ur rank--you are a lord, I believe-and
give me satisfaction."

_Ipsden._ "My rank, sir, such as it is, engages me to give a proper
answer to proposals of this sort; I am at your orders."

_Gatty._ "A man of your character must often have been called to an
account by your victims, so--so--" (hesitating) "perhaps you will tell
me the proper course."

_Ipsden. "I_ shall send a note to the castle, and the colonel will send
me down somebody with a mustache; I shall pretend to remember mustache,
mustache will pretend he remembers me; he will then communicate with
your friend, and they will arrange it all for us."

_Gatty._ "And, perhaps, through your licentiousness, one or both of us
will be killed."

_Ipsden._ "Yes! but we need not trouble our heads about that--the
seconds undertake everything."

_Gatty._ "I have no pistols."

_Ipsden._ "If you will do me the honor to use one of mine, it shall be
at your service."

_Gatty._ "Thank you."

_Ipsden._ "To-morrow morning?"

_Gatty._ "No. I have four days' painting to do on my picture, I can't
die till it is finished; Friday morning."

_Ipsden._ "(He is mad.) I wish to ask you a question, you will excuse my
curiosity. Have you any idea what we are agreeing to differ about?"

_Gatty._ "The question does you little credit, my lord; that is to add
insult to wrong."

He went off hurriedly, leaving Lord Ipsden mystified.

He thought Christie Johnstone was somehow connected with it; but,
conscious of no wrong, he felt little disposed to put up with any
insult, especially from this boy, to whom he had been kind, he thought.

His lordship was, besides, one of those good, simple-minded creatures,
educated abroad, who, when invited to fight, simply bow, and load two
pistols, and get themselves called at six; instead of taking down tomes
of casuistry and puzzling their poor brains to find out whether they are
gamecocks or capons, and why.

As for Gatty, he hurried home in a fever of passion, begged his mother's
pardon, and reproached himself for ever having disobeyed her on account
of such a perfidious creature as Christie Johnstone.

He then told her what he had seen, as distance and imagination had
presented it to him; to his surprise the old lady cut him short.

"Charles," said she, "there is no need to take the girl's character
away; she has but one fault--she is not in the same class of life as
you, and such marriages always lead to misery; but in other respects s