A FEW PARTING WORDS WITH O'HALLORAN.—HIS TOUCHING PARENTAL TENDERNESS, HIGH CHIVALRIC SENTIMENT, AND LOFTY SENSE OF HONOR.—PISTOLS FOR TWO.— PLEASANT AND HARMONIOUS ARRANGEMENT.—"ME BOY, YE'RE AN HONOR TO YER SEX!"
"It's sorry I am," said O'Halloran, "but I won't deteen ye, for I always rispict an engeegemint."
He stopped and looked at me with a benevolent smile. I had risen from my chair, and was standing before him.
"Sit down a momint," said he. "There's a subjict I wish to mintion, the considhereetion of which I've postponed till now."
I resumed my seat in some surprise.
"Me boy," said he, in a tender and paternal voice, "it's now toime for me to speak to ye about the ayvint of which I was a casual oi-witniss. I refer to your addhrissis to me woife. Don't intherrupt me. I comprayhind the whole matter. The leedies are all fond of ye. So they are of me. Ye're a devvil of a fellow with them—an' so am I. We comprayhind one another. You see we must have a mayting."
"A meeting!"
"Yis—of coorse. A jool. There's nothing else to be done."
"You understand," said I, "of course, the nature of my awkward mistake, and the cause of it."
"Don't mintion it. Me ondherstand? Of coorse. Am I an owl? Be dad, I nivir laughed so much these tin years. Ondherstand! Every bit of it. But we won't have any expleeneetions about that. What concerns us is the code of honor, and the jewty of gintlemin. A rigid sinse of honor, and a shuprame reygard for the sancteties of loife, requoire that any voioleetion, howivir onintintional, be submitted and subjicted to the only tribunal of chivalry—the eencient and maydoayval orjil of the jool."
I confess I was affected, and deeply, by the lofty attitude which O'Halloran assumed. He hadn't the slightest hard feeling toward me. He wasn't in the smallest degree jealous. He was simply a calm adherent to a lofty and chivalrous code. His honor had been touched ignorantly, no doubt—yet still it had been touched, and he saw no other course to follow than the one laid down by chivalry.
"My friend," said I, enthusiastically, "I appreciate your delicacy, and your lofty sentiment. This is true chivalry. You surpass yourself. You are sublime!"
"I know I am," said O'Halloran, naïvely.
A tear trembled in his eye. He did net seek to conceal his generous emotion. That tear rolled over and dropped into his tumbler, and hallowed the draught therein.
"So then," said I, "we are to have a meeting—but where, and when?"
"Whinivir it shoots you, and wherivir. I'm afraid it'll take you out of your wee. We'll have to go off about twinty moiles. There's a moighty convaynient place there, I'm sorry it's not nayrer, but it can't be helped. I've had three or fower maytings there mesilf this last year. You'll be deloighted with it whin you once get there. There's good whiskey there too. The best in the country. We'll go there."
"And when?"
"Well, well—the seconds may areenge about that. How'll nixt Monday do?"
"Delightfully, if it suits you."
"Oh, I'll be shooted at any toime."
"What shall we meet with?" I asked.
"Sure that's for you to decoide."
"Pistols," I suggested.
O'Halloran nodded.
"I really have no preference. I'll leave it to you if you like," said
I.
O'Halloran rose—a benevolent smile illumined his face. He pressed my hand.
"Me boy," said he, with the same paternal tone which he had thus far maintained, "don't mintion it. Aihter will do. We'll say pistols. Me boy, ye're as thrue as steel—" He paused, and then wringing my hand, he said in a voice tremulous with emotion—"Me boy, ye're an honor to yer sex!"