"Isn't it? Well, it's all that I am disposed to give, at present;" and Fred helped himself to a fresh cup of coffee.
"By the way," I continued, "perhaps you have not been to breakfast. Pray be seated, and have a dish of coffee."
The officer hesitated for a moment, but thinking, perhaps, that he could best arrange the affair while sipping coffee, he finally took his seat upon an old box, while Smith helped him to a cracked cup minus a saucer.
"Then there is no way of arranging this little affair, is there?" asked the officer, whom we now understood was Lieutenant Merriam.
"O, yes, there are half a dozen ways," replied Fred, coolly. "In the first place, your friend can withdraw his challenge—"
"Never!" exclaimed the officer, firmly. "We feel too deeply injured."
"And in the next place, I can refuse to accept it," Fred continued, without noticing the interruption.
"But you will apologize," cried Merriam, eagerly. "Say that you will do that, and I will take my leave."
"Then I shall do no such thing, for we are not often forced into the company of her majesty's officers, and we wish to improve the acquaintance."
The lieutenant looked at Fred as though mentally calculating what kind of a man he was, but in spite of his dignity and bold face, he smiled, and held out his cup for more coffee.