Page:Marriott Watson--Galloping Dick.djvu/50

 Bishop by my side clinging to his pommel, his apron flapping indecorously in the wind; and ere they had sense of our business we were side by side with them under the light of the moon. At the first sight of my firearm the young buck upon the hither side drew up his reins with dispatch, and his beast came down upon its haunches, while the other opened his mouth and gaped vacantly at me.

“Hold, my pretty cullies,” says I smoothly, “for my lord and I have a little catechism for your ears.”

I tell the tale to my own discredit, but I was nigh mad with excitement and the humours of the evening had drove all my wits afloat. But the truth is that I saw the fellow fumbling at his holster, and my own pistol was at t’ other’s head; and so, with never a thought, I called merrily to the Bishop to stop him. “Show your mettle,” says I, laughing. “Show your mettle, my lord.”

“Why in sooth, with all my heart,” says the Bishop smartly. And with that, all of a sudden—damn me!—there was a cold nose at