The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-04-19

conference had gone into executive
session upon the question Of weapons
He treated himself to a secret grin,
having anticipated this trouble.
The choice of weapons being his.
as the challenged, he had modestly Sc
lected reVolvers and had brought with
him a brace of Webleys, burly pieces
OF pocket ordnance with short barrels
and cylinders c%hambered to hold half
a dozen As cartridges. They were not
pretty, for they had seer service in
their owners hands for a number OF
years, but they we're undeniably built
for business. And at sight of them
the friends of the vicomte recoiled in
horror.
Eventually a compromise was ar
rived at. Monsieur Juilliard stepped
back, saluted, and with Won Einem re-
turned to his principal. his face a
self. he told O'Rourke, he was DESC
lated, but the seconds of Monsieur des
Trebes had positively refused to con-
sent to turning a meeting of honor
into a massacre. They proposed to
substitute regulation French dueling
pistols as sanctioned by the Code.
Such as hat which Monsieur lie Col
onel O'Rourke might observe in Mon.
sieur billiards hand.
O'Rourke blinked and shifted at it.
Sure" he commended, Its a magnify
ing glass | need to make 1t visible to
me undressed eye, What the divvle
does 1t carry-a dried pea? What
d'they think we're here for, If not to
Stay one another with due ceremony?
Ask them that. Am | to salve the
vicomte's wounded honor by shifting
him with a %spitball? grant We, It's
magnificent, but It's not a pistol"
Grumbling, he allowed himself to
be persuaded. As he had foreseen and
prophesied, so had it come to pass.
Yet he had to grumble. partly because
he was the O'Rourke, partly for eff
feet,
None the less, he consented, and in
the highest spirits left the car and
plowed through the lush wet grass
to the spot selected for the encounter,
in the shadow of the trees near the
eastern border of the meadow. Here,
the seconds having tossed for sides,
he took a stand at one end of a sixty
foot stretch and, still indecorously
amused, received a loaded pistol from
Won Einem.
Des Trebes confronted him, white
with rage, regretting already
(O'Rourke made no doubt that he had
not accepted the Webleys. The Irish
mans open contempt maddened the
man.
The seconds retired to a perfectly
safe distance, Won Einem holding the
watch, one of Des Trebes' seconds a
handkerchief. The c%hauffeurs threw
away their cigarettes and sat up. for
the first time reused out of their pro
fessional air Of blase Indifference.
"One," cried the German clearly.
LIES lleDes Idlheu MS arm anu lev
eled his pistol at O'Rourke's head. A
faint flush colored his face, but his
eye was cold and hard behind the
sight and the hand that held the
weapon was as steady as If supported
by an invisible rest.
Two" said Won Einem.
.O'Rourke measured the distance
with his eye and raised his arm from
the elbow only, holding the pistol with
a loose grip.
Three" said Won Einem.
The handkerchief fell.
The Trishman fired without moving.
Des Trebes' weapon was discharged
almost simultaneously, but with a ru-
ined aim; its bullet went nowhere in
particular. The Frenchman dropped
the weapon and, wincing, examined So
~licitously a knuckle from which
O'Rourke's shot had struck a tiny par
ticle of skin. His seconds rushed to
him with cries, preceded by the sur
geon with b%andages. O'Rourke grace
fully surrendered his artillery to JUL
lard, laughed at the yicomte again.
and strolled back to the motor-car.
Juillard and Won Einem presently
Joined him, the former insistently anx-
ious to have O'Rourke descend and
clasp the hand of fraternal friendship
with the vicomte. But the Irishman
refused.
Faith, mol" he laughed. "Niver!
I'm too timorous a man to dare 1t.
Sure and hasn't he Rugged both his
seconds and the surgeon, too. already?
For me own part I've no mind to be
Let's hurry away before be
further by imprinting a
chaste salute upon the cheek Of our
. Besides. I've a train
to catch"