El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-05
The Doctors Duel
A Short Story.

! nonA better-exactly what was going
! 70 hammer. With the sang-froId which
| had ALWAYS distinguished the cheValer'
! he crossed one leg over the -otheI,
| threw himself back in mis- chalr, anu
! with an easy, well bred smile on ms
| male handsome face waited for the
! doctor to come up
! The latter was putting with the ex-
| ortion of his walk, and 1t was some
. minutes before he was aole TO com
| mand the necessary breath to speak.
| asNfonsieur" he began, and at the
| high treble of his voice all seated at
I adjacent tables turned to- look at the
! sneaker. Monsieur lie CheValler, you
| are a scoundrel!
His hand went up, his glass flew,
| and the chevalier wiped the purple
liquid from his face.
| ssNFonsieur," he said calmly. you are
: unnecessarily rude. TWO OF my
| Without another word, the doctor
| bowed. and. turning on his heels,
| threaded his way back through the
| tables. fully conscious, that he was the
| present object of general curiosity.
| There was such an air of honest Dig
] nitv about his dapper, fussy little per-
| son that everybody forbore to laugh.
| well. I'm blessedr' calculated Lee
| blanc admiringly. L never thought
| there was an ounce of courage IN hlnl-
| Well well, his little tub of a figure
| will make an admirable target at 20
At 10 o'clock next morning, two men
! requested the honor of an interview
! with Monsieur Jules Dumas at his pri-
| vate residence in the Rue st. Denis.
Monsieur began the one, rising and
| bowling as the doctor entered e
/ are here on an affair Of delicacy and
! honor. Ny name, monsieur, is Henri
| Vernon and I have the honor of pre-
| senting to you my friend, the Comte
/ H., Tln5c d 01Te-
After some compliments, they came
to the matter responsible for their
visit.
''The Chevalier," remarked Vernon,
throwing himself back languldly IN ms
chair, and flicking hypothetical speck
of dust from his lowered satin vest,
SIS quite prepared to accept a suitable
apology"
(which" returned the little man en-
phatically, Il am equally prepared to
refuse"
The two men looked across at each
other in silent surprise. An eager &C
ceptance of their principals reasonable
and decidedly generous offer had been
anticipated by both. It would seen
they had to deal with a deceptive fire
eater.
Then. monsieur" put in the count,
nothing remains for us to do but
choose the weapons, time and place.
need scarcely remind you that our
!
the right of choice in each case. But
the chevalier generously consents TO
forgo that advantage and begs that
you will decide between rapiers and
| pistols"
During this conversation the little
man had been walking nervously up
| and down the room. At the count S
last words he stopped, and, turning
round, faced his two visitors
He is willing to give me the choice
of weapons?"
THAT is so, monsieur"
"Of course, you will perceive" went
/ on the doctor. that the odds are ex-
= cessively on his side I have never
handled a sword extensively IN my
| life, and a pistol would be stranger to
my hand than a wedding ring"
Vernon and the count exchanged
glances of disappointment and illcon-
cealed contempt.
I'VE are not prepared to discuss that
! question" replied the count coldly.
The laws of honor were fixed before
! our time, and we must abide by them
"Since I have the choice of arms. -
! resumed the doctor unheeingly, my
weapon will be neither pistol nor
sword"
Vernon shrugged his shoulders, and
the brows of BOis-Rouge were low
cred in unmistakable depreciation.
ALLOW me to point out to you. mon
sieur," said the latter, ''that flippancy
| On an occasion ike the present IS DOL1
out of place and offensive. I presume
you viii choose pistols. As a friend ]
should advise it, he added pointedly.
mo. no, messieurs," was the little
mans energetic rejoinder. Il have nc
desire to be shot down like a pigeon.
If your principal is the man report
gives out to be, he will accept my con-
ditions, strange as they may seem"
! He searched in one of his pockets
J and extracted from it diminutive
/ round box
''Behold. messioursr' he exclaimed
triumphantly, holding it up between
his finger and thumb-"my WeaponsP
Bois-Rouge shrugged his shoulders
pityingly, and Vernon gave a short
laugh.
mo. messieurs." resumed the doctor
quickly. q am not mad. Listen. In
this box are two pills. One is quite
harmless, and may be taken with i'm
punity; but death, sure and sudden
follows half an hour after swallowing
the other These are the weapons with
which I shall fight the chevalier. The
pills are exactly similar in SIZE. weight
and shape. I couldn't distinguish be-
TWEEN them if I wished. As 1 have
made them myself. it is only fair thai
my opponent should have the frs
choice. This I agree to, and by thai
arrangement there can be no oppor'
; tunity for trickery on my part Mes
s;eurs, I should be greatly obliged II
you would return 10 your prlnclpdl
and put before him the terms of oul
encounter"
The other two stood up stimuli
taenOusIY.
Impossible. monsieur vociferatec
Vernon Poison is the instrument OF
the assassin. Diablo, We cannot sub
nit such conditions of combat to q
nobleman of France"
Nevertheless, monsieur" replied the
doctor, returning the box to his pocket
and spreading the palms of his hands
outward to express finality. such -art
the only conditions under which I shall
be prepared to meet the chevalier" ana
smiling, he politely bowed them out.
When they told him of the result OF
their interview, the chevalier laughed
long and loud.
"Ha, hal" he cried Shaping his
knee with his open hand. 4 begin to
love this friend to impatient heirs, this
fat little lord of life and death.
"Of course you will refuse these
these prepOsterous terms?" remarked
the eloquent Vernon which left the
matter decided.
THE traditions of duelling, and the
honor of men forbid such debasement,'
observed the comte du Bois-Rouge SEN
tentiously.
Leblanc toyed with the stem of his