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Show H9 ji j 77? 2)ae, Transplanted., iBH i4S I' Rixey started the trouble. He always did take 1 I ' delight in making tolk angry, so when he met I j Otto Ititzenmeier, the delicatessen dealer, in the 1 Chambers street cafe, he hold Ritzenmeier that J Adolf Kelterman, the Clinton street cigarmaker, J had slandered Ritzenmeier by casting reflections mb ,f on the delicatessen man's dog Bippo. B ri "He said a whole lot of things as well to a Bfl I j crowd in Anarchy hall Wednesday night," assert- H ," H ed Rixey. H ! i "Vhen I vould be dere," said Ritzenmeier, "I fl 'hi vould knock him so quick down he don't know Bw j I j vhere he is standing." HB i -1 f So, on the following night, when Rixey met B j j the cigarmaker, he told him that Ritzenmeier R , f intended to punch him the flrst time they met. BS ' j . H I "He can go in hell. Vhat I care?" remarked Bfl ' .- s Kelterman.' "He vouldn't dare come around vhen H i",; k Iam here." HS U ! Somehow that night a story spread through HB j ; : f the East Side that the delicatessen man and the flfl iPl cigarmaker were ready to fight a duel. Rixey R 'U j managed to get Ritzenmeier into the barroom of B d Anarchy hall in Fifth street. Then others brought H Jw j Kelterman around by telling him that the proprl- H j I etor needed a few boxes of cigars. "When Kelter- H ! i man entered the place Rixey told him he had. flfl ly I better get away quick, because the delicatessen BB ijl !' man was around looking for a fight. Bj I'm "He couldn't scare mo mit a shooting gun," Hi Iff ' remarked Kelterman. BB 5 t Rixey went over to Ritzenmeier and remarked B Li , that Kelterman was there ready to fight. Hj j ' "Vhy don't you start?" asked Ritzenmeier, B el approaching the cigarmaker. HB Li 1 "Vhy don't you?" said Kelterman. Then it !' i' x I went on: j Ritzenmeier "Veil?" Kelterman "Veil?" L Ritzenmeier "Vhat's der matter mit you?" I Kelterman "Vhat's der matter mit you?" I "I show you!" H jjl'f ; "Yes?" Bi JH - "Yes" B i jj "Vhy don't you commence?" H 'i "Vhy don't you?" H .U Then each man reached to his pistol pocket. B fb ' The crowd moved closer. Kelterman produced it a large jed handflerchlof and proceeded to mop jw his brow. Ritzenmeier took out a yellow bor- h , dered 'kerchief and mopped his brow. They 4 glared at each other. H ' I ' "You can't have a duel here," said the pro- H A prietor, walking between the men and pushing Hj lQ ! Kelterman back. H $2 'Vhen it vouldn't be against der law to duel H m 1 him in dis state 1 vould 'duel him right now!" H II ? exclaimed Kelterman bravely. H jlf I "I'll duel you any place," remarked the dell- B M 'l catessen man. H I "What's the matter with making it on Hobo- H J it ken Heights?" chimed in Rixey. Bj fl" i "Dot's satisfactoribility to me," remarked Hj kj i Ritzenmeier. H i ( "Me, too," said the cigar man. The delicatessen man walked to the lunch counter and savagely bit a piece of Roquefort cheese. Kelterman bit the wrong end from a fresh cigar. "I'll make arrangements for the selection of tho seconds," remarked Rixey, "and we can pull the duel off next Sunday." "I vouldn't flghdt on Sunday," said the delicatessen deli-catessen man, skinning a smoked herring. "Vhy not Monday between free o'clock?" "I must do my collecting between free o'clock," remarked the cigarmaker. "Vhy not Tuesday?" "I must on der market go Tuesday," said Ritzenmeier. Rit-zenmeier. "1 could Wednesday go." "Dot is my lotge meetings night," answered Kelterman. "I'm teh referee," said Rixey, "and I'll settle all disputes by making it Sunday or never. The man who refuses to fight on Sunday must be branded as a coward." "Ritzey's afraid to fight," remarked a man in the crowd, and several others echoed this sentiment. senti-ment. The delicatessen man dashed a ham sand-wicn sand-wicn to the floor. "I ain't no crawler!" he shouted. "Vhen it is Sunday, it is. Dot's vhat's der matter! Understand?" Under-stand?" "Vhich is vhich to me, remarked Kelterman. So it was agreed that the duel should take place on Sunday afternoon in a back lot in West Ho-boken. Ho-boken. Ritzenmeier went home. Kelterman remained at the saloon and ordered drinks for everybody. He ordered more drinks every time the others jollied him. Rixey produced a long bread knife and gave Kelterman a few points in fencing. Then he handed over the knife to the cigarmaker and for an hour kept Kelterman busy jabbing an imaginary adversary. At midnight the cigarmaker cigar-maker went home to study the code of honor. By special arrangement the duellists met at Anarchy hall. About thirty of their friends were there ready to accompany them to the duelling grounds. Herr Ritzenmeier appeared in a yellow and black striped sweater, a golf cap and with his trousers tucked in a pair of boots. Herr Kelterman Kel-terman wore "bicycle pants," a frock coat and a low-crowned derby hat with a big brim to it. The two seconds, selected by Rixey, stepped forward and were introduced. "Herr Ritzenmeier, Ritzen-meier, this is your second, Herr Michael O'Dono-hue. O'Dono-hue. Herr O'Donohue, allow me to Introduce you to Herr Ritzenmeier. Herr Kelterman, allow me to introduce your second, Herr O'Reilly. Herr O'Reilly, Herr Kelterman." Duellists and seconds shook hands. "I belave this affair should be fit wld pictols," remarked Herr O'Reilly. Kelterman tugged at his coat and whispered something. "I'm In favor of swoords," suggested Herr O'Donohue. "J got not a sword," explained Ritzenmeier. "I got not a pistol," remarked Kelterman. "Well," said O'Reilly, "we'll have a few drinks and then we'll decide on the instruments of war." "Vhen I came oudt, my vife vere not at home," H said, Kelterman, timidly. "I IIyo only a few blocks undt I think I'll go home for a couple min- H utes." H "All right," chorused the crowd. "But donjt forget to come back." H Kelterman went home to kiss his wife good- E by. Ritzenmeier Kept the crowd busy answering H questions. He wanted to know flrst whether it H was to be a "dead duel." Then he wanted to H know if he could be arrested if he killed his oppo- jB nent in the fight. M Rixey, in the meantime, had secured two old, M rusty revolvers, making sure that neither was H loaded. In a few minutes Kelterman returned. B "1 kissed mine daughter good-py," he said, H "because my vife vent oudt somevhere undt ain't H yet home." H The party crossed the Barclay street ferry and H went by trolley car to West Hoboken. On the way over Rixey was missed. The seconds ex- H plained that he had gone for a doctor, who would H be handy in case either man was injured. The I delicatessen man shivered. The cigarmaker be- I came paler than he was when they started from Anarchy hall. , I Rixey, however, had gone to the home of each B man and was- arranging to have their wives go to flj West Hoboken to stop the duel. He explained that he was not anxious to see the men kill each B other, nor was he anxious to have anybody ar- B rested. So, with the two women in tow, ho ar- B rived in West Hoboken an hour after the others m got there. Going over on the boat he explained B that the best way to stop the duel would be tor jfl each woman to pounce upon her own husband. B They agreed to do it. B Meantime the principals had taken off their B shoes under instructions. Both had been plenti- B fully supplied with whisky. The seconds handed B them long poles with instructions to poke at each BB other without hitting. This, it was explained, BB was to be the "preliminaries." They were en- B gaged in the fencing match when the women H rushed upon the scene. Each grabbed her hus- H band. B Ritzenmeier placed his arms about his wife's B neck and wept. Kelterman tried to break away B from his wife's grasp and she poked him with ' her fist. Then the crowd interfered, and the duel- lists were ordered to put on their shoes. Rixey I observed that he would have the seconds finish B the duel. Mrs. Ritzenmeier dragged her husband fl away. As he was leaving the duelling grounds B he shook his fist at Kelterman and shouted: "You B vas afraid to flghdt id oudt!" B Whereupon Mrs. Ritzenmeier ran up to him B and swatted him. Mrs. Kelterman promptly made fl a grab for Mrs. Ritzenmeier's hat and tore away fl some hair. The crowd separated these strenuous fl fighters. fl "Rinskopf!" shouted Kelterman, as he was be- fl ing dragged away. fl "Go in blazes!" yelled Ritzenmeier. "Cow- fl yard! cowyard!" fl Then Anarchy hall went home. New York fl Sun. |
