Then, turning toward the crowd, he placed his hands on his hips and spoke thusly: “Ladies and gentlemen! You kin head on home now and rest easy, knowin’ that—thanks to the brave efforts of yore local constables, along with some humble assistance from yourn truly—the fair city of Baltimore has got nothin’ more to fear from this-here low-down, yeller-bellied reptile, whose days of goin’ around slaughterin’ helpless widders in their beds is plumb over!”

This pronouncement achieved the effect which the canny frontiersman had no doubt intended. A jubilant roar erupted from the crowd, a dozen hats were hurled high into the air, and Crockett found himself besieged by admirers, several of whom proceeded to hoist the visibly delighted champion upon their shoulders.

Not every member of the assemblage, however, shared in the general mood of exultation. As I swiftly descended from my post atop the packing crates, a number of the less savory-looking spectators turned and began to depart from the harbor. Among them were the two ill-mannered wretches I had encountered upon my arrival, whose faces wore a look of the deepest disappointment, and who muttered dark imprecations against Crockett as they skulked from the scene.

In consequence of the shifting movement—as well as the partial dispersal—of the crowd, I was now able to make my way toward my objective. Within moments, I found myself standing in close proximity to Crockett, who had been set back down upon his feet and was presently basking in the attention of an attractive young female, arrayed in a richly embroidered muslin dress that did little to obscure the outlines of her womanly physique. From the revealing, if not flagrant, cut of this garment—as well as from her unashamed frankness of manner—I was forced to conclude that, in spite of her evident youthfulness, she was already a thoroughgoing adept in the devious arts of the coquette.

“My gracious,” she exclaimed in a soft, breathless voice as she laid a plump white hand upon Crockett’s rent and bloodied shirt-sleeve. “Your poor arm! Why, that nasty creature has inflicted the most grievous wound upon you, Colonel Crockett!”

“This li’l ol’ scratch?” the frontiersman guffawed. “Why, I’ve received skeeter bites that galled me worse. Though I do confess it riles me a mite to have my best shirt tore up so egrejisly.” And here, a look of genuine regret crossed his face as he contemplated the badly frayed hole which Neueundorf’s blade had produced in the fabric of his garment,

“Why, if you aren’t the bravest, strongest man I ever did see,” sighed the young woman, clasping her hands beneath her chin and gazing up into Crockett’s face with undisguised adoration. “The way you just stormed right in there, so fearless and bold« But however did you manage to defeat that awful brute? I’ll just perish with disappointment unless I hear every last, itty-bitty detail!”