He reloaded his rifle, leaped into the canoe, and with a few strokes of his paddle, found himself on the other side of the river.
"There," he said as he landed and walked up to the American, who was writhing like a serpent on the platform, howling and blaspheming; "I warned you: I only wished to equalise the chances, and you have no right to complain of what has happened to you, my dear sir: the fault rests entirely with yourself."
"Seize him! kill him!" the wretch shouted, a prey to indescribable fury.
"Come, come, calm yourself. Good gracious, you have only a broken arm, after all; remember, I could have easily killed you, had I pleased. Hang it, you are not reasonable."
"Oh! I will kill him," he yelled, as he gnashed his teeth.
"I hardly think so, at least not for the present; I will say nothing about by and by. But let that be: I will examine your wound, and dress it while we talk."
"Do not touch me! Do not come near me, or I know not to what extremities I may proceed."
The Canadian shrugged his shoulders.
"You must be mad," he said.
Incapable of enduring longer the state of exasperation in which he was, the dealer, who was also weakened by the loss of blood, made a vain effort to rise and rush on his foe; bat he fell back and fainted while muttering a final curse.