Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1916-09-07
He said nothing.

willing to hurt him a little. Slowly
and steadily and, 1 am ashamed to
say, with considerable satisfaction I
pressed the arm upward. The pain
must have been intense. I could feel
the mans body CULVER between my
knees and saw the sweat break out
afresh. Still he made no sign, but dug
his forehead into the floor. 81 can
stand this as long as you can" said 1
to myself grimly.
But at last | reached the point where
| knew that another inch, another
pound, would break the bone.
"Do you give up?" I demanded.
"No! he gasped cXplosively.
"Ill break your arm!' l snarled at
him.
he made no reply.
The blood was running into my eyes
from a small scrape on my forehead.
1t was nothing, but it annoyed me- I
was bruised and heated and mad Ev-
cry bit Of ~antagonism In me was
aroused. AS far as l was concerned, 1t
J was a very rea fight.
All A1Shl, L SloH1cu, IL hetp JOu
there then, - you!"
Holding the arm in the same posi-
ton, l settled myself. The pain to
the poor chap must have been some
thing fearful, for every muscle and
tendon was stretched to the cracking
point. His breath came and went In
sharp Kisses, but he gave no other
sign. My heat cooled, though, as 1
look back on it, far too slowly. Sud-
denly I arose and flung him from me.
He rolled over on his back and lay,
! his eyes half closed, breathing deeply.
We must have been q sweet sight, we
two young barbarians, myself marked
and swollen and bloody, he with one
eye pulled and pale as death. My
roommates, absolutely fascinated, did
not Stir.
The tableau lasted only the fraction
Of a minute, after all. Then abruptly
Talbot Ward sat up. He grinned up
at N with his characteristic mOmen-
tary flash Of teeth.
| said he.
l stared at him in establishment.
licked? Why, l had you coldv'
you had not"
I'D have broken your arm if I had
gone dny further"
"Well, why didn't your
stared into his eyes blankly.
would you have done it," I asked
in a sudden flash of illumination.
"Why, of course" said he, with a
faint contempt as he arose.
"NNhy did you hit me at first as you
did? You gave me no warning what
ever
do you get any warning in a real
fght?"
| could not cOntrovert this, and yet
uneasily, vaguely l felt there must be
a fallacy somewhere. l had been told
and not told what should or should
not be cone in an affair that appar-
emily could have no rules and yet
had distinctions as to fair and unfair,
some Of which were explained and
some left as obvious. 1 felt somewhat
confused. But often in my later ex
perience with Talbot Ward I felt just
that way, so in retrospect it does not
strike me SO forcibly as it did at that
time.
But you're a wonder. a perfect won
der"! Ward was saying.
Then we all became aware of q
knocking and a rafting at the door.
1t must have been going on for some
time.
"If o don't open I'll get the po-
llce.' l promise you. LII get the po-
lice the voice of our landlady was
saying.
We looked at each other aghast.
81 suppose we must have been max
ing q little noise," conceded Talbot
Ward. Noise! 1t must have sounded
as though the house were coming down.
Our ordinary little boxing matches
were nothing to it.
Ward threw his military cape around
his shoulders and sank back into a
seat beneath the window. I put on an
o%vercoat. One Of the boys let her in.
She "a thoroughly angry, and she
gave us all notice to go. She had done
that same every Saturday night for a
year. but we had always wheedled her
out of it. This time, however, she
seemed to mean business. 1 suppose
we had made a good deal of a racket.
When the fact became evident /, Of
course, shouldered the whole RESPONSE
bility. Thereupon she turned on me.
Unexpectedly Talbot Ward spoke up
from the obscurity Of his rne His
clear voice was incisive, but so courte-
Gus with the cold finality of the high
bred aristocrat that Mrs. Simpkins was
cut short in the middle Of a sentence.
II beg you, calm yourself, madam"
said be. 1T is not worth heating your
self over, for the annoyance, such as
1t is, will soon be removed. Mr.. Nun
roe and myself are shortly departing
together for California"
70 I'll -