Doggedly and without speaking, Burke drew his hat far down upon his eyes, and took the place marked out for him.
'Mr. Hinton,' said the Colonel, as he touched his hat with most courteous politeness, 'will you have the goodness to stand there?'
Mahon, meanwhile, handed each man his pistol, and whispering in my ear, 'Aim low,' retired.
'The word, gentlemen,' said the Colonel, 'will be, “One, two, three.” Mr. Hinton, pray observe, I beg of you, you 'll not reserve your fire after I say “three.”' With his eyes fixed upon us he walked back about ten paces. 'Are you ready? Are you both ready?'
'Yes, yes,' said Burke impatiently.
'Yes,'said I.
'One, two, three.'
I lifted my pistol at the second word, and as the last dropped from the Colonel's lips one loud report rang through the air, and both pistols went off together. A quick sharp pang shot through my cheek as though it had been seared by a hot instrument. I put up my hand, but the ball had only touched the flesh, and a few drops of blood were all the damage. Not so Burke; my ball had entered above the hip, and already his trousers were stained with blood, and notwithstanding his endeavours he could not stand up straight.
'Is he hit, Pigott?' cried he, in a voice harsh from agony. 'Is he hit, I say?'
'Only grazed,' said I tranquilly, as I wiped the stain from my face.