CHAPTER VIII.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 143, 27 February 1886, Page 3

CHAPTER VIII.

THE POND AT AUTKUIb. In his haste, Sartilly had forgotten to close the secret place in the bookcase. Ho thought of it when he went down stairs, and would have returned had not the Captain reminded him that he had barely time to arrive at the appointed hour. •'Since we have decided to do as these Bavages wish," said Chateaubrun, "let us try, at least, to be the first on the eround." The Viscount, desiring very much to have the affair ove", made no object'on ; and besides, he thought that tbe bookcase only contained now unimportant books, as the volume with the secret was in his hands. The officer's carriage was waiting at the gate ; it was a common hack, chosen expressly for the occasion, with six places ; •nd Sartilly 's carriage was standing a few paces off under Toby's care. Saitilly, calling to Toby to take the carriage home, jumped in the hack with M. de Chateaubrun, who called to the coachman, "The pcnd at Auteuil." The Viscount shook hands cordially with M. de Brehal, thanking him for his aid. "Indeed, sir," said M. de Brehal, " without speaking of the pleasure it gives me to be of service to you, nothing will be more agreeable to me than your giving: a good lesson with your sv\ %> d to M. de Dohna." " I will try not t. have given you tine trouble for nothing," . iswered Sartilly, smiling. The heavy vehicle started, and rolled on in the direction to Passy. At tfce moment it turned, the Viscount could fco, from the window of the carriage, that Toby, insteid of obsyins: him, -vas^alking quietly to the porter The Viscount promised himself the pleasure of turning him out of doora the same evening, and he only regretted not having got rid of him befoio " I have brought, as I told you, two pair 3 of swords : they are excellent, and suitable for you. If the Russians are also provided, we will ask them to use our^, as they have had already the choice of weapons, and it was they who chose swords ; it is our turn now." " Provided I fight, the conditions are indifferent to me," murmured Sartilly. " You are wrong," said Chateaubrun, in the sententious tone of a man who believed himself to be an authority in dueling affairs ; "you would be %\rong not to take every advantage. I know that you are a good swordsman, but these foreigners have an odd method of fighting that might become dangerous, and I beg you to pay attention to the feints of this De Dohna ; as, having insisted so strongly on immediate meeting, he must feel sure of success, and I know not why, but 1 do not think him brave." "I do not know him," began M. de Brehal, " but if he is like his seconds, I would not be surprised if he were to play you some treacherous trick !" "That's true," said Chateaubrun, "and now who is this M. de Dohna ? Ho was received into the club this winter as a temporary member ; they were very sorry for it, as he was not known at the embiS3y, and no one knows what he ba3 been doing in Paris." " But thi3 mission, that obliges him to start this evening ?" "But there are missions of more than one kind, and this one of De Dohna's may be one that cannot be acknowledged ; but now I think of it, Sartilly, did you know him before your discussion of last evening ?" askod Chateaubrun. " Very little ; I never saw him except at the club, and have never spoken to him but three times." " Then this quarrel is very strange, and I am tempted to believe that this Muscovite must have had some diplomatic motive in seeking it. " You know very well that I never meddle with politics," said Sartilly, with a shade of impatience ; " and I think it rather late to trace the cause of a duel which will take place in a quarter of an hour, for here we are at Auteuil." The carriage arrived at the Boig, and drove toward the place of meeting, which at this epoch did not resemble in the least what it ha 3 become in our days, as a very narrow path obstructed by rocks led to the border of a marshy hole that did not deserve the name of pond. The road being co rough that the carriage could not pass over it, Sartilly and his seconds were obliged to descend, and when on foot the Captain took the Viscount aside, and asked him if he had not some directions to give him. " None," answered Sartilly. He changed his mind, however, and taking a note book from hi 3 pocket, wrote some lines on it with a lead-pencil ; then, tearing out the leaf, put it in the volume, which he still held in his hand, much to the astonishment of his seconds. " In case of accident," he said to Chateaubrun, " I beg you to give this book yourself to Mademoiselle de Mensignac, to whom I was to have been married in a month." " You can depend upon its being done," aid the Captain ; "but are you going to carry this book upon the ground ? It would be, to say the least, rather original." "It will do if I find it after the affair is over," said the Viscount. " I will leave it under the cushions of the carriage ; but you will promise me not to forget it, if anything should happen to me. I swear to you it is not a whim," added he, seeing a smile upon the Captain's face, "and there is nothing of more importance to me than thatthis book should be given to Mademoiselle de Meneig- j nac." Chateaubrun became grave, and pressing his friend's hand, promised him seriously to obey him. " It appears we are the first," said M. de Brehal, taking the awords from the carriage. "We will not have to wait long," anBwered the Captain ; " listen!" A eound of wheels and cracking of whips could be heard very distinctly near Auteuil, and very soon a carriage was seen at the end of thenarrowroad, followed by a post-cbaise drawn by four horses ; and the postilions Jiad much trouble in moderating their gait, that they might notpassjthe humble vehicle that preceded them. " Well," said the Captain laughing, " De Dohna is bent upon executing his programme to the end, and we are going to have a duel by poBt ; since he is so hurried, do not keep him waiting long, my dear Sartilly, for one of those good blows that you know so well how to give." The Viscount made a motion of his head, as much as to say, " If I do not succeed, it will not be my fault ;" and they walked toward the pond. De Brehal and Chateaubrun, each carrying two swords, entered the thicket. A duel at the pond at Auteuil would be impossible now; but then, this part of the

wood was deserted, and in winter particu larly thero waa no danger of being disturbed by pedestrians. The place was perfectly well chosen ; the ground seemed exactly fitted for the purpose as the spaco between the thicket and pond was sufficient ; the grass being thick and firm under foot, there was no fear of slipping, and the trees of tbo wood wero high enough to shelter the combatants from the sun, whose bright rays even at thiB season might have troubled them. The two adverse groups arrived almost at the same time in the glade ; M. De Uohna was in travelling costume, and looked anxious. They saluted each other politely but coldly —more coldly even than customary in a meeting of this kind ; and the seconds began immediately making their arrangements. To th« great surprise of the Captain, the Russians did not insist upon the choice of weapons', but agreed to leave it to chance, which favoured Sartilly. Turing these short preparations the Viscount was observing his ad vcrsary stealthily; it seemed to him that M. de Dohna was paler than usual, and waa looking anxiously around him ; but he had not time to be very critical in his observations, as his two seconds came for him. " It is all arranged," said the Captain, •''and you are to fight with the heaviest of my swords, as I think they will suit your hand better, and the fight is to go on until one of you is disabled." "Very well," said Sartilly, who felt himself in the best disposition a man could possibly be in to fight a duel— that is to say, well in body and calm in mind. The three Russians wore conferring together while drawing near, and Chateaubrun was giving his last directions to his friend. " This Cossack has immense legs ; this is a case to break off often to fatigue him ; abiveall, no false shame; to break off is not to fly, and lam bent upon taking you home unhurt." ' Do not be uneasy ; I am going to do my best. I desire life too much at this moment to run any risk." The two adversaries took off their coats, each one choosing a sword, and standing upon thoir guard ; Sartilly facing the wood and the Russian with his back to the brushwood ; the four seconds placing themselves at, the proper distance, the Captain pronounced the decisivo words, •' Begin, gontlemen." A clashing of steel followed this usual sentence, and for some seconds there were hurried movements, as if the two combatants were feeling and trying their skill. M. de Dohna had the advantage of height, j and was disposed to profit by it, as his extended arms and long legs seemed to guarantee him from an attack below. To make I amends for this, Sartilly had a Avrist of steel, and a remarkable suppleness of body — two qualities sufficient to ronder the game equal —and after the first attack the Viscount's superiority became evident. His close and rapid movements, his skilful and direct attacks, his bearing and composure while fighting, seemed so much more remarkable, as his adversary's movements were feeble, and his attitude awkward and uneasy. Tho Russian defended himself with no very great disadvantage against the prudent attacks of Sartilly ; not taking the offensive, his plan seemed to be to tire out his adversary. The seconds remarked it, Chateaubiun grumbling in a low voice, and had it not been contrary to the code of duels, he would have certainly expressed his opinion aloud ; he contentod himself, however, by suspending the combat, which had lasted more than two minutos. The two combatants, while reposing, offered a striking contrast, as Sartilly, with an animated complexion, bright eyes, and erect body, looked like a soldier under arms, and at a glance one could see he felt sure of himself ; while M. de Dohna, very pale, a little bent, was casting around him uneasy glances, and it »eemed really as if he wore expecting some one. His eeconds, the other Russians, were not any more at their ease. " Decidedly," thought Chateaubrun, "this Russian is a coward, and Saitilly can soon manage him." With this consoling idea, he gave the signil to begin again, and this time the Viscount, perfectly master of himself, and knowing the force of his adversary, attacked him freely, pushing blow upon blow, and making two or three dangerous thrusts, that to his great surprise were warned off, and the Captain, who was obperving the fight attentively, looking upon the Russian as a dead man, was astonished, after the I Hst movements of Sartilly, at seeing him continue his uncertain movements and i weak thrusts. "Is it a calculation ?" said Chateaubrun, in a low voice, " and is the villain stronger than I thought him ?" Sartilly had probably the same suspicion of the plans of his adversary, for on the third round he became more prudent, and no longer risked ra°h blows, for there was something inexplicable in the Russian's conduct. Although the engagement bad begun on firm ground, the combatants were rather near the wood ; but M. de Dohna, taking two or three step 3 backward, drew nearer the thicket that surrounded the glade ; and Sartilly, thinking that the moment had come for doing so, pushed blow after blow according to the logic of the sword, that combines all and leaves nothing to chance. The Russian defended himself at first with no very great inferiority, but the Viscount gained upon him by his quickness, and the rapid motion of his hand, and a thrust not quickly enough parried, touched the Russian's shoulder, staining his shirt with blood. At the moment when Sartilly, raising up his sword quickly, was preparing to give a decisive blow, a feeble cry was heard from the thicket behind M. de Dohna. There are actions impossible to account for exactly, being so prompt and simultaneous ; by an instinctive movement the Viscount's eyes turned toward the point where the cry came from, and instead of giving the blow to his adversary, his hand remained mechanically raised, for he had just seen above the brushwood the hideous face of the man with the basket. A second was sufficient to recognise the frightful old man who, on the fatal morning, had disappeared as a phantom. The apparition had petrified Sartilly, and with eyes fixed on the thicket, De Dohna's sword, meeting no obstacle, was plunged in the right side of tho unfortunate Viscount, who fell senseless on the ground ; the man in the thicket disappearing so quickly that the seconds, not having seen this strange scene, could not understand Sartilly's hesitation. " Thunder !" cried the Captain, " there is a fate in this affair," rushing toward his friend, who gave no sign of life. M. de Dohna, lividly pale, and evidently trembling, seemed to be deliberating with his seconds, while Chateaubrun uncovered the breast of the wounded man, and his comrade De Brehal held up his head. After a few minutes' conversation witl his seconds, M. de Dohna came forward and said : "Gentlemen, I hope you will do me the justice to say that all has passed honour • ably." Whether the Captain was absorbed by the 3 care of Sartilly, or whether it did not suit

him to give the Russian the approval he asked for, he remained silent. "My duty obliges me unfortunately to start immediately ; but these gentlemen who have been my seconds will willingly take my place if M. de Sartilly has need of help-" "I beg them only to remember my ad dress," said Chateaubrun ; "If they have forgotten it, I will refresh their memory." The two r.vcsians did not notice this defiant reply — ra7ie<: out of place, it must be confessed, under the circumstances— but bowed coldly, and, after having bandaged M. de Dohna'B sligbt wound, went away with him. A moment after the noise of wheels and bells announced that the post-chaise was bearing away the con qaerors, and the officers remained alone with the wounded man in the silent glade. "I believe it is all over with the Viscount," said the Captain, oxamining the deep wound that the sword had made above the right elav^e. " What a mistake wo made in not bringing a surgeon !" cried M. De Brehal. " It is always this way in hurried affairs," said the Captain. "If I had only known last night, I would have had time to arrange things properly ." " Let us put him in the carriage," interrupted M. de Brehal ; "the most important thing at this moment is to find ft physician." Chateauburn being of the same opinion, lifted the head of his unfortunate friend, while M. de Brehal raising his feet carried their sad burden to the carriage. The coachman, terribly frightened, wanted to drive off ; but a few energetic words fro*n the Captain brought him to his senses, and he aided them in placing Sartilly on the carriage cushions. "And now what are we to do?" aekod de Brehal. "Let me see," said the Captain: "I know a physician at A ateuil, not two steps from here ; we will stop there, and he can tell us whether it will bo safe to tako poor Sartilly back to his house " They began moving at a slow pace, the two seconds on the front seat, and Sartilly lying on the cushions almost without breathing. "I am afraid," said Chateaubrun, shaking his head "that the~e is not much hope for poor Sartilly ; the wound has not bled much, wh'ch is a bad sign. Do you understand, for I cannot," added he, " How this Russian, whom Sartilly could have struck twenty times, has run him through like a lark. Did you see the blow, do Brehal ?" " Perfectly, with the slightest movement of the wrist, trie Viscount could have parried it." " Well, then, he must have lot him kill him purposely !" " I think he was soizod with a giddiness, for his eyes turned, and he fell just at the moment when he was on the point of giving a deadly blow." " I can't rid myself of the idea that this duel was a murder, and I will have t cleared up some day or other." On arriving at. the physirian's houee.> Chateaubrun went in, while his friend remained to take care of the wonded man, and also to prevent persons from coming round the carriage. By good fortune, the Doctor was at home, and ran down hastily. Ho was a young, intelligent, and well educated man, who, thanks to a handsome fortune, could wait for practice to come to him. He knew the Captain personally, andhad met the Viscount often enough to take a special interest in him; he jumped into the carriage, and began his examination with the promptitude and knowledge that one immediately necognises in a skilful practitioner, the Captain and M. do Brehal waiting at the door of the carriage for the sentence that was to decide Sartilly's fate. " It is a seriou3 but not mortal wound," said the physician, quietly. " Where does M. de Sartilly live ?" "It is very far from hero, in rue d'Astorg " "No matter; we must go there; the wounded man can bear the movement, and when convalo?cent will be better in his own house than elsewhere" The Doctor and M. de Brehal rcmainod in the carriage, while the Captain took his seat with the coachmen to regulate the horses' gait, "and avoid jolting the unfortunate Viscount, The brave Captain was so overwhelmed by the sad winding up of tho duel that Sartilly's directions had escaped his memory entirely, and it was only at the moment when the carriage stopped at Sartilly's house he remembered tho singular'rommission he had given him. " What a disagreeable task, he grumbled, incoming down from the seat; "to tell this distressing tale to the young girl will not be pleasant ; and then this old book, that I have forgotten — I hope it is in the carriage." The coachman, hearing doubtless this last sentence, took it upon himself to answer : " Tell me, sir, was it a big square book, that you had put under the cushion ?" " Yes ; and I hope it ia there still." " No ; I gave it to a man whom you sent togebit." " Thunder !" said the Captain, ! furiously "what man ?'* "An old man with grey hair, who looked very respectable, and he told me that it was a book containing the rules of dueling, and that you needed it." Chateaubrun, filled with consternation at this strange news, could not find a word to reply, when the physician called him to help him in moving the sick man. At the moment ho was going to open the carriage door, he felt some one touch his arm. " Excuse me, sir," said the coachman, •' here is a paper that was in the book, and that the old man let fall without observing it." The Captain eagerly seized it, and recognised the leaf that Sartilly had torn from his memorandum-book to write a few words before the duel. "This is very fortunate," he said, securing the paper ; " but the^e are a great many things which require clearing up here ;" and, with the help of his two friends, he lifted up tho wounded man, who had not yet recovered consciousness.