ration was pouring out upon his forehead
and beneath his armpits.

"The colonel is very kind," said Donnegan.

And that moment he sent up a prayer of thankfulness that his voice was
smooth as silk, and that he was able to smile into the face of Lord
Nick. The brow of the other clouded and then smoothed itself deftly.
Perhaps he, too, recognized the clang of steel upon steel and knew the
metal of his enemy.

"And therefore," said Lord Nick, "since most of The Corner expects
business from us, it seems much as if one of us must kill the other
before we part."

"As a matter of fact," said Donnegan, "I have been keeping that in
mind." He added, with that deadly smile of his that never reached his
eyes: "I never disappoint the public when it's possible to satisfy
them."

"No," and Lord Nick nodded, "you seem to have most of the habits of an
actor--including an inclination to make up for your part."

Donnegan bit his lip until it bled, and then smiled.

"I have been playing to fools," he said. "Now I shall enjoy a
discriminating critic."

"Yes," remarked Lord Nick, "actors generally desire an intelligent
audience for the death scene."

"I applaud your penetration and I shall speak well of you when this
disagreeable duty is finished."

"Come," and Lord Nick smiled genially, "you are a game little cock!"

The telltale flush crimsoned Donnegan's face. And if the fight had begun
at that moment no power under heaven could have saved Lord Nick from the
frenzy of the little man.

"My size keeps me from stooping," said Donnegan, "I shall look up to
you, sir, until the moment you fall."

"Well hit again! You are also a wit, I see! Donnegan, I am almost sorry
for the necessity of this meeting. And if it weren't for the audience--"

"Say no more," said Donnegan, bowing. "I read your heart and appreciate
all you intend."

He had touched his stock as he bowed, and now he turned to the mirror
and carefully adjusted it, for it was a little awry from the ride; but
in reality he used that moment to examine his own face, and the set of
his jaw and the clearness of his eye reassured him. Turning again, he
surprised a glint of admiration in the glance of Lord Nick.

"We are at one, sir, it appears," he said. "And there is no other way
out of this disagreeable necessity?"

"Unfortunately not. I have a certain position in these parts. People are
apt to expect a good deal of me. And for my part I see no way out except
a gunpla