In the first cab sat Kolberg, Borgert, and two surgeons, while the second was occupied by Kahle, his second, and the two members of the Council of Honor, who were to witness the duel as impartial judges. Beneath the rear seat lay the case of pistols. From the highroad the vehicles turned into a side path, so narrow that the branches of the trees standing to right and left frequently beat against the cab panes.
They reached their destination,—an opening in the woods. It was here, secluded from all curious and observant eyes, that the officers of the nearby garrison went to settle their “affairs of honor.” The occupants of both vehicles descended and ordered the drivers to ride back to the edge of the woods, and there await their return.
The case containing the pistols was placed on a slight eminence, and the seconds took out the weapons; then these were loaded, and both pistols underwent an examination by the seconds.
The surgeons took off their coats, spread out their instruments, and made ready strips of bandage. Meanwhile the judges had measured the proper distance and had firmly planted their swords at either end, to mark the terminal points. This was accomplished with some difficulty, as the ground was frozen hard.
The customary formal attempt to effect a reconciliation was ineffectual, of course, and so the two principals took their stands at the indicated points.
Kahle looked pale; he trembled with the cold, and his nervously-twitching features betrayed intense agitation.
Kolberg, on the contrary, was almost smiling, and threw away with a careless gesture the stub of the cigarette he had been smoking until the last.
One of the judges explained briefly the order of combat, saying that the shots must be fired between the words “one” and “three.” A moment later he commanded:
“Ready!”
Both men held their pistols pointed towards the ground, in order to raise them immediately on the word “one.”