426 DANGEROUS ADVENTURE. Book II. 
the conductor promised, according to the custom here, to 
take me up at my friend's house, that of Mr. S., whose 
guest I was. It was only of one story, and the room in 
which I slept with my friend had a glass door opening into 
the court-yard. In order to be ready for the stage-coach, 
I had lain down dressed, and had left a light burning so 
that the conductor might the more easily see me, and wake 
me. The door, as is usual in Texas, was not locked. 
I had slept some time when I was roused by a shot in 
our room, and starting up saw Mr. S. struggling with a 
man who held a six-shot revolver in his hand. Mr. S. 
endeavoured to get hold of this weapon ; but as I rose the 
fellow fired at me, but missed me, and we then succeeded 
in forcing him out of the door, which we could not however 
lock. We looked in vain for some weapon. S. had none 
in his bedroom, and I had fired my pistols off during the 
evening, thinking them unnecessary. Our situation was, 
therefore, really critical, for the fellow forced his hand 
through the glass, and sought to aim first at S., and then 
at me. We were obliged to lie down below the glass 
portion of the door, partly to protect ourselves, and also 
to keep the door closed. We could not long have main- 
tained this position, when my friend caught sight of a piece 
of cord lying near. A noose was quickly made in it, and 
thrown round the hand of the rascal, who was thus our 
prisoner. He fired a third shot with no better success. 
And now he put his head into the room to see his way, and 
to try and free himself; and at this instant I succeeded in 
wresting the revolver from him. In the heat of the 
moment I pointed the barrel against his head, and fired ; the 
shot missed, as also the two remaining barrels. We now threw 
the cord round the fellow's neck, and drew him into the 
room through the hole in the glass door. While we were 
binding him, the police-watch, attracted by the repeated 
