etails of his
plan from beginning to end, and at the close the young man, who had
apparently been asleep, remarked in a thin, smooth voice, "Won't it be a
fine day for a parade!"

His eyes remained closed; he had not even taken the pipe out of his
mouth. There was a silence of many long seconds. But the weasly looking
man made no movement, nor did he add anything to his remark. Evidently,
he had no more to say.

"Buck is right," said the Chief.

"What does he mean?" Mr. Sanders inquired.

"Why, he means that it will be a fine day for a general turn-out of the
department," replied the Chief.

Mr. Sanders reflected a moment, and then made one of his characteristic
comments. "Be jigged ef he ain't saved my life!"

"Captain Sanford, this is Mr. Sanders, of Shady Dale," said the Chief,
by way of introducing the two men. Both rose, and Mr. Sanders found
himself looking into the eyes of one of the most interesting characters
that Georgia ever produced. Captain Buck Sanford was one of the last of
the knights-errant, the self-constituted champion of all women, old or
young, good or bad. He said of himself, with some drollery, that he was
one of the scavengers of society, and he declared that the job was
important enough to command a good salary.

No man in his hearing ever used the name of a woman too freely without
answering for it; and it made no difference whether the woman was rich
or poor, good or bad. Otherwise he was the friendliest and simplest of
men, as modest as a woman, and entirely unobtrusive. His duel with
Colonel Conrad Asbury, one of the most sensational events in the annals
of duelling, owing to the fact that the weapons were shot-guns at ten
paces, was the result of a remark the Colonel had made about a lady whom
Sanford had never seen. But so far as the general public knew, it grew
out of the fact that the Colonel had spilled some water on Sanford's
pantaloons.

"Well, sir," said Mr. Sanders, "I've heard tell of you many a time, an'
I'm right down glad to see you."

"You haven't heard much good of me, I reckon," Captain Sanford remarked.

"Yes; not so very long ago I heard a fine old lady say that if they was
more Buck Sanfords, the wimmen would be better off."

A faint colour came into the face of the duellist. "Is that so?" he
asked with some eagerness.

"It's jest like I tell you, an' the lady was Lucy Lumsden, the
grandmother of this chap that we're tryin' to git out'n trouble."

"I wonde