His eye wandered about the deck for a moment or two; he then said, ‘I am without a second. That need not signify. But I must be satisfied that the duel in other respects will be in accordance with the practice of such things ashore.’
‘Oh! certainly,’ I answered.
‘What are to be the weapons?’ he inquired.
‘Pistols,’ I replied.
‘I have no pistols. I have lost all by the foundering of my yacht.’
‘We have pistols,’ said I.
He bowed, then his eye roamed over the deck again, and he exclaimed, with the air of a man thinking aloud, ‘I am without a second,’ adding decisively, ‘I am perfectly willing to give Sir Wilfrid Monson satisfaction, but I submit, sir, that it would be more convenient to wait until he and I have arrived home——’
‘No!’ thundered my cousin. ‘I do not mean that you shall arrive home.’
The Colonel glanced at him with a sneer.
‘Will you be so good as to step into the boat, sir?’ said I.