slapped the others cheek.
Every one expected fight, but since
we were climbing at an angle of some
thing like forty degrees no one relished
the prospect of having one. We could
not blame Webster for resenting an
insult at the moment rather than hav.
ing 1t pass into something more seri-
Gus. Nevertheless. the affair did pass
into something more serious. The
Frenchman, handing Webster his card,
said:
This is no place for an alteration"
or course that meant challenge.
but when or where the end of the az.
fair would be reached no one knew.
and few cared When we reached
Scheidegg /, being fellow countryman
of Webster's. be called upon me, ask
ing me to go TO Du Pierre and make
an effort to settle the matter Before
doing so learned from man who had
witnessed the fracas In the car that
the Frenchman was celebrated Paris
duelist | bad therefore very little
hope of securing an adjustment, and
that hope was extinguished as soon as
/ met the Frenchman's representative
He informed me that such an insult
as he had received unavenged would
ruin his reputation at home. He could
not afford even TO accept an apology.
Webster turned out to be a sheep
raiser in the heart OF the Rocky noun
tains and used to high attitudes. He
me to accept Du Pierre's chal
lenge. BY the code Webster was en-.
titled to the choice Of weapons and the |
terms of the fight He directed me TO |
make the following provisions: One of |
the road a mile down toward Lauter-
brunncn. the other remaining at Schei |
degg Each was TO be armed with re.
volver, two chambers loaded. At an
appointed hour they were TO advance
aud begin firing whenever they chose
TO do so. The road leaving Scheidegg
Is not at first steep, and 1t made little
Inference which OF the two won the
Scheidegg end
On Pierre, who supposed he would
ight under terms TO which he had been
was indignant at such an
but since | assured him
hat Webster would only fight him on
he terms offered be was obliged either
. 90 back TO Paris having had his face
Tapped without having wiped out the
insult or accept the situation. Il
The matter was kept perfectly quiet
chose who bad witnessed the fracas I
D the car were tourists and scattered I
q all directions, Consequently when I
ne went out the next morning as the
IN was casting its first beams on the
urrounding peaks there was no one
resent except the principals. their sec
nds and a surgeon who was stopping
( one OF the hotels Du Pierre won
be toss and chose 10 move out from I
cheidegg. Two shots were given each +,
ian. and Webster and went down
le incline for mile. waiting there g
lr the time for the duelists TO start
started BIN on the minute. ard he
ivanced s'owlY up the road The
70 men could see each other for near
the whole distance when they
ere a quarter OF a mile apart the
renchman. halting, took deliberate
m ard fred The ball f'll on the =
ad sUune distance from the American. "a
now saw the meaning Of webster's :
cites Having lived IN a mountain. q
is country. be realized how much y
'arer objects appeared through the 4
: than they were Du Pierre bad
opposed be had his enemy within
nee when be was not I could see
al be was surprised that his shot had 4,
Z taken eject. but doubt II he ~
.ew the rcasOn
now had two shots 70 his !.
emy's one. but showed no sigs Of J.
Ing They continued 60 advance Tor y
rhaus 3 hundred feet when Webster q
1denly raised bis weapon. IN Pierre z
once raised be snd frei Web
2 lowered bis pistol a spent ball
uck bim In the iee. bot cd 10 70 .
ne damage
his euded TIRE fghf- for the French :.
ID had use1 both hls shots. while tire =
1erfcou had Hsed neither - be nnd .
latter had 10 infeutfoa - shooting
uuarrnad enemy Iuues-i. - hsd :
rreh ere aHair 10 resHlf exactly ~
aHd rnenlfrd Handing ne uearon .
ne b. u1Itfd % the ruad Hftgd his
- 49, - r. Fass.e-r ga ~a~m