y-was breaking. The pink sky cast a glow on the
city, its roofs, and its walls. A flush of light enveloped the awakened
world, like a caress from the rising sun, and the glimmer of dawn kindled
new hope in the breast of the vicomte. What a fool he was to let himself
succumb to fear before anything was decided--before his seconds had
interviewed those of Georges Lamil, before he even knew whether he would
have to fight or not!

He bathed, dressed, and left the house with a firm step.

He repeated as he went:

"I must be firm--very firm. I must show that I am not afraid."

His seconds, the marquis and the colonel, placed themselves at his
disposal, and, having shaken him warmly by the hand, began to discuss
details.

"You want a serious duel?" asked the colonel.

"Yes--quite serious," replied the vicomte.

"You insist on pistols?" put in the marquis.

"Yes."

"Do you leave all the other arrangements in our hands?"

With a dry, jerky voice the vicomte answered:

"Twenty paces--at a given signal--the arm to be raised, not
lowered--shots to be exchanged until one or other is seriously
wounded."

"Excellent conditions," declared the colonel in a satisfied tone. "You
are a good shot; all the chances are in your favor."

And they parted. The vicomte returned home to, wait for them. His
agitation, only temporarily allayed, now increased momentarily. He felt,
in arms, legs and chest, a sort of trembling--a continuous
vibration; he could not stay still, either sitting or standing. His mouth
was parched, and he made every now and then a clicking movement of the
tongue, as if to detach it from his palate.

He attempted, to take luncheon, but could not eat. Then it occurred to
him to seek courage in drink, and he sent for a decanter of rum, of which
he swallowed, one after another, six small glasses.

A burning warmth, followed by a deadening of the mental faculties,
ensued. He said to himself:

"I know how to manage. Now it will be all right!"

But at the end of an hour he had emptied the decanter, and his agitation
was worse than ever. A mad longing possessed him to throw himself on the
ground, to bite, to scream. Night fell.

A ring at the bell so unnerved him that he had not the strength to rise
to receive his seconds.

He dared not even to speak to them, wish them good-day, utter a single
word, lest his changed voice should betray him.

"All is arranged as you wished," said the colonel. "Your adversary