Fitz and I, now thoroughly alarmed, and quite prepared for the worst,
stood on each side.
The colonel dropped his hand into his inside pocket, and drew forth
three letters.
"Gentlemen, you see befo' you a man on the verge of one of the great
crises of his life. You heard, Fitz, of what occurred in my office
this mornin'? You know how brutally I was assaulted, and how entirely
without provocation on my part? I am a Caarter, suh, and a gentleman.
No man can throw discredit on an enterprise bearin' my name without
bein' answerable to me."
And the colonel with great dignity opened one of the letters, and read
as follows:--
51 BEDFORD PLACE. _Tuesday._
P. A. KLUTCHEM. _Sir_,--You took occasion this morning, in the
presence of a number of my friends, to make use of certain offensive
remarks reflecting upon a great commercial enterprise to which I have
lent my name. This was accompanied by a familiarity as coarse as it
was unwarranted. The laws of hospitality, which your own lack of good
breeding violated, forbade my having you ejected from my office on the
spot.
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