The men stood erect, their pistol-arms at their sides, the two seconds
stood at their official posts, the doctor stood five paces in Wilson's
rear with his instruments and bandages in his hands. The deep stillness,
the peaceful moonlight, the motionless figures, made an impressive
picture and the impending fatal possibilities augmented this
impressiveness solemnity. Wilson's hand began to rise--slowly--still
higher--still higher--in another moment:

"Boom!" the first stroke of midnight swung up out of the distance;
Angelo was off like a deer!

"Oh, you unspeakable traitor!" wailed his brother, as they went soaring
over the fence.

The others stood astonished and gazing; and so stood, watching that
strange spectacle until distance dissolved it and swept it from their
view. Then they rubbed their eyes like people waking out of a dream,

"Well, I've never seen anything like that before!" said the judge.
"Wilson, I am going to confess now, that I wasn't quite able to believe
in that leg business, and had a suspicion that it was a put-up
convenience between those twins; and when Count Angelo fainted I thought
I saw the whole scheme--thought it was pretext No. 2, and would be
followed by others till twelve o'clock should arrive, and Luigi would get
off with all the credit of seeming to want to fight and yet not have to
fight, after all. But I was mistaken. His pluck proved it. He's a
brave fellow and did want to fight."

"There isn't any doubt about that," said Howard, and added, in a grieved