The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-08-27

and accepted everything as you wished
it. His seconds are two military
men,"
The ~viscount said:
'aTbanks."
The marquis exclaimed:
"You must excuse us for only COM
ing and going out again, but we have
still a thousand things to do. We
J must secure a good surgeon, since the
duel is to end only on the serious
wounding of one of the principals-and
you know bullets are not things to
joke about. Then we must settle up
on a good place-near some ouse or
other, to which we can carry the
wounded party il necessary-and all
that sort of thing. In short, we've
got two or three hours work before
u.s."
The viscount the second time artic-
ulated:
Thanks"
The colonel asked:
"Well, you feel all right?-you are
cool?"
Eyes; very cool, thank you"
The two men retired.
X X X X \
When he found himself all alone
/ again he felt as if he were going mad.
When his servant had lighted the
lamps he sat down at the table to
write some letters. After having trac-
ed, at the head Of a blank sheet OF
note-paper, the words: '"This is my
last will and testament, he roseto his
feet with a sudden start and walked
away, feeling incapable of putting two
ideas together, of making any resolu-
ton, or deciding about anything what
soever.
So, he was goingt to fight. There was
no getting out Of it now. what was
the matter with him? He wished to
fight; he had the firm intention of
fighting; he had resolved upon it; and
nevertheless he clearly felt, in spite. OF
his utmost determination, in spite OF
the utmost tension of his will, that he
could not possibly find the force neces-
sary to enable him to 90 as far as the
place of meeting. He tried to picture
the scene in his mind-his W atti-
tude and the department OF his adj
versary.
From time to time his teeth chatter
ed with a little dry noise. He wanted
to read, and took up Chateauvillard's
"Code du Duel" Then he asked HIM
self:
"Does my adversary frequent the
shooting-galleries? Is he known? Is
his name published anywhere? How
can | found out?"
He remembered Baron de Vaux's
book on the expert pistol shots; md
he went through it, from one end to
the other. George Lambs name vas
not mentioned in it. But still, if that
man was not a good shot, he would
never have been SO prompt to accept
q duel under uchfatalconditions with
so dangerous a weapon.
AS he walked up and down, he stop
ped before a little round table, on
which lay one of Gastlnne Renette's
well-known pistol-cases. He took out
one of the pistols, placed himself in the
position of a man about TO fire, and
raised his arm. But he trembledfrom
| head to foot, so that the barrel of the
pistol quivered and pointed in all di-
rections.
Then he said to himself:
ut is simply impossible. ] shall
never be able to fight as / am now"
He locked down the muzzle of the
barrel, into the little. deep, black hole
which spits out death. He thought
of dishonor, of whisperings in the sa-
Ions, of laughter at the clubs, of the
contempt that women can show, OF
illusions in the newspapers, OF the
open insults he would receive.
Still he stared at the weapon, and,
pulling back the hammer, he suddenly
observed a cap shining under it; like a
tiny red flame. The pistol had re-
manned loaded by some chance, some
fo~rgetfulnesg And the discovery filled
him with a confused and inexplicable
joy.
If he could not maintain before the
other man the cool and dignified de-
pertinent which behooved him, then
he would be ruined forever. He
would be stained, branded with
| the stamp of infanly-driven out
OF society," And that calm, fearless
attitude he wonld not be able to
have; he knew it; he felt certain of it.
Yet he was brave enough, since he
wanted to fight He was brave, since
-. But the h~alf-shaped thought
never completed itself In his mind; for
suddenly opening his mouth as wide
as he could, he thrust the muzzle Of
the pistol in, back to his very throat,
and pulled the trigger.
When the valet de chambre-startled
by the report OF the pistol-ran in,
he found his master lying on his back
dead. A gush of blood had spattered
over the white paper on the table and
formed a great red blot Immediately
underneath the words: