bad as Sumner was, Benson
was a thousand times worse."

"I can't stand this," exclaimed he. "Where is Frank Sumner?" Sumner was
not visible. "Ashburner, will you stand by me if there's a row?"

By this time the ball was breaking up, and Benson, on going back to look
for his party, found that Mrs. B., like a true watering-place _belle_,
had gone off without waiting for him. This was exactly what he wanted.
Keeping his eye on Hunter, he followed him out to the head of the
staircase, where he had just been bidding good night to some ladies. No
one was in sight but Ashburner, who happened to be standing just outside
the door-way. The fat man nodded to Harry as if they had been the best
friends in the world.

"Curse his impudence!" exclaimed Benson, now fairly boiling over.
"Holloa, you Hunter! did you know you were an infernal scoundrel?
Because you are."

"What for?" quoth the individual in question, half sobered and half
disconcerted by this unceremonious address.

"And a contemptible blackguard," continued Benson, following up his
verbal attack.

"You're another," retorted Hunter.

Ashburner wondered if the two men were going to stand slanging each
other all night.

"I ought to have pulled your nose three years ago, and now take that!"
and Benson, who had been working at his glove ever since the parley
began, twitched it off and slapped Hunter in the face with it.

When an Irishman sees two people fighting, or going to fight, his
natural impulse is to urge them on. A Scotchman or an American tries to
part them. A Frenchman runs after the armed force. An Englishman does
nothing but look quietly on, unless one side meets with foul play. Thus
it was with Ashburner in the present instance. He took Benson's request
"to stand by him in case of a row," _au pied de la lettre_. He stood by
him, and that was all.

As soon as Hunter felt the glove in his face he struck out at Benson,
who stopped the blow very neatly, and seemed about to return it with a
left-hander; then suddenly changing his style of attack, he rushed
within the other's guard, and catching him by the throat with both
hands, did his best to strangle him. Hunter, unable to call for help or
to loosen the throttling grasp of his assailant, threw himself bodily
upon him. As he was about twice Benson's size and weight, the experiment
succeeded. Harry was thrown off his feet and precipitated against the
banisters, which being of slight material, gave way lik