ke their leave. Madame
de Lionne, a woman of eclectic taste, smiled upon these armed young men
with impartial sensibility and an equal share of interest. Madame de
Lionne took her delight in the infinite variety of the human species.
All the eyes in the drawing-room followed the departing officers, one
strutting, the other striding, with curiosity. When the door had closed
after them one or two men who had already heard of the duel imparted the
information to the sylphlike ladies, who received it with little shrieks
of humane concern.

Meantime the two hussars walked side by side, Lieutenant Feraud trying
to fathom the hidden reason of things which in this instance eluded the
grasp of his intellect; Lieutenant D'Hubert feeling bored by the part he
had to play; because the general's instructions were that he should see
personally that Lieutenant Feraud carried out his orders to the letter
and at once.

"The chief seems to know this animal," he thought, eyeing his companion,
whose round face, the round eyes and even the twisted-up jet black
little moustache seemed animated by his mental exasperation before
the incomprehensible. And aloud he observed rather reproachfully, "The
general is in a devilish fury with you."

Lieutenant Feraud stopped short on the edge of the pavement and cried
in the accents of unmistakable sincerity: "What on earth for?" The
innocence of the fiery Gascon soul was depicted in the manner in which
he seized his head in both his hands as if to prevent it bursting with
perplexity.

"For the duel," said Lieutenant D'Hubert curtly. He was annoyed greatly
by this sort of perverse fooling.

"The duel! The..."

Lieutenant Feraud passed from one paroxysm of astonishment into another.
He dropped his hands and walked on slowly trying to reconcile this
information with the state of his own feelings. It was impossible. He
burst out indignantly:

"Was I to let that sauerkraut-eating civilian wipe his boots on the
uniform of the Seventh Hussars?"

Lieutenant D'Hubert could not be altogether unsympathetic toward that
sentiment. This little fellow is a lunatic, he thought to himself, but
there is something in what he says.

"Of course, I don't know how far you were justified," he said
soothingly. "And the general himself may not be exactly informed. A lot
of people have been deafening him with their lamentations."

"Ah, he is not exactly informed," mumbled Lieutenant Feraud, walking
faster and faster