Rescuing a Friend from a Mob

George was well-liked and highly respected as a friend and neighbor.  The following incident is an example of his loyalty to his friends, and of his bravery and determination:  A friend of George’s had some angry words with, and was threatened with bodily harm, by some very rough and unruly young men in the community, who had been paying unwanted attention to his sister.  The friend, nervous, and anxious to protect his home and family, slept with a loaded gun by his bed.  Late one dark, moonless night, he heard a sound on the back porch.  He went to investigate and saw a shadowy figure holding something that looked to him like a pistol.  He shot and killed a person who turned out to be a woman who was boarding with his family.  She was getting a drink of water, with a dipper.  Naturally, the woman’s family was upset, and they, perhaps with the aid of the unruly young men, gathered together a mob of people to go to the friend’s house and exact frontier justice.  Upon hearing of this, George immediately sprang into action.  He gathered up a group of his own and rushed to his friend’s house.  He got there in time to convince the woman’s family and the mob that her death was a tragic accident, nothing more, thereby, in all likelihood, saving his friend’s life.