“The class will send a man to meet you this evening in Fort Clinton,” said the cadet.
“Ah,” responded Mark. “Thank you. And who is the man?”
“He is the captain of your company, Mr. Fischer. And that is about all, I believe.”
“It is not all,” observed Mark, very quietly; and then, as the other turned in surprise, he clinched his fists. “I refuse to fight Mr. Fischer,” he said.
“Refuse to fight him?”
The three gasped it all at once, in a tone of amazement that cannot be shown on paper.
“And pray,” added the spokesman, “why do you refuse to fight Mr. Fischer?”
“My reasons,” said Mark, “are my own. I never try to justify my conduct to others. I simply refuse to fight Mr. Fischer. I’ll fight any other man you send.”
“You’ll fight no one else!” snapped the cadet. “Mr. Fischer is the choice of the class. If you refuse to meet him, and give no reason, it can only be because——”
“Because you know he’s too good a man for you!” put in one of the others. “Because you’re afraid of him!”