"And now," said the king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier. You were saying that he had walked toward his adversary while the latter was loading his pistol."
"Yes; but at the very moment he himself was taking aim, the other fired."
"Oh!" said the king; "and the shot?"
"The shot told terribly, sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his face, after having staggered forward three or four paces."
"Where was he hit?"
"In two places; in the first place, in his right hand, and then, by the same bullet, in his chest."
"But how could you ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.
"By a very simple means; the butt-end of the pistol was covered with blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed with fragments of a broken ring. The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger and the little finger carried off."
"As far as the hand goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest!"
"Sire, there were two small pools of blood, at a distance of about two feet and a half from each other. At one of these pools of blood the grass was torn up by the clenched hand; at the other the grass was simply pressed down by the weight of the body."