Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-01-12

ins shocked by the act Had the ere
ole spoken the same to any Other Of
the men present there would have
been resentment. followed by duel
What would the weakIing dot
Van rromp seemed pIeased rather
than irritated Taking q glove RON
bis pocket be drew Il lightly across
the face of bis insuItef
This Is all wrong" exclaimed one
Of the virginians MT Van Fromp u
an invalid"
.Ientiemeu.". said Van rromp. RS
ing n have never approved OF the
method Of settling disputes more prev
alent In the south than with us In the
north. but I confess that It u Q boon
to me. / may not be able to stand up
against an enemy with rapier. but
need no strength to Dire pistol II !
Am CHALLENGED the choice Of weapons
rests with me. and ! shall choose the
latter. And. furthermore. propose to
kill my enemy"
There was q cold bloodedness In the
sneakers tone that impressed those
present and sent u chill to LIE Bout
Nothing more was said at the time.
the party breaking up. The sympa
thies were with vun Tromp because
be was an invalid, because he was
much liked and because the creoie's
assumption Of superiority Ind pre)u
diced them against MIN One OF the
young men offered to stand az van
Tromp's substitute In the affair. ont ne
declined the offer With thanks. e1-
pressing surprise that Il mad oeeD
made.
lie Bout saw at once that ne was In
an unfortunate position. he was com
PEELED to challenge Van Tronip. VINO
be knew bad the sympathies Ut the
others present and would. when the
affair became known. elicit the sympa'
thies Of the planters generally. On
consultation with Others ne was ad
vised to send Van 'Promp an apology
for the words spoken at the. tavern
BE did 80. and reply was returned
that the apology was not accepted
he then reluctantly sent challenge.
which Van Tromp placed IN the hands
of a friend with instructions to choose
the der-inger pistol used In dueis The
seconds arranged that the meeting
should take place IN secluded spot
the next morning. the second after the
insult
II was impossible to keep the meet
Ing secret. The afternoon previous to
the meeting a brother Of Eugenia said
to her:
aGene. Van Tromp Is to have .
chance to prove bis met1e. Hes going
to meet lie Bout tomorrow morning"
Eugenia turned pale.
"when and whereT she asked
eagerly.
sNobody knows. It's only known
that they're going to 6ght"
EuRenia said NO more. but sought the
cabin O. Sam, u negro. who ndored oer
and would have given his life FOR nef
She Instructed him to discover and let
her know the time aud place OF the
coming duel. Sam gained the informa'
don from the servants Of the prtnci'
pals, the negroes having lain In wait
for II at the keyhole.
The next dhy. when In the gray OF
the morning. two dueIist parties had
assembled. Eugenia rode up to the
ground. jumped from her horse and ad'
vanced to q point between them.
II am to blame for this" she SAID
1T must 60 no further"
The principals stood still and said
nothing.
One of the seconds. after an embar'
RAISING pause. asked lie Bout u ne
would withdraw his challenge
Certainly" he said. Anything the
lady commands
DO you permit the withdrawalr'
Van Tromp was asked
mo"
Eugenia looked at him reproachfuliy.
"Not for my snkeY
mo" was the arm reply. LET %
proceed"
Eugenio went to him. kneeled before
him and begged him to yield he was
obdurate until she assured him that
should blood Ike spilled II wonld be on
her account and II would wreck her HE.
Then he threw down his pistol ano
walked away.
But he never forgave bef for the one
little hit of feminine weakness that
had I'D bet to place him at enmity
with @ fellow bPlnG