"I am not aware of anything of the sort, sah."
"Then I will tell you so now."
"That means you are afraid—you dare not meet me face to face and man to man! You show the white feather!"
"It means nothing of the sort."
"You can't get out of it, sah."
"I am a Northerner, and I do not believe in personal encounters with deadly weapons, after the rules of the code duello."
"A Northerner!" flung back Marline, with a curl of his lips and a proud toss of his head. "Well, I am a Southerner, and we do believe in the code duello. It is the only way for a man to satisfy his honor."
"It is evident that is a point on which we cannot agree."
"Then, you are going to back down—you will play the coward?"
"You are making your language very strong and offensive. Will you be good enough to remember you are on crutches, which makes it impossible for me to strike you now?"