The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-01-15

Win bTance. V01S A00 the 1act t00t
he vas absorbed In himself anta9onis-
ed him against Van lromp. and the
latter's delicate physical condition In.
duced lie Bout to treat him as one On
worthy OF any consideration except the
most formal p0liteness.
The two men might We existed In
the same sociai circle indefinitely a
not LIE Bout been charmed BY Eugenia
F1tz- herbert. As soOn as he began to
pay her noticeab le attention she saw
that the fact troubled Van rromp.
To analyze u woman's reasons for an
act IL usually i hopeless task Eu
genia gave LIE Bout some slight en-
enlargement. Why she did 30 no One
could tell. Some thought 1t an ordinary
desire to pique him With q view to
assure herself that she held him In
thraI. Some thought that she mao
been c%aptivated with that aggressive
air Of superiority which the creole H.
sumed over . of those with whom
he came In contact. The went proved.
that she was Influenced by neither OF
these.
When q mar loves q woman and an
other man tntrudes himself between
him and her. unless she makes q quick
decision between the two. there Il Tia
bic to be trouble between the men
Eugenia, while she did not change In
her treatment of Van rromp. gave L.
Bout just enough encouragement to
cause him to think he might win her
The blood between the rivals grew not
ter apace. and it was not long before.
one evening while the young men OF
the neighborhoOd were regaIing them
selves at the tavern. LIE Bout spoke
contemptuously to Van rrOmp instant
~ all conversation ceased. the party be
ing shocked by the act Had the ere,
ole spoken the same to any other OF
the men present there would have
been resentment. followed Oy = duel
What would the weakling dor
Van Tromp seemed pleased rather
than irritated Taking a glove from
his pocket, he drew 1t tightly across
the face of his insulter.
This is all wrong" exclaimed one
of the Virgtnians. "Mr Van Tromp Is
an invalid.
"GentIemen." said Van Tromp. ris-
ing. Il have never approved Of the
method of settling disputes more prev
alent in the south than with Us in the
north, but | confess that it is q boon
to me. | may not be able to stand up
against an enemy with q rapier. but l
need no strength to fire a pistol II !
am challenged the choice of weapons
rests With me. and | shall choose the
latter. And. furthermore. l propose 70
kill my enemy"
There was a cold b~loodedness In the
speakers tone that impressed those
present and sent a chill to lie Bout
Nothing more was said at the time.
the party breaking up. The sympa
thies were with Van Tromp because
he was an invalid. because he was
much liked and because the creoie's
assumption Of superiority had preju.
diced them against him. One OF the
young men offered to stand as Van
Tromp's substitute ip the affair. but he
declined the offer with thanks. ex-
pressing surprise that It had been
made
lie Bout ga at once that he was IN
an unfortunate position. Re was com
PEELED to challenge Van Tromp. who
he knew had the sympathies Of the
others present and would. when the
affair became known. elicit the sympa-
thies of the planters generally. On
consultation with others he was ad.
vised to send Van Tromp IN apology
for the words spoken at the tavern
he did 50. and a reply was returned
that the. apology was not accepted.
he then reluctantly sen q challenge.
which Van Tromp placed in the hands
of q friend with instructions to choose
the derringer pistol used in duels. The
seconds arranged that the meeting
should take place in a secluded spot
the next morning. the second after the
Insult
It was impossible to keep the meet
ing q secret The afternoon previous to
the meeting a brother Of Eugenia said
to her:
"Gene. Van Tromp IL to have q
chance to prove his mettle. ae's going
to meet LIE Bout tomorrow morning."
Eugenia turned pale.
when and whereT' she asked
eagerly.
Nobody knows. lts only known
that they're going to light"
Eugenia said no m0re, but sought the
cabin of Sam. q negro. who adored her
and would have given his life for her
i She instructed him to discover and let
her know the time and place Of the
coming duel. Sam gained the tnforma.
ton from the servants Of the princt-
pals. the negroes having lain In wait
for 1t at the keyhole.
The next day. when. In the gray OF
the morning. two duelist parties had
assembled. Eugenia rode up to the
ground, jumped from her horse and ad.
vanced to a point between them.
Il am to blame for this" she said.
1T must go no further"
MI ~ --A2