'
But Rosser would not withdraw a word. By the
custom of the country and the time there could be
but one outcome to the quarrel.
'I demand the satisfaction due to a gentleman,'
said the stranger, who had become more calm. 'I
have not an acquaintance in this region. Perhaps
you, sir,' bowing to Sancher, 'will be kind enough
to represent me in this matter.'
Sancher accepted the trust--somewhat reluc-
tantly it must be confessed, for the man's appear-
ance and manner were not at all to his liking. King,
who during the colloquy had hardly removed his
eyes from the stranger's face and had not spoken
a word, consented with a nod to act for Rosser, and
the upshot of it was that, the principals having
retired, a meeting was arranged for the next evening.
The nature of the arrangements has been already
disclosed. The duel with knives in a dark room
was once a commoner feature of south-western
life than it is likely to be again. How thin a veneering
of 'chivalry' covered the essential brutality of the
code under which such encounters were possible we
shall see.
3
In the blaze of a midsummer noonday the old
Manton house was hardly true to its traditions. It
was of the earth, earthy. The sunshine caressed it
warmly and affectionately, with evident disregard
of its bad reputation. The grass greening all the
expanse in its front seemed to grow, not rankly, but
with a natural and joyous exuberance, and the weeds
blossomed quite like plants.
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