er;
but no alternative is left me in this case; and if blood is shed, it
must be on the head of him who provoked it."

"Very true," replied Colonel Delmar, biting his lip; "I only hope you
will be successful."

"I have no particular animosity against Major Stapleton," replied I;
"but as he is such a good shot, I shall in my own defence take good aim
at him. At all events, I have sufficient acquaintance with fire-arms,
and have passed through too many bullets not to be cool and collected
under fire, and I therefore consider myself quite a match for the major.
Now, colonel, if you will order the breakfast, I will be down in ten
minutes or a quarter of an hour."

As the colonel was going out of the room, his servant knocked at the
door, and said that Captain Green wished to speak to him on particular
business; I therefore did not hurry myself, but proceeded quietly with
my toilet, as I was well aware what the particular business was, and
that the conference might last some time. On my descending into the
sitting-room I found the colonel alone.

"Well, Keene," said he, "everything is arranged, for the major is deaf
to all expostulation. You are to meet this evening, and, to avoid
interference, Captain Green and I have agreed to say that the major has
apologised, and all is made up." Of course I had no objection to make
to that, and we parted for the present, I walking to the dock-yard, and
he remaining at the hotel to write letters.

The reader may think that I took matters very coolly; but the fact was,
I had no preparations to make in case of accident, having no wife or
family, and as to any other preparations at such a time, I considered
them as mockery. I knew that I was about to do what was wrong--to
offend my Creator--and knowing that, and sinning with my eyes open, much
as I regretted that I was compelled to do so, I was still resolved upon
doing it. How great may be the culpability in such cases when you are
called upon to sacrifice all your worldly interests, and to be despised
among men, or run the risk of involuntarily taking another person's
life, I could not pretend to judge; but one thing was certain, that,
however it may be judged in the next world, in this, among soldiers and
sailors, it will always be considered as venial. I did, therefore, what
most in my profession would have done under the same circumstances. I
drove it from my thoughts as much as possible, until the time came to
decide my