"The whole scene is before me from the manner in which you relate it."

"I have, in fact, reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
alterations."

"And now," said the king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier. You
were saying that he walked towards his adversary while the latter was
loading his pistol."

"Yes; but at the very moment he himself was taking aim, the other fired."

"Oh!" said the king; "and the shot?"

"The shot told terribly, sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his
face, after having staggered forward three or four paces."

"Where was he hit?"

"In two places; in the first place, in his right hand, and then, by the
same bullet, in his chest."

"But how could you ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.

"By a very simple means; the butt end of the pistol was covered with
blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a
broken ring. The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger
and the little finger carried off."

"As far as the hand goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest?"