'
"'You'll fight me here--now,' I said.
"'I shall do nothing half so melodramatic,' he answered. 'I'll give you
a fair chance on the ground; but, if you do not move out of my path now,
I'll shoot you as I would any other disagreeable ruffian,' and he put
his hand into his breast, where, I knew, he carried a pistol.
"I _was_ brave then. I sprang in upon him all at once. 'You may shoot
now, if you like,' I said. 'I swear I am quite unarmed. But show _that_
to your wife when you go back,' and I struck him with my open hand."
(I remembered the mark on the corpse's cheek, and looked at Guy eagerly.
I could not see his face, which was hidden by the curtain, but all his
lower limbs were shaking and quivering.)
"I thought how it would be," Bruce went on; "he drew his hand out with
the pistol in it, but he only flung it over the bank--one barrel went
off in the fall--then we grappled. After wrestling for a minute or two
on the narrow path, we lost our footing and rolled down the rocks;
neither quitted his hold, but I fell uppermost and kept him down. He
struggled desperately at first; but when he found that I was much the
stronger, he lay quite still, looking up into my face. I said, 'It's my
turn at last.
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