and myself will do ourselves the honor of calling on your friends."

His manner was so grand that it quite calmed me to hear him.

One of the men who was supporting my adversary, a big, sun-burned man,
in a pith helmet, shook his head violently.

"Here, none of that, Miller," he said; "drop it. Can't you see the boy
isn't himself? This isn't the time to take advantage of him."

"We are only trying to oblige the gentleman," said Miller. "The duel
is the only means of defence we've left you people. But I tell you, if
any of you insult our government again, we won't even give you that
satisfaction--we'll ride you out of town."

The man in the pith helmet listened to Miller without any trace of
emotion. When Miller had finished he laughed.

"We've every means of defence that an American citizen needs when he
runs up against a crowd like yours," he said. He picked up his reins
and turned his horse's head down the street. "You will find us at the
Hotel Continental," he added. "And as for running us out of town," he
shouted over his shoulder, "there's an American man-of-war at Amapala
that is going to chase you people out of it as soon as we give the
word."

When I saw that Miller and Von Ritter were arranging a duel, I felt no
further interest in what the man said, until he threatened us with the
warship. At that I turned toward the naval ensign to see how he
received it.