By Right of Sword

later. I met him in the interval as men in the same regiment are bound to meet; and I deemed it best to avoid all op

y that his feelings for her would never change, nor should he abandon the resolve to make her his wife. Then he made over

nce the duel I had seen more of him than of any other man, and I liked him. I could be with him more safely than with others, moreover, because he had seen so little of the unregenerate Alexis

t it over. "I'm convinced Devinsky's a dangerous man; and if he attempts to

ghtly. "A brother's a charming fello

kill the 'charming fellow' in that duel.

e his private bus

en if it didn't in s

't see

's only because there's something in the line of

un, any way; and I'm not

urescq? Alexandre Durescq

slips which it was impossible for me to avoid in my pr

e French fellow who naturalised, and clapped a 'c' into his name and cut off the tail of it to make Duresque into Durescq. Why, he was here last year,

I exclaimed, as if r

sian army," said Essaieff drily. "And if he heard y

om I knew much better. Different sex, whose killing of men was

her..." he paused and looked at me. "It would be a damnably ugly business; but Devinsky's not incapable of it; and so far as I know, the other man's worse than he is. Moreover, I know that they

en him so excit

his man here to do what he couldn

"I shouldn't like to think it of any man: but if I were

, and we'll make the thing such that one of us is bound to go under. But I'll have one condition, and one only-that Devinsky

il Alexis,' is what they call you one to the other, since you beat their best men in leaping, and running, and staff playing. If the war comes, as like good Russians we pray it may, what a time you'

e pleasure. As we talked over this possible plan of Devinsky's I tried to get him to speak of the feeling again. It is r

that he would do what we had discussed; but I had not been many minutes in the club that evening bef

His figure was well knit and lithe, and he moved with the air which a man gets whose sinews are of stee

large and very prominent aquiline nose, were small but brilliant in expression and seemingly coal black in colour. Altogether a most remarkable looking man; and I was not astonished that Essaieff had been surprised when I said I had forgotten him. He was not

p and whisper to him immediately he caught sight of me. The man turned sl

r the two at the other end. Gradually I worked my way round to where they were, and both rose as I approached. I saw too, that Devinsky's old seconds and toadies were n

difficult for the pair, and thus compel Devinsky to shew his hand;

hould say," said Devinsky, and the instant he spoke I could tell h

ght into Devinsky's eyes with a

ng, Lieutenant Petrovitch." He said this in a tone that was insufferably insolent; a

shewed, before I had opened my lips, that the object was to force a quarrel; and thus the sympath

when he was here last year," said De

g Devinsky and returning the other man's greetin

ng," he said, looking at me in a way

swords are to hire," I returned, with a sm

's eyes

who do not like the fighting," I added; an

do you mean?" ask

ce. Whom else should I mean?" and I let m

manner of expressing

I think the provinces are growing more and more independent every year. We arrange our own affairs in our own wa

ere was nothing for them to take hold of, though every man in th

, and it became really impossible for him to remain in the army unless he accepted the challenge he had so often refused. And then he begged, almost with tears, to get terms made; and when this was not done, he deadened his fears with drink and came to t

how this burlesque of my conduct was appreciat

down at least two tones in my excitement, while my p

urescq, turning coolly to the latter for confirmation. Then he turned again to

pprove." There was now dead silence in all the room and the eyes of every man in it were rivetted on me. "The first object of the duel was that he might kill in it the man whose skill was thought to be inferior to his own, so that he might persecute with his disgusting attentions the

in my ungovernable fury, until I nearly broke my teeth with the straining force with which I clenched them. Then raising my hand I sla

ord. Before I meet the butcher, I insist on meeting the

was now all but certain to be killed by Durescq I