Whether it was the noise of the crows, or the sound of Josiah's cudgel on the log of wood, or a sudden impulse of female curiosity to see who the strangers were, the door was opened from the inside just at that moment, and a female head peeped out, and as suddenly Josiah sprang at the door, pushing it wide open, and asked as deliberately as he could under the circumstances, "ef the lady wanted to buy a hoss?"
"A hoss!" said the woman, taken quite by surprise; "no,--how ded 'ee think so?"
"Why, the crows are getten' fat upon the hoss you lost last week, and so I thoft you'd be wanten' another," replied Josiah, with the greatest coolness.
"Oh! that wasn't ours," said the woman, taken off her guard by the coolness of Josiah,--"that belonged to a young gentleman that----"
"Hold your jaw and bar the door, and be d----d to you!" exclaimed a man, coming out of the house in a rage.
"This looks suspicious and businesslike," said Lieut. Fowler, as he rushed into the garden after Josiah, followed by their two companions. The woman had disappeared at the first rush, but they were met midway between the door of the house and the outer door of the garden, by a rough, strong-built man, who seemed half sailor and half miner by his dress.
"What the devil do you want here?" said he, addressing Lieut. Fowler, who was now the foremost of the party. "I'm d----d if I don't see light through you in about two twos." And he drew a pistol from a side-pocket, and presented it at the lieutenant's breast.
"Two can play at that game," exclaimed Fowler, drawing a pistol from his breast-pocket.
"And three!" cried Mr. Morley, drawing his pistol also.
"Now, I'll tell 'ee, soas," said Capt. Trenow, putting his cudgel very coolly between the parties, and addressing the stranger on whom they had intruded,--"'tes like as this here, you knaw; two to one es brave odds,--the one might be killed--sure to be, I s'pose. Ef you've got any more of your sort inside, comrade, bring them out and then we'll fight fe-ar; or, ef you haan't got no backers for to fight, why lev es have a croom o' chat. Now, I've done, soas; spaik the next who will. As for fighten, I can stand a bra' tussle; but as for spaiken, I arn't wuth much."