"Give way," he said, "or blood will surely be shed between us."
As sole reply, the stranger took a pistol in his right hand, a knife in his left.
"Ah!" Nathan said, mockingly, "You mean fighting."
"For the last time, withdraw."
"Nonsense, you are mad, señor Caballero; the road belongs to all, I tell you. This place suits me, and I shall remain."
"I wish to be alone here."
"You mean to kill me, then?"
"If I must, yes, without hesitation."
The two speakers had exchanged these words in a low and hurried voice, in less time than we have employed to write them. They stood but a few paces apart with flashing eyes, ready to rush on each other. Nathan returned his pistol to his belt.
"No noise," he said; "the knife will do; besides, we are in a country where that is the only weapon in use."