He was strongly appealed to,
and told that his position as a gentleman required it. So far all was
well. We adjourned to an upper room; the pistols were charged with
powder, and shots were exchanged between Harrison and myself, while the
eyeballs of young Jonathan seemed ready to start from their sockets. But
no sooner were the shots fired than an undue advantage was instantly
alleged, which involved the responsibility of my antagonist's friend;
and thus the poor fellow, who had himself been inveigled in a scrape,
was peppered with powder, in a second exchange of shots, while all but
himself were ready to die with smothered laughter; and he was at last
glad to escape from the house with his life, and made the best of his
way back to his ark.
This settle, in front of the door, was a capital point to perpetrate
tricks on the constantly arriving throngs from the East, who, with
characteristic enterprise, often stopped to inquire for employment. A
few days after the sham duel, Harrison determined to play a trick on
another emigrant, a shrewd, tolerably well-informed young man, who had
evinced a great deal of self-complacency and immodest pertinacity.
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