Part 7 (1/2)

Slowly he pushed the point of his rapier through my coat-sleeve It pricked into my arm and I felt a few drops of warm blood trickle I did not wince

”Stop this infernal fooling,” I cried angrily

He bent forward, in the attitude of fence hich he was so fa, did you say? 'Gad! then, is this fooling?”

He turned the rapier againstasp

It was the act of a madman; and I knew in that moment that I was face to face with death by violence for the second time in a few hours I slowly backed from hiainst and sought the wall behindhard I closed hland broadsword and the feel of it was not unpleasant It lent a fresh flow to s, and, in a second, I was standing facing , deterainst his inhuman, insane conduct

”Ho! ho!” he yelled ”A duel in the twentieth century 'Gad! wouldn't this set London by the ears? The Corsican Brothers over again!

”Come on, with your battle-axe, farmer Giles, Let's see what stuff you're made of--blood or sawdust”

Twice he thrust at hts I parried as he thrust, not daring to venture a return

Our strange weapons rang out and re-echoed, tiain, in the dread stillness of the isolated ar from the first wound I had received, and a few drops of blood trickled down over the back ofon the floor

”You bleed!--just like a huloated Harry with a taunt

He caain

My broadsas heavy and, to ht and pliable I could tell that there could be only one ending, if the unequal contest were prolonged,--I would be wounded badly, or killed outright At that

Harry turned and twisted his weapon with the clever wristclub in Britain; and every tiht I should never be in time to meet his counter-stroke, his recovery was so very much quicker than mine

He played with an to coed at ht of his body recklessly behind his stroke, so sure was he, evidently, that it would find itssix inches of the point of it clattering to the floor

”darip of what steel remained in his hand

”Aren't you satisfied? Won't you stop thisloud and hollow in the stillness around us

For answer he grazeda littlesufficiently to cause ain, you see,” he chuckled, pushi+ng up his sleeves and pulling his tie straight ”George, dear boy, I'll have you in et at any of your well-covered vitals”

A blind fury seized rin and thrust heavily atno endeavour to push aside his weapon with ility of my body With an oath, he floundered forward, and before he could recover I brought the flat ofdown on the top of his head His arm went up with a nervous jerk and his rapier flew fro the broken glass rattling on to the ceed to the floor like a sack of flour and lay s spread out like a spider's

I was bending down to turn him over, when I heard my father's voice on the other side of the door

”Stand back! I'll see to this,” he cried, evidently addressing the frightened servants

I turned round The door swung on its i eyes and pallid face, taking in the situation deliberately, looking from me to Harry's inert body beside which I knelt Slowly he came into the centre of the room

Full of anxiety, I looked at hi in that stern, old face for any explanations He did not assail me with a torrent of words nor did he burst into a paroxyser