ght he goes out into the fields to pray for rain,
he takes his umbrella and leather overcoat for fear of getting wet
through on his way home. That's faith! When he speaks of Christ,
his face is full of radiance, and all the peasants, men and women,
weep floods of tears. He would stop that cloud and put all those
forces you talk about to flight. Yes . . . faith moves mountains."

The deacon laughed and slapped the zoologist on the shoulder.

"Yes . . ." he went on; "here you are teaching all the time, fathoming
the depths of the ocean, dividing the weak and the strong, writing
books and challenging to duels--and everything remains as it is;
but, behold! some feeble old man will mutter just one word with a
holy spirit, or a new Mahomet, with a sword, will gallop from Arabia,
and everything will be topsy-turvy, and in Europe not one stone
will be left standing upon another."

"Well, deacon, that's on the knees of the gods."

"Faith without works is dead, but works without faith are worse
still--mere waste of time and nothing more."

The doctor came into sight on the sea-front. He saw the deacon and
the zoologist, and went up to them.

"I believe everything is ready," he said, breathing hard. "Govorovsky
and Boyko will be the seconds. They will start at five o'clock in
the morning. How it has clouded over," he said, looking at the sky.
"One can see nothing; there will be rain directly."

"I hope you are coming with us?" said the zoologist.

"No, God preserve me; I'm worried enough as it is. Ustimovitch is
going instead of me. I've spoken to him already."

Far over the sea was a flash of lightning, followed by a hollow
roll of thunder.

"How stifling it is before a storm!" said Von Koren. "I bet you've
been to Laevsky already and have been weeping on his bosom."

"Why should I go to him?" answered the doctor in confusion. "What
next?"

Before sunset he had walked several times along the boulevard and
the street in the hope of meeting Laevsky. He was ashamed of his
hastiness and the sudden outburst of friendliness which had followed
it. He wanted to apologise to Laevsky in a joking tone, to give him
a good talking to, to soothe him and to tell him that the duel was
a survival of mediaeval barbarism, but that Providence itself had
brought them to the duel as a means of reconciliation; that the
next day, both being splendid and highly intelligent people, they
would, after exchanging shots, appreciate each other's