The Ottawa free trader., 1886-02-20
A DEFERRED DUEL

hlssars. and no ono could iuagire Why he
had left that regiment to 1.-Two in . wretcha
lttle place where life was so ,nonotonous.
His principal occupation was pistol shoot
ing. and the walls of his room were literally
honeycon,bed with bullet holes. Duel
were often the theme OF our conversation
but Sylyio never took part in such discus
,ions. Ii asked il he hal ever fought u duel,
would simply answer, aYcs," in a tone to in
licate that any further questioning would be
disagreeable 10 him
One day while we were at caFis a stranger
who had joined US became angerrd at some
thing Sylvio said, and insulted him. All sup
posed that the stranger would on the morrow
fall a victim to Sylvio's skill; but next morn
ing at review, whilo we were wondering
whether the young lieutenant was alive
he suddenly appeared in person. Sy!vio
lid not allude to the matter. As he had re-
rsived an insult without resentlng it We grad
lally dropped him from our circle.
One morning no received letter. i
watched him as he tore it eagerly open and
per,Ised its contents With flashing eyes. His
strange manner passed unnoticed, each one
being absorbed in his own affairs. "Gentle
u,en," no said III am obliged to leave hers at
rnce-to night, in fact-but beg you will all
tine with me for the last time. And [ expect
YOU. especially, without fall" he added, turn
ing to me. lie then hurriedly left US.
When reached Sylvio's lodgings in the
evening, my fellow officers hlm preceded me-
The furniture had already been removed,
leaving nothing but tho bare walls, so curl
ously boneyoonibed with bullet holes. Our
host was in good spirits and We soon all fol-
lowed suit; champagns-corlis flew about,
glasses were filed and retilled, and all heart
ily bade our friend God-speed. 1t was late
when we roso to so. When my turn came to
,ay goodbye, Sy!vio seized my hand and
whiSpered
Il must speak with YOU
remained. When the guests had left, he
seated himself opposite me, and for some time
we smoked in silence. Sylvio waS deep
in thought not sign remained Of his nerv-
ous gayety AS | looked at his pale face and
ryos, eucircled by the thick srioke Of our
pipes, he had the appearances of spirit Of the
neither world. At last he broke silence:
I'VE shall probably not meet again. wish
to speak a few parting words. You may
have observed that care little for pubic
opinion, but l like you, and would regret
leaving you under a false conception Of NY
rharacter."
He stopped to rollll his glass. Iremained
silent.
You have thought it strange I did not ex-
art satisfaction from that drunken IDIOT who
insultsd me at cards Having tho choice of
weapons, his Life vas in my hands, AMI mine
in comparative security. l might attribute
my behavior to grandeur of soul, but dis,lain
to lie; could have ldiuishod him without risk
ing my life, he would not have escaped
raised my eyes to Sylyio in horror; such a
confession repellcd mo.
YES that is the truth" he continued. Il
had no right to risk my life. six years ago |
received q blow, and tho man who struck me
still lives"
My curiosity was quickly excited. You
did not fi..htl" asked.
I'VE fought, and here il the proof, no a.
swered, at the same time taking up Il soldier s
zap and placing it upon his head. noticed A
small round hole just above his forehead. Il
,erved in tho Tenth huSSars You know me,
md perhaps have seen that used to be first
in everything. In my youth it was to me an
,bsolute necessity that it should be So In
my day it was fashionable to be fast; I was
the widest youngster III the regiment-in tho
army, might say. Hard drinkers were
much applauiei. | could out-drnk tho IA
nous Dobroski, whose prowess in that line
was celebrated. In our regiment du1lS were
If more than daily occurrence, and in each
ono | was either principal or second. My
brother officers worshipd me, and my supe-
riors let mo alone rs IN incurabic case.
Il was enjoying my laurels when a young
man, rich and of illustrious lineage-permit
me to withhold his naUle--joineG U.s. Never
had l met more gifted m2n-yOung, tai
'nted, handsome, gay to excess brave Us a
lion, of unbounded wealth-all these adyan.
.tages were his besides his great name. You
ran well imagine the place he at ones took
among us. My sway was over. He at first
ought my friendship, but was repulsed and
lrew back with Indifference. ] hated him:
his popularity filed me with rage. / tried to
Irsw him into C quarrel, but his answers to
all my sarcastic speeches were so much wit
tier than mine that my rage and jealousy
grew apace, for felt his superiority. At
length, one night at a ball seeing him COurted
by all, and specially by young lady greatly
admired approached him and whispered a
bitter insult in his ear. This was too much,
and, losing his temper, he struck ma full In
the face. We drew our swords tho ladies'
tainted; and although blood,hel was pre-
vented on the spot u duel was arranged 70,
that very night.
"At daybreak I was at the appointed place
with two seconds, awaiting my rival with
much impatience. 1t had been "A sultry night,
and the sun, just rising, was o2preSa;vely hot
In a few moments / saw him coming loisnrely
toward me, on foot and with only one sec
ond. | advanced and saw he held his cap
which was full of cherries, in his hand.
had the right TO shoot first, but my pulse beat
so that could not lie sure of my aim, anl
therefore insisted that he should shoot first.
He refused. We then agreed to draw lots
Fortune favored her darling. He shot and
the bullet pierced my cap
1T was my turn now-at last his life wa
in my hands looked eagerly at him, try
ing to find the slightest sign of fear. He wa
quietly awaiting my shot, eating his cherries
the pits of which he threw at my feet 1t wa
exasperating. What Is the use, thought
OF taking lilo so little valueiF A deyilisf
thought struck me- Dropping my hand,
said:
Since you are brealfasting so calmly, yot
are scarcely prepared to die. Allow me t
wait until YOU haya finished your cherries
ADO not distress yourself sir, pray h
answered. You have one shot at Inc. a
..-o,o,+ or at apy TINA I am AT yOur Sqry