Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-26
A Story of the Captains Three

gendarmes running across the gangplank, thrust
Janot, who guard aside, burst in and started
for men, who by mutual consent had dropped
their points. Faugh 1t disgusting!
"Janot experienced in such affairs, seized the
rapers and broke into his curtained cabin return
shortly after with pair of buttoned fois. The gen.
darmes looked at the fois, shrugged their shoulders
and wagged their thick heads and arrested all of us
We were fined had to pay for De Costa because
he had less than louis his pockets and that fine he
regiously sent me by his orderly at four o'clock the
next morning. The little studio girl should have
been taken with US; for learned that she had
followed us in a facre and summoned the police.
Il thought the affair ended, because De Costa
had told me he under orders to report and, hav
ing already overstayed his leave must depart the
first southbound train of the following morning.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when at the
time he despatched his orderly to with the
money he also sent polite note to Leopard, compi
menting him his skill and assuring him that at the
very next time they met he hoped to have the pleas
ure Of running him through.
Il wish you could have heard Louis storm when i
gave him that note, that little reminder that the
meeting had been unavoidably postponed! He very
carefully folded it and placed it in his pocketbook
Then knew that sometime they would again meet
unless the gods interfered And SO they did.
TT nearly two years later that we were detailed
with embassy to Madrid, and every once in
awhile, the way, Leopard would recall that pre-
vous affair, with the fervent hope that should
meet De Costa His hopes were not wasted; for no
sooner had we accompanied our envoy to his recep-
ton by the King of Spain than we found man.
He had advanced rank in the time between. He
smiled pleasantly if to old friends, and found
way to reach us by note Immediately after de-
parture This time it polite scrawl expressing
the hope that all well and had not forgotten
that we had an engagement of long standing
Moreover, De Costa paid me the compliment of
trusting that inasmuch had proved SO fair the
previous occasion, would not refuse to act as his
second in the meeting which he hoped we would be
pleased to arrange at convenience. There
something and punctilious about him that
if we had wished could not have avoided accepting
his second challenge.
decided. We met in fencing masters salon. Leopard
and De Costa had barely crossed blades and demon
strated to each other that each had improved his
practice since the first meeting before De Costa was
summoned to the King Moreover the officer bring
ing the summons of the type that might have
been shocked at finding his superior in ARRAY and
had to accept the interruption and postpone the
meeting. The very next morning our envoy, his
mission having been successful took freak notion
for sudden departure and we had to 60.
This time it was Leopard who sent note, in which
he assured De Costa that he held no blame that a
brave could not engage to his satisfaction, and
that he wished him to know that their meeting
only temporarily postponed. And what do you think
to send to our train magnificent bouquet of flowers
and one of the most delicious train luncheons that
the appetite of man could conceive.
MORE than two years later they met in Rome
IA where each had been sent detached service
De Costa promptly sent Leopard the note he had
treasured together with regret that they could
have had the same amable seconds got a friend of
his to act for Lepard and that time in less than ten
minutes both men were simultaneously disabled
through their forearms The superiority yet un-
decided. Leopard told me, with grin, when he came
back that while the surgeon repairing them they
stood and oked each other and agreed that nothing
save point run clean through should ever end the
pleasant enmity they had SO thoroughly established.
If | could have had my way then should cheerfuly
have bumped their heads together!