比尔·赛泽记恨帕齐的错误致使莫利出丑，于是率领农场的人来报社闹事。鲍勃巧施一计，替帕齐和亚瑟解了围……
It was unfortunate that at that time Thursday Smith had gone up the electric line toward Royal，to inspect it.In the of？ce were Patsy，Hetty Hewitt—who was making a drawing—Arthur Weldon，engaged upon his books，and finally，seated in an easy—chair from which he silently watched them work，old Bob West，the hardware man.Louise and Beth had driven over to the Junction to write up an accident，one of the trainmen having caught his hand in a coupling，between two freightcars.
Bob West often dropped into the of？ce，which was next door to his own place of business，but he was a silent man and had little to say on these visits.In his early days he had wandered pretty much over the whole world，and he could relate some interesting personal adventures if he chose.In this retired village West was the one inhabitant distinguished above his fellows for his knowledge of the world.In his rooms over the store，where few were ever invited，he had a ？ne library of unusual books and a rare collection of curios gathered from foreign lands.It was natural that such a man would be interested in so unique an experiment as the Millville Tribune，and he watched its conduct with curiosity but a constantly growing respect for the three girl journalists.No one ever minded when he came into the of？ce，nodded and sat down.Sometimes he would converse with much freedom；at other times the old gentleman remained an hour without offering a remark，and went away with a brief parting nod.
It was West who first saw，through the window，the wagonload of men from the Sizer farm come dashing up the street at a gallopa.Instinctively，perhaps，he knew trouble was brewingb，but he never altered his expression or his attitude，even when the wagon stopped at the printing of？ce and the passengers leaped outc.
In marched Bill Sizer at the head of his following，cowhidein hand.Patsy，her face ？ushing scarlet，stood up and faced the intruders.
"Stand back，girl ！"cried Sizer in a fierce tone；"it's thatcoward editor I'm after，"pointing his whip with trembling hand at Arthur."My sister Molly may be rough，an'hev a rough smile，but I'll be dinged if I don't skin the man that prints it in a paper ！""Good for you，Bill！"murmured his friends，approvingly.Arthur leaned back and regarded his accuser in wonder.
The big table，littered with papers，was between them.
"Come out o'there，ye measly city chap，an'take yer medicine，"roared Bill，swingingd his whipe."I'll larn ye to come inter a decent neighborhood an'slander its women.Come outer there！"West had sat quietly observing the scene.Now he inquired，in composed tones：
"What's the trouble，Bill ？""Trouble？Trouble，West？Why，this lyin'scoundrel said inhis paper thet our Molly had a rough smile.That's the trouble ！""Did he really say that？"asked West.
"Course he did.Printed it in the paper，for all to read.That's why I've come to cowhide the critter within an inch o'his life！""Good fer you，Bill！"cried his friends，encouragingly."But—wait a moment ！"commanded West，as the madd—ened，half drunken young farmer was about to leap over the table to grasp his victim；"you're not going at this thing right，Bill Sizer.""Why ain't I，Bob West？""Because，"answered West，in calm，even tones，"this insult is too great to be avenged by a mere cowhiding.Nothing but blood will wipe away the dreadful stain on your sister's character.""Oh，Mr.West！"cried Patsy，horri？ed by such a statement.
"Eh？Blood ？"said Bill，stupe？ed a by the suggestion.
"Of course，"returned West."You mustn't thrash Mr.Weldon；you must kill him."A delighted chorus of approval came from Sizer's supporters."All right，then，"said the bully，glaring around，"I—I'llkill the scandler！""Hold on ！"counselled West，seizing his arm".This affair must be conducted properly—otherwise the law might causeus trouble.No murder，mind you.You must kill Weldon in a duela.""A—a what？A duel！"gasped Sizer.
"To be sure.That's the way to be revenged.Hetty，"he added，turning to the artist，who alone of the observers had smiled instead of groaned at the old gentleman's startling suggestion，"will you kindly run up to my rooms and get a red leather case that lies under the shell cabinet？Thank you，my dear."Hetty was off like a ？ash.During her absence an intense silence pervadedb the office，broken only by an occasional hiccoughc from one of Mr.Sizer's guests.Patsy was paralyzed with horror and had fallen back into her chair to glare alternately at Bob West and the big bully who threatened her cousin's husband.Arthur was pale and stern as he fixed a reproachful gaze on the hardware merchant.From Miss Briggs'little room could be heard the steady click—click of the telegraph instrument.
But the furious arrival of the Sizer party had aroused every inhabitant of Millville and with one accord they dropped work and rushed to the printing office.By this time the windows were dark with groups of eager faces that peered wonderinglythrough the screens—the sashes being up—and listened to theconversation within.
While Hetty was gone not a word was spoken，but the artist was absent only a brief time.Presently she reentered and laid the red leather case on the table before Bob West.The hardware man at once opened it，displaying a pair of old—fashioned dueling pistolsa，with long barrels and pearlhandles.There was a small can of powder，some bullets andwadding in the case，and as West took up one of the pistols and proceeded to load it he said in an unconcerned voice：
