there."

And he snatched up an iron hand bell, that might have served for a country
church or a steamboat, and rang it loudly.

Old Luke put in his gray head at the door.

"Saddle Jasper for Mr. Bayard, and bring him around to the door."

"Yes, sah! Yere's two ge'men axing for yer, Marse Le," said the old man.

"Two gentlemen? Who are they? Let them come in," said Le.

And, even as he spoke, two men entered the parlor, and, each laying a hand
on the shoulder of the youth, said:

"You are my prisoner! Yield quietly. It will be best."

CHAPTER XXXIII

THE ARREST

Leonidas Force and Roland Bayard indignantly threw off the detaining
hands, and stared haughtily at their captors.

"Take it easy, young gentlemen, and you shall be treated as such," said
old Tom Bowen, a grave, gray-haired, most respectable old man, an elder in
the church and county constable for many years.

"'Take it easy!' Take what easy? If it were not for your age and piety, I
should think you were drunk or crazy, Mr. Bowen! What is the meaning of
all this, anyhow?" demanded Leonidas.

"Oh, don't you see it's all a funny mistake, Force? They have waked up the
wrong passengers. They are after some other parties. The thieves that
stole Tom Grandiere's young horse, I reckon. But, great Neptune! do we
look like horse thieves? Say! Who are you wanting, anyhow, you blooming
boys?" demanded Roland, in all sincerity.

The two constables sat down, and "Old Bowen," as he was always called,
deliberately drew from his capacious pocket a formidable-looking document,
which he unfolded, saying:

"I hold here a warrant issued by Abel Force, Esq., of Mondreer, justice of
the peace for the county, commanding me to arrest and bring before him the
body of Leonidas Force, of Greenbushes, to answer the charge of a breach
of the peace by sending a challenge to fight a duel to one Col. Anglesea,
at present a resident of this county. You can take my warrant in your own
hands and read it with your own eyes, if you wish to do so, young
gentleman," said the mild, old officer, handing the verbose document to
which he so briefly referred to the midshipman.

Le took it mechanically, and stared at it without reading a line. He was
simply amazed at the event, and wondering with all his might how the
carefully guarded secret of his sending the challenge to the colonel at
the Calvert Hotel could have become known to Squire Force, at Mondreer.

Meanwhile, the old c