it," again exclaimed Montfanon. "I
know, for my part, that I am not here to assist at a butchery, and that
I will not assist at it.... I am going, sirs, and I expect you will do
the same, for I do not suppose you would select coachmen to play the
part of seconds.... Adieu, Dorsenne.... You do not doubt my friendship
for you.... I think I am giving you a veritable proof of it by not
permitting you to fight under such conditions."

When the old nobleman reentered the inn, he waited ten minutes,
persuaded that his departure would determine that of Cibo and of
Pietrapertosa, and that the new affair, following so strangely upon the
other, would be deferred until the next day. He had not told an untruth.
It was his strong friendship for Julien which had made him apprehend
a duel organized in that way, under the influence of a righteous
indignation. Gorka's unjustifiable violence would certainly not permit
a second encounter to be avoided. But as the insult had been outrageous,
it was the more essential that the conditions should be fixed calmly and
after grave consideration. To divert his impatience, Montfanon bade
the innkeeper point out to him whither they had carried Florent, and
he ascended to the tiny room, where the doctor was dressing the wounded
man's leg.

"You see," said the latter, with a smile, "I shall have to limp a little
for a month.... And Dorsenne?"

"He is all right, I hope," replied Montfanon, adding, with ill-humor:
"Dorsenne is a fool; that is what Dorsenne is. And Gorka is a wild
beast; that is what Gorka is." And he related the episode which had
just taken place to the two men, who were so surprised that the doctor,
bandage in hand, paused in his work. "And they wish to fight there at
once, like redskins. Why not scalp one another?... And that Cibo and
that Pietrapertosa would have consented to the duel if I had not opposed
it! Fortunately they lack two seconds, and it is not easy to find in
this district two men who can sign an official report, for it is the
mode nowadays to have those paltry scraps of paper. One of my friends
and myself had two such witnesses at twenty francs apiece. But that was
in Paris in 'sixty-two." And he entered upon the recital of the old-time
duel, to calm his anxiety, which burst forth again in these words: "It
seems they do not decide to separate so quickly. It is not, however,
possible that they will fight.... Can we see them from here?" He
approached the window, which