d--the fresh thing! You see he wanted to make my husband
start something again, this Mr. Cory did, and he was fixed for it."

"I don't understand," said Ariel.

"It's this way: if Mr. Fear attacted Mr. Cory, why, Mr. Cory could
shoot him down and claim self-defence. You see, it would be easy for
Mr. Cory, because Mr Fear nearly killed him when they had their first
trouble, and that would give Mr. Cory a good excuse to shoot if Mr.
Fear jest only pushed him. That's the way it is with the law. Mr.
Cory could wipe out their old score and git off scot-free."

"Surely not!"

"Yes, ma'am, that's the way it would be. And when Mike told me that
Mr. Cory had got me out there jest to provoke my husband I went
straight up to him and begun to give him a piece of my mind. I didn't
talk loud, because I never was one to make a disturbance and start
trouble the way SOME do; and right while I was talkin' we both see my
husband pass the window. Mr. Cory give a kind of yelling laugh and put
his arm round me jest as Mr. Fear come in the door. And then it all
happened so quick that you could hardly tell what WAS goin' on. Mr.
Fear, we found afterwards, had promised Mr. Louden that he wouldn't
come out there, but he took too much--you could see that by the look of
him--and fergot his promise; fergot everything but me and Cory, I guess.

"He come right up to us, where I was tryin' to git away from Cory's
arm--it was the left one he had around me, and the other behind his
back--and neither of 'em said a word. Cory kept on laughin' loud as he
could, and Mr. Fear struck him in the mouth. He's little, but he can
hit awful hard, and Mr. Cory let out a screech, and I see his gun go
off--right in Mr. Fear's face, I thought, but it wasn't; it only
scorched him. Most of the other gen'lemen had run, but Mike made a
dive and managed to knock the gun to one side, jest barely in time.
Then Mike and three or four others that come out from behind things
separated 'em--both of 'em fightin' to git at each other. They locked
Mr. Cory up in Mike's room, and took Mr. Fear over to where they hitch
the horses. Then Mike sent fer Mr. Louden to come out to talk to my
husband and take care of him--he's the only one can do anything with
him when he's like that--but before Mr. Louden could git there, Mr.
Fear broke loose and run through a corn-field and got away; at least
they couldn't find him. And Mr. Cory jumped through a window and slid
down into