in me for vengeance. I saw the blood bathing
the torn ear of my antagonist. It looked beautiful. I was no longer
afraid of anything. Yelling my uncle's name I came on ... I beat the
knife out of the other's hand and bloodied his knuckles with the next
blow. I beat him down with rapid blows, threshing at him, shouting and
yelling exultantly.

The other men thought me gone crazy. I had, for the time, gone crazy.
The fellow lay at my feet, inert. I stopped for the moment.

In that moment the gang began to close in on me, half frightened
themselves. I threatened them back.

"By hell, I've had enough of bullying," I shouted wildly; "I'm not
afraid of anything or anybody any more ... if there's anyone else here
that wants a taste of this pipe, let them step up."

"We ain't a-tryin' to fight you-all," called out the big negro who was
in for rape, "we jest don' want you to kill him an' git hung foh
murduh."

At the word "murder" I stepped quickly back.

"Well, don't let him come bothering me or my pal for a fight any more
when we've done nothing to him."

"Don' worry, he won't no moh!" assured the fiddler....

I threw down the lead pipe. It had seemed to me that all the while it
was my Uncle Landon who had received the blows.

The rough-neck farmer was in bad shape; he was bloodied all over like a
stuck pig. The mulatto girl on the outside had for the last five minutes
been occupied in calling out of the window for help. She managed to
attract the attention of a passerby-by.

"What's the matter?" was called up to her....

"The jailer ain't downstairs ... an' de boys is killin' each other up
heah!"

* * * * *

By the time the angry-faced sheriff came with his son, the jailer, and a
couple of doctors, we had quieted down.

Bud and the farmer were taken out; by the side of each a pail of water
was placed ... they were seated on stools, stripped to the waist. The
surgeons dressed their wounds as if on a battlefield. "Jack" needed ten
stitches in his scalp.... Bud had four knife wounds that demanded sewing
up. Both the boys went pale like ghosts and spewed their bellies empty
from weakness and loss of blood....

"Mind you, you chaps in there have raised 'bout enough hell ... ef I
hear o' any more trouble, I'll take you all out one by one an' treat
each one o' you-all to a good cowhidin', law or no law!"

* * * * *

I was let alone after that. My cowa