"Did your remark refer to me, Monsieur Jacques?"
"Oui à vous," he said, furiously, now losing all command over himself, and heedless of the consequences; "and I repeat my remark."
Here he repeated his obnoxious epithet with an invective against my countrymen in general.
"Hold there!" I cried, for I began to feel my English blood boil in my veins, and in the best French I could muster, said,
"Retract your words. I give you one chance to apologise, and if you refuse——"
Before I could finish my rival's legs had formed a right angle, and I received a savât in the eye. Stung by the pain, and still more by the insult, I felt the strength of our whole line of barbers rush into my veins, and clenching my fist convulsively I let forth so terrible a blow in the chest of my adversary as to make him measure his length upon the floor, and cause the back of his head to resound against it like a cocoanut. Miss Pauline screamed, but the next moment my rival had bounced upright upon his feet, and seized a razor. Another scream from Pauline as he was making towards me, razor in hand, but this time I took up a chair and with it gave him such a blow over the knuckles as made him drop the razor and yell in agony. I laid down the chair, thinking that the fight was now over, but the Frenchman sprang on to me again like a hungry tiger, and so unexpected was the movement that I nearly lost my balance, but with great adroitness I managed to trip him up, and he fell under me.
He now began to bite and to scratch, but I seized his hair and banged his head against the ground several times. He then clutched me anew, and we began rolling over and over on the floor, Pauline screaming all the while, but extricating myself at length from his grasp, I bounded to my feet, and before he had time to rise placed one foot upon his throat. At this moment my employer attracted by his daughter's screams, entered.
"Mille diables!" he cried, fiercely, "ques-ce-que ce tappage la? Ah! ça, Monsieur Godam," said he, turning full upon me, "esce que vous êtes entré chez moi pour ensegner le box à mes eléves?"
Here Pauline broke in.
"No, I assure you, dear papa, it was not the Englishman's fault. Millefleurs began the quarrel. I saw him kick the Englishman in the eye."