The apparent coolness and indifference with which the young artist replied were without doubt the means of his salvation, for the madman, with a profound sigh--as though he was sorry, but was obliged to do so--pulled him over the banisters and dropped him on the landing. Then he fled, leaving his umbrella and hat behind him. Mr. Pearse has never from that day seen or heard of his assailant, but even now the mere thought of the agonizing suspense he endured at his hands brings with it a shudder of horror. * * * * * [Illustration: MR. A. J. GOUGH, WHO NARROWLY ESCAPED DEATH AT THE HANDS OF AN INFURIATED COWBOY. _From a Photo. by Geo. Newnes, Ltd._] Mr. A. J. Gough is another +Wide World+ artist--a Yorkshireman by birth--who has seen much of the world and taken part in many an exciting episode in wild and uncivilized places. His early youth was spent in India, where his father--Mr. J. W. Gough, the architect--was building a palace for the Maharajah of Durbhungah; and there he met with his first adventure, when he lost himself in a tiger-infested jungle, and was only found by the search-party with much difficulty. Mr. Gough subsequently went to America, where his experiences included encounters with alligators and rattlesnakes and disputes with "bad men" armed with bowie-knives and six-shooters. He has won fame as an amateur boxer, and is still a member of the Belsize Boxing Club, being also well known as a swimmer. Mr. Gough has roughed it in Florida and Texas, and it was in the latter State that he experienced his most alarming adventure, on which occasion he was literally within half an inch of death. It was at the hands of a cowboy known as "Harry" that he nearly lost his life. He made this man's acquaintance under the following singular circumstances. Mr. Gough and a friend of his were on their way to Florida from New York by steamer, and, as funds were low, had perforce to travel steerage. Among their fellow-passengers was a man whose appearance clearly denoted the cowboy, and who, although of rough exterior and manners, was evidently in some respects fastidious in his tastes. He took occasion, early in the voyage, to find fault with the drinking water supplied in the steerage, which was contained in a huge tin tank. Calling the steward, he remarked:-- "That there tank isn't fit for a dog to drink out of, let alone a man." "Isn't it, by gum?" replied the steward, sullenly. "Well, you can take it from me, it's all you'll get this voyage." "Oh, it is, is it?" growled the cowboy, with an ugly look in his eyes. "I can tell you this, mister: if you expect me to drink out of that blamed horse-trough you are blamed well mistaken!" "You can take it or leave it," replied the steward, with an oath; "and, if you are so mighty particular, why don't you go first class? You look like a millionaire, I _must_ say," he added, offensively.