Thank you very much, Colonel," Frank said. "I only wish I knew where to
send a copy to Julian."

"I am sure I wish that you could do so," the colonel said. "Poor fellow!
he has paid dearly indeed for his well-meant though rash attempt to
seize Faulkner's murderer. I shall have finished my business in two or
three minutes, and shall be glad if you will stop to have a chat with
me."

As soon as the magistrate had concluded his talk with Mr. Henderson, and
the latter had gone off to carry out the arrangements, Colonel Chambers
turned to the captain and said, "Have you seen any of the London papers,
Downes?"

"No, Colonel. I have had enough to think of this morning since we moored
up. Is there anything of importance in them?"

"Nothing perhaps extraordinarily important, but something certainly
interesting at the present moment. Here is the _Morning Herald_. This is
the item: 'Our correspondent at Canterbury states that much excitement
has been lately caused in military circles there by an affair of
honour--'" "Oh, that is too bad!" Frank broke in hotly--"'between an
officer of the Lancers, Captain M--l, and a cornet of the 15th Light
Dragoons, Mr. W--t. It is said that Captain M--l has been engaged in
several similar encounters, and is famous for his skill with the pistol.
The affair began, we understand, at a mess-dinner of the cavalry depot a
few days since, at which several well-known gentlemen of the town were
present. Captain M--l used insulting language to a recently-joined
young officer of the Dragoons. Mr. W--t took the matter up hotly, and
rising, denounced Captain M--l in such strong language that a duel
became inevitable. In view of the youth and supposed inexperience of Mr.
W--t, the affair was regarded with extreme disapprobation by the
officers of Captain M--l's regiment, as well as by those of the
Dragoons. It seems, however, that Mr. W--t had for some time been
practising with the pistol under the tuition of our respected townsman,
Mr. Woodall the gunsmith, and before the parties met he confided to the
officer who acted as his second that he intended to aim at his
opponent's trigger-finger and so to incapacitate him from further
adventures of the kind. Extraordinary as it may appear, this intention
was carried out. Captain M--l not only lost his finger, but the bullet
passed up his arm and broke it above the elbow. We understand that the
limb has been successfully amputated by the surgeons of the two cor