Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1899-08-12


cool and smiling.
1T pleases me very much to retire."
fe said. ''witness 1t, messieursl-yon-
der gentleman drives me from his table
and his house"
He bowed, and Immediately left tho
room. Alphonse Basnet squirmed In
his chair, and at last blurted out:
"Bostocl, my dear fellow = excuse
me-but you see can't remain. This
is n vvretched business; / hope it will
end here. But / brought my friend
here, and of course / must go with
him"
And he did. The soup grew cold,
and was removed untaSted; course after
course of the choicest dishes succeeded
and were hardly touched. Everybody |
was under a dreadful constraint; occa-
sionally there was a solitary remark, |
but the effort TO keep up n CONVERSE
ton was fiat failure. 1 have said so |
much, that l ought to tell the whole |
truth. When the wine appeared, the |
guests turned TO it as a relief from the |
awkwardness of the situation. / pre- |
sumo everybody drank too much; 1 am |
certain that did. 1 will except Bos-
| took. He sat pale, rigid and silent |
/ through it all. The guests departed
early, with hardly an effort TO make
the usual compliments to the host.
The next morning was hardly out
of bed when Pierce Bostocl1 walked in
/ He looked as stern and white as when
he was denouncing Castex at his own
table
"Well, he's challenged you," was my
salutation.
''No. / shall challenge him. Here's
the note. Take it to him, and then
go to the man that he names as his
friend"
was thunderstruclx. tried to re-
monstrate with him. / told him that,
so far as an outsider could judge, If
anybody had cause to send a challenge,
it was Castex. / begged him to tell
, me, in the strict confidence of friend
ship, what the language was that
Castex had uttered to HIM. ] told him
that could not act intelligently for
him in this matter, unless / was ad-
vised. He peremptorily refused to tell
me.
'You have been my friend, Dorion,"
he said. when l say to y0u that no
human being must know my cause of
offense, you will believe that there is
the best of reason for my silence. Ma
, poleon Castex knows, no man better
knows, the nature of his offense- He
knows me, also; and he understands
! that II he were TO lisp a hint of my
, ! reasons for challenging him, would
! seek him and shoot him down like a
, | dogi Don't argue with me, Alfred
Dorion; tell you the man is a cold
FLOODED scoundrel he has sought me
! out to force a quarrel upon me, and
there are the best of reasons why the
!. affair must go on"
q There was nothing for me to do but
TO deliver the challenge. found Cas-
9 tex cool, polite and consenting.
r There is not one of my name" he
v said, with his marked French accent,
h ''who ever refused the request of a
v gentleman TO meet him on the field OF
v honor M. Bostoclx thinks him
4 self insulted. Some might think that
u was No matter; here is his chal
II lenge. Take it to my dear Alphonse
q he will arrange everything with you
] only say to you, that my remark t.
l. NJ. Bostock was the truth He knows
- it TO be the truth; and he has not thu
* grace to see that put it in the Ian
[. guage of la belle France, that other
le might not understand it, So much yo'
ID may tell him, if you choose"
N The affair went on to its frightfu
a end. Nobody could discover the truth
ST. Basnet tried his best to make his ma,
II. divulge the cause of oifense, but i
st vain
tY IL only told him the truth, and toll
1t in French, that it might not b
ed heard by others. After have tough
en- him, viii tell it very loudly, in you
he harsh English, do you be sure. Near
ed while, am quite willing to fight hin
M knew him long before you did"
ed The wound that Pierce Bostock n
re- ceived was as nearly fatal as a woun
IN can be and leave the victim alive. TIL
he ball traversed his lung; nothing bl
the extraordinary skill of the doctC
st, saved him. The doctor had served
os- the Mexican war. and happened to wi
ew ness the successful operation of
hit Mexican surgeon upon a similar wouT
I'd, of Gen. Shields, by cleansing it with
ad silk handkerchief In this way 30
lie tock's life was saved; but the fever tn
followed confined him to his bed f
nd weeks, drained his strength, and lie
the him only the shadow of his former Sc
i'll, His affection for his daughter seem
in doubled, If that were possible, by til
os- dreadful experience. In every wakii
hour he wanted her with him. In
the delirium he would call her name; VIII
at conscious, he WOULD hold her hand a
the look silently into her face as she sat
his his bed
used often to call upon him VIII
we'd he was confined to the house. One d
ars he sent Coralie ont of the room a
an asked me to shut the door.
eak You are still my friend, Afr
and Dorion-are you not?" he abruptly
'ay' gan
her. ITO be sure am. While am drei
< to fully distressed by what has h'
lch. pened--"
mo matter about that. i want y
vas: 70 tell me something. What h;