great distance, and to this stillness it was owing that Donald and
his friend suddenly heard, soon after they had set out, the clashing of
swords, intermingled with occasional shouts, at a remote part of the
street they were traversing.

"What's tat?" exclaimed Donald, stopping abruptly, and cocking his ears
at the well-known sound of clashing steel. His companion, accustomed to
such occurrences, replied, with an air of indifference, that it was
merely some street brawl.

"It'll pe these tam vinekar drinkers again," said Donald, with a lively
recollection of the assault that had been made upon himself; "maybe some
poor shentleman's in distress. Let us go and see, my tear sir." To this
proposal, the muleteer, with a proper sense of the folly of throwing
himself in the way of mischief unnecessarily, would at first by no means
accede; but, on being urged by Donald, agreed to move on a little with
him towards the scene of conflict. This proceeding soon brought them
near enough to the combatants to perceive that Donald's random
conjecture had not been far wrong, by discovering to them one person,
who, with his back to the wall, was bravely defending himself against
no fewer than four assailants, all being armed with swords.

"Did not I tell you so!" exclaimed Donald, in great excitation, on
seeing how matters stood. "Noo, Maister Tozy Brozy, shoulder to
shoulder, my tear, and we'll assist this poor shentleman." Saying this,
Donald drew his claymore, and rushed headlong on to the rescue, calling
on Tozy Brozy to follow him; but Tozy Brozy's feelings and impulses
carried him in a totally different direction. Fearing that his friend's
interference in the squabble might have the effect of directing some of
the blows his way, he fairly took to his heels, leaving Donald to do by
himself what to himself seemed needful in the case. In the meantime, too
much engrossed by the duty before him to mind much whether his friend
followed him or not, Donald struck boldly in, in aid of the "shentleman
in distress," exclaiming, as he did so--

"Fair play, my tears! Fair play's a shewel everywhere, and I suppose
here too." And, saying this, with one thundering blow that fairly split
the skull of the unfortunate wight on whom it fell in twain, Donald
lessened the number of the combatants by one. The person to whose aid he
had thus so unexpectedly and opportunely come, seeing what an effectual
ally he had got, gave a shout of triumphant joy,