The Valiants of Virginia

by Hallie Erminie Rives

CHAPTER XXV

JOHN VALIANT ASKS A QUESTION

Valiant went with them to the outer door. A painful thought was flooding his mind. It hampered his speech and it was only by a violent effort that he found voice:

“One moment! There is a question I would like to ask.”

Both gentlemen had turned upon the steps and as they faced him he thought a swift glance passed between them. They waited courteously, the doctor with his habitual frown, the major’s hand fumbling for the black ribbon on his waistcoat.

“Since I came here, I have heard”—his tone was uneven—“of a duel in which my father was a principal. There was such a meeting?”

“There was,” said the doctor after the slightest pause of surprise. “Had you known nothing of it?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

The major cleared his throat. “It was something he might naturally not have made a record of,” he said. “The two had been friends, and it—it was a fatal encounter for the other. The doctor and I were your father’s seconds.”