“Nothing, Sir,” said Mr. Snodgrass, who began to feel rather uncomfortable himself.

“Will you step forward?” said the officer.

“Certainly,” replied Mr. Snodgrass. The ground was measured, and preliminaries arranged.

“You will find these better than your own,” said the opposite second, producing his pistols. “You saw me load them. Do you object to use them?”

“Certainly not,” replied Mr. Snodgrass. The offer relieved him from considerable embarrassment, for his previous notions of loading a pistol were rather vague and undefined.