"Come, are we to wait till to-morrow ?" "We'll wait till to-morrow," said I, "if you'll promise not to seek to see or speak to Mlle.

Delhasse till to-morrow.

Otherwise we'll fight tonight, seconds or no seconds, light or no light!" I never understood perfectly the temper of the man, nor the sudden gusts of passion to which, at a word that chanced to touch him, he was subject.
Such a storm caught him now, and he bounded up from where he sat, cursing me for an insolent fellow who dared to put him under terms--for a fool who flattered himself that all women loved him--and for many other things which it is not well to repeat.

So that at last I said: "Lead the way, then: you know the best place, I suppose." Still muttering in fury, cursing now me, now the neglectful seconds, he strode rapidly on to the sands and led the way at a quick pace, walking nearly toward the setting sun.

The land trended the least bit outward here, and the direction kept us well under the lee of a rough stone wall that fringed the sands on the landward side.