"Do you mean to insult me, sir? I never saw you before, and did not address you."
"I do not stand on ceremony with those who traduce my friends," retorted the Southerner sneeringly. "Colonel Burr is my friend—you have maligned him."
Danvers contemptuously replied: "You seem proud of your alleged intimacy with a notorious criminal. Perhaps you are the Vice-President's brother, or are you his man-servant?"
The taunt raised a laugh at Arlington, who roared out:
"Burr did right in calling Hamilton to the field; he vindicated his own honor."
"Push off! Loosen that line!" shouted the captain from the deck. "Hurry up! blast you! we're a year behind time!"
The boat-hands made a show of haste without making speed, reluctant to miss the chance of witnessing a fight.
"Captain Danvers, perhaps, like other Yankees, you preach against duelling, but do not scruple to traduce men who are not present to resent your words."
"You know my name!" cried Danvers, "but are wrong in supposing that I will stand an affront. If you are a gentleman—"
"If? Couldn't you waive ifs and buts long enough to try the Weehauken experiment and then investigate my pedigree? The question is, are you a man or a dastard?"