Between Snow and Fire — page 240: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“1 Shae te) te eee ao ore © he 3 the bystanders, a lot of rowdy hobbledehoys and a contin- gent of town loafers whom the prospect of an easy going, devil-may-care life in the ve/dt had drawn from the more | sober avocations of bricklaying and waggon-building within the Colony, and who, it may be added, distinguished them- selves at the seat of hostilities by sucha line of drunken . ™utinous insubordination as rendered them an occasion of perennial detestation and disgust to their respective commanders. ‘These now closed up around their bullying, swashbucklering champion, relieving their ardently martial spirits by hooting and cat’scalls. It was only one man . against acrowd. ‘They felt perfectly safe. “Who sold his mate to the blanked niggers!” they yelled. “ Ought to be tarred and feathered. Come on, boys ; let’s doit. Who’s for tarring and feathering the Kafir spy ?’ All cordially welcomed this spicy proposal, but curiously enough, no one appeared anxious to bégin, for they still kept some paces behind the original aggressor, That worthy, however, seemed to have plenty of fight in him, for he advanced upon Eustace unhesitatingly. “Come now. Are you going to clear?” he shouted, “You're not? Allright. I'llsoon make you.” A stirrup-iron, wielded by a clever hand, is a terribly formidable weapon. Backing his horse a pace or two Eustace wrenched loose his stirrup. Quick as lightning, it whirled in the air, and as his assailant sprang wildly at him down it came. The aggressive bully went to earth like a felled ox. “ Any more takers for the tar-and-feather line of busi- ness ?”’ said Eustace quietly, but with the light of battle in his eyes. The insulting jeers and the hooting still continued. But no one advanced, Noone seemed anxious to tackle that particularly resolute looking horseman, “ Get out of this, you cowardly skunks !”’ sung out a voice behind him, which voice proceeded from another horseman, who had ridden up unseen during the éeute. “Twenty to - one! Faugh! For two pins we’ll sjambok the lot of you.” “ Hallo, Errington! Where have you dropped from? Thought you were away down in the Colony,” said Eustace, turning to the new arrival, a fine soldierly looking man of about his own age, In whom he recognized a former Field- . a 7 Gomicbooks)..com