The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-01-02
CHAPTER v.

At five in the morning a heavy mo-
tor car of the most advanced type
stole in sinister silence out of the
courtyard Of the Hotel d'Orient, at the
same sedate pace and with the same
surreptitious air skulked through the
town, and finally swung eastwards
upon the Route de Ia Corniche, sud
denly discarding all pretense of dociE
1ty and swooping onward with a windy
roar, its powerful motor purring like
some gigantic tiger-cat.
It carried four; at the wheel gog.
gled and ennuied operator In shape
less and hidecus garments; in the
tonneau it's owner, a middle-aged
French manufacturer with pouched
eyes, liver, lank jaws clean-scraped,
and an expression Of hlgh-minded de-
votion to duty; Captain Won Einem IN
Uniform; and Colonel O'Rourke.
At the end Of an hours run, dis
turbed by one or two absurdly grave
conferences between the seconds, In
appropriate monotones, the mechanl'
clan put on the brakes and slowed
down the car, then deftly swung 1t
into a narrow lane, IA Ieafy tunnel
through which it crawled for min
ute or two ere debouching into a
broad and sunlit meadow, walled in by
woodland, conspicuous1y secluded.
To one side and at little distance
a second motor-car stood at rest; its
operator had removed the hood and
was tinkering with the motor in a
most matter-of-fact manner. In the
body of the machine Monsieur le Vi
comte des Trebes, ostentatiously una
ware of the advent Of the second
party, sat twisting rapier-points to his
moustaches and concentrating his
gaze on infnity. O'Rourke observed
with malicious delight the nose Of the
duelist, much infamed.
Advancing from his antagonists po
sition three preternaturally serious
gentlemen of France in black frocb
coats and straight-brimmed silk hats
waded ankle deep in dripping grass to
meet O'Rourke's representatives.
The two parties met, saluted one an
other with immense reserve, and re-
tired to suitable distance to con
fer; something which they did word
ily, with enthusiasm and many pic
turesque gestures. At first strangely
amicable, the proceedings soon struck
a. snag. A serious difference Of opin-
ion arose. O'Rourke OWNED that the
conference had gone into executive
session upon the question of weapons
He treated himself to secret grin,
having anticipated this trouble.
The choice of weapons being his,
as the challenged, he had modestly Sc
lected revolvers and lad brought with
him a brace of Weblevs, burly pieces
of pocket ordnance with short barrels
and cylinders chamberei to hold hall
a dozen As cartridges. they were not
pretty, for they had seen service IN
their owners hands for number OF
years, but they were undensably built
for business. And at sight of them
the friends of the vicorate recoiled IN
horror.
Eventually a comprcm1ee WIS ar
rived at. Monsieur Jutlliard stepped
back, saluted, and with Won EiDem re-
turned to his principal, his ace a
mask Of disappointment AS for him
self, he told O'RourEe, he WIS desc
lated, but the seconds Of Monsieur des
Trebes had positively refused to CON
sent to turning a me citing Of honor
into a massacre. They proposed tc
substitute regulation FTench due-tng
pistols as sanctioned b., the \Code
Such as that which Monsieur le Col
onel O'Rourke might observe in Mon
sieur Juilliard's hand.
ORour1-s. keu ~abd shifted at It
'asure,". he cc'..ect ""is & n2gn'-y'
snr clacs y. g >rt.o !. ris!1le I: