'And your regiment, monsieur,' asked Gabion, 'where is it?'
'We have battalions in India, in Ireland, and one is now, or shall soon be in Ashanti,' replied Goring.
'Ah—Sapristi! how I should like to serve in distant lands and colonies!'
'Belgium must first get them,' thought Goring. And on returning to the hotel, finding that there was still no message from Cadbury, as his patience was utterly exhausted, he confided in his new friend Gabion.
'I have had an unpleasant affair with a countryman of mine, a Lord Cadbury, who is now at the Hôtel St. Antoine; and as I have no intimate friend in Antwerp,' said he, 'will you as an officer—a brother soldier—arrange for a meeting between us?'
The Belgian tugged his dark moustaches, and hesitated, muttering, of course, the inevitable
'Sapristi!'
'You understand?' said Goring.
'Perfectly; but, mon ami, I don't like duels. I was engaged in one once, and the terrible memory of the part I had unwittingly to play in it haunts me still. What is this quarrel about?'
'A lady—a lady whose name must at all hazards be kept out of it.'