hated you
then, and I hate you now. And you have insulted me, and I am a gentleman,
and so are you. Is that not enough?"

"Too much, only too much," said the Colonel, with a genuine grief on his
face, and at his heart "Do you bear malice, too, Harry? I had not thought
this of thee!"

"I stand by my brother," said Harry, turning away from the Colonel's
look, and grasping George's hand. The sadness on their adversary's face
did not depart. "Heaven be good to us! 'Tis all clear now," he muttered
to himself. "The time to write a few letters, and I am at your service,
Mr. Warrington," he said.

"You have your own pistols at your saddle. I did not ride out with any;
but will send Sady back for mine. That will give you time enough, Colonel
Washington?"

"Plenty of time, sir." And each gentleman made the other a low bow, and,
putting his arm in his brother's, George walked away. The Virginian
officer looked towards Captain Benson, the master of the tavern, saying,
"Captain Benson, you are an old frontier man, and an officer of ours,
before you turned farmer and taverner. You will help me in this matter
with yonder young gentleman?" said the Colonel.

"I'll stand by and see fair play, Colonel. I won't have any hand in it,
beyond seeing fair play. You ain't a-goin' to be very hard with them poor
boys? Though I seen 'em both shoot; the fair one hunts well, as you
know, but the old one's a wonder at an ace of spades."

"Will you be pleased to send my man with my valise, Captain, into any
private room which you can spare me? I must write a few letters before
this business comes on. God grant it were well over!" And the Captain led
the Colonel into a room of his house where he remained occupied with
gloomy preparations for the ensuing meeting. His adversary in the other
room also thought fit to make his testamentary dispositions, too,
dictated by his own obedient brother and secretary, a grandiloquent
letter to his mother, of whom, and by that writing, he took a solemn
farewell. She would hardly, he supposed, pursue _the scheme which she had
in view_, after the event of that morning, should he fall, as probably
would be the case.

"My dear, dear George, don't say that!" cried the affrighted secretary.

"As probably will be the case," George persisted with great majesty. "You
know what a good shot Colonel George is, Harry. I, myself, am pretty fair
at a mark, and 'tis probable that one or both of us will drop--I scarcely
su