ith the quarterstaff. I have
no knowledge of the ways of town fights, such as I heard talk of in
the Folly yesterday; but--"

"But you have a stout arm, an honest heart, and a tongue that will
not wag when it is bidden to be silent? Is that so, honest friend
Tom?"

"My lord, I would not speak a word to living soul if you bid me be
silent; and I would stand by you to the death!"

"'Tis a sudden liking you have taken for my unworthy self."

"Prove me, my lord, if it be not as sound as it be sudden."

Lord Claud stretched out his hand, and Tom's great fist met it.

"This liking on sight is a strange matter; yet I seldom mistake my
man. Tom, I am going to trust you to act as my second in a little
affair I have with another gentleman tomorrow morning, in a certain
spot of which I have knowledge. Another man was to have acted for
me--he has, indeed, made all the arrangements; but, as yon note
informs me, he was mixed up in a brawl last evening at the gaming
house, and lies abed with a broken arm. 'Tis not a matter I would
have get wind, else there be a dozen men who would serve my turn. I
had rather one silent, steady comrade than a score of chattering
jays. So you shall be my friend, Tom, and see what duelling is
like."

"You are not in danger of death, my lord, or grievous bodily hurt?
Else I fear I should break the rules of the game and dash to your
succour!"

"Tush, boy!" answered the other, with a gleam in his eyes, "I have
yet to find my match with the rapier; I shall get off without a
scratch, you will see. Whether or not I kill my man will depend
upon his behaviour. I love not slaughter for its own sake, but
there be those whose jaunty insolence rouses the devil within me;
and then I strike and spare not."

"And for what cause do men fight duels?" asked Tom.

"The question is a wide one, and smacks of innocence on your part,
Tom. Generally a woman is the cause; but there be other matters
too--wounded self-esteem or vanity, revenge, envy, evil passions of
all sorts. But, egad, in these days it takes little to provoke the
combat! Why, it is but a few months ago that two young sparks met
in mortal conflict because, forsooth, one of them had declared that
Venus was the goddess of love and beauty, whilst the other affirmed
that it was Aphrodite!" and Lord Claud leaned back upon his pillows
and laughed aloud; laughing still more when he found that he had to
explain to Tom the nature of the confusion which had