She could not conceive of a gentleman's being forbidden by his scruples to use arms when the occasion demanded.

How else, she asked, could he defend his honour, his loved ones, the women entrusted to his charge?
When the four were seated in their carriage, the gentlemen facing the ladies, Blanka led the conversation back to the point at which Manasseh had dropped it.
"You said you feared you should kill that young man some day," she began.

"Does your religion forbid you to kill a man--under any circumstances ?" "With a single exception," he replied; "but that exception is out of the question in this instance." Blanka wondered what the single exception could be, but refrained from asking.

"Are you well acquainted with Mr.Vajdar ?" she inquired presently.
"We have known each other from childhood," was the reply.

"Whatever I possessed was shared with him.