Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1917-02-23
The Vengeance Of a
Woman Sconed

III w OAAAiAAA h<SSAAASNA
By F, a. Mitchell
one day good many years ago John
Dale, a Massachusetts Yankee, went
10 Louisiana to buy sugar for n north
ern llrm lie met there creole girl,
Louise Ia Marchc, who, not being
especially attractive ANA there being
few marlagcable men In that region,
laid siege to him with n view to marry.
ing him, Dale did not reciprOcate
Louise persisted, ANA when she found
that nothing would move the llnty
hearted Yankee she appealed to her
brother, Antoine, telling him that Dale
had made love TO her ana then Tilted
her
Now, Antoine aud his sister, who
was older than he, did not get on very
well together, ana he wished that she
would handle her love affairs without
troubling him in the matter But when
a woman makes up her mind TO utilize
man he may rs well come down at
once, Hike Davy Crockctt's coon, An
tome was weak enough to be calocd
into taking mp his sisters cause, and
she laid down for him a plan for do
ing 50.
These Yankees" she said to him,
are not lighting men at all, They are
shopkccpcrs and pumpkin raisers. The
way 10 impress John Dale with the
cnormity Of his treatment Of me Is to
insult him, He will he Obliged either
10 challenge YOU TO fight him or do
Justice to me-
Antoine held out rs long MS possible
against this method of procedure and
al last yielded, lie waited till he found
Dale on n street in the village where
the La Marchc family lived and going
mp to him, slapped him In the face,
But the affair did not turn out as eX-
pccted. The Yankee contented himself
with returning the slap.
That would have ended the matter
had not Louise been behind it. She
told her brother that he must chal-
lcnge Dale or he would he cut by all
his acQuaintanccS. Antoine, who was
not fighter even if he was south
crncG refused, whcrcupon Louise per
Suadcd several of her friends to treat
him snccrnsly, and he at last yielded
under duresS and sent the challenge.
What was her surprise and conStcr-
nation to find that Dale accepted the
challenge but as the challenged party
named the conditions under which the
contest was to take place He chose
pistols in dark room.
1t is hard lines for a man to be
obliged to risk his life in a cause IN
which he takes no interest, Antoine
looked with horror ON being shut up In
Il dark room with Il man who was
there to kill him.
Had Antoine not been propped up by
his sister, who by this time, consider
ing herself Il woman SCOrned, desired
vengeance, he would have collapsed
under the appalling situation But
Louise shamcd him into standing up
to his work, and he permitted the ar
rangcments to he made for the meet
inS.
There was a vacant house in the
place with two large rooms on each
side Of a hall on the second story. 1t
was agreed that the duel should take
place in one Of these suits Both
rooms possessed large open lircplaceS.
In order that no light should pcrmeatc
them, the affair was appointed to come
off at 10 o'clock at night.
Now, Dale had no more heart for the
affair than his opponent. Had the mat
ter concerned the woman alone who
was at the bottom of it he would have
fed ingloriously, But he could not
bring himself to flee from male en-
envy. He accepted the situation, re-
solved that he would not kill Antoine
if he could help it and if either should
die it would be himself
At 10 o'clock the duclists were
placed, one in the front room and one
in the rear room. AS soon as they
heard the doors closed and the bolts
shot they were at liberty to fire.
Dale trusted to his ears, which were
very keen, to let him know where his
enemy was, and, hearing Il sound as
Of one walking on tiptoc, he listened
to it and after awhile fancicd that his
enemy was in the same room with him.
Dale at once slipped into the other
room, where he stood stock still for
some time, when he began to move
around the wall, feeling his way as he
went Presently he struck the fire
place,
BY this time some twenty minutes
had elapsed. with no prospect of an
ending Of the affair. 1t had been ar
ranged that the seconds should not
come into the room until after hearing
one shot. If after five minutes they
did not hear a second shot they should
enter 1t occurred to Dale that by fir
ing up the chimney he would not risk
killing his enemy and it would prepare
the way for an end to the contest.
ThruSting his arm into the fireplace,