All was confusion and excitement in an instant. Quentin and the millionaire drew their lithe countryman away from the gathering crowd, one cheek white as a sheet, the other a bright pink, and Phil hoa.r.s.ely whispered to him:
"I don"t know what we"re in for, d.i.c.key, so for heaven"s sake let"s get out of here. We don"t want any more of it. You gave him a good punch and that"s enough."
"You broke up the show all right enough," exclaimed the millionaire, excitedly. "The fairies ran over each other trying to get out of the room. You"re as game as a fighting c.o.c.k, too."
"Let me alone, Phil!" panted d.i.c.key. "You don"t suppose I"m going to run from that big duffer, do you? Let go!"
"Don"t be a fool, d.i.c.key," said his friend, earnestly. Just then a pale-faced, sickly-looking waiter came up from behind and hoa.r.s.ely whispered in Quentin"s ear:
"Get out, quick! The big prince made a mistake. He was to have quarrelled with you, Monsieur." He was gone before he could be questioned.
"See!" exclaimed d.i.c.key. "It was a job, after all, and the dago is at the bottom of it!"
"Sh! Here he comes with the Russian and the whole pack behind them.
It"s too late; we can"t run now," said Phil, despairingly. As Ugo and Kapolski crossed the room, the former, whose face was white with suppressed pa.s.sion, hissed under his breath into the ear of the raging Russian:
"You fool, it was the other one--the tall one! You have quarrelled with the wrong man. The big one is Quentin, Kapolski. How could you have made such a mistake?"
"Mistake or no mistake, he has struck me, and he shall pay for it.
The other can come later," growled the Russian, savagely.
"Gentlemen, this is no place to fight. Let us have explanations--"
began Ugo, addressing Quentin more than Savage, but the latter interrupted:
"Call off your dogs and we will talk it over," he said.
"d.i.c.key!" cautioned his friend.
"I do not understand you, Mr. Savage. My dogs? Oh, I see, Mr.
Quentin; he is mad with anger," said the prince, deprecatingly.
"There can be no explanations," snarled Kapolski. "My card, Monsieur," and he threw the pasteboard in the young American"s face.
"d.a.m.n your impudence," exploded Quentin, now ready to take the fight off the hands of the one on whom it had been forced through error.
"You ought to be kicked downstairs for that."
"You will have that to recall, Monsieur, but not until after I have disposed of your valiant friend," exclaimed Kapolski.
"We are not in the habit of waiting for a chance to dispose of such affairs," said Quentin, coolly. "We fight when we have a cause and on the spot."
"Do you expect civilized men to carry arms into drawing-rooms?"
sneered Kapolski. Ugo"s face was lighting up with pleasure and satisfaction and Sallaconi was breathing easier.
"I"m speaking of hands, not arms," said Phil, glaring at the other.
"I"ll fight him in a second," cried d.i.c.key.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen! Be calm! Let this affair be arranged by your seconds and in the regular manner," expostulated Ugo. "This is very unusual, and I must beg of you to remember that you are in my rooms."
"That is the rub, Prince Ravorelli. It has happened in your rooms, and I want to say to you that if evil befalls my friend, I shall hold you to account for it," said Quentin, turning on him suddenly.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"You know what I mean. I can and am ready to fight my own battles."
"This outrageous brawl is none of my affair, Mr. Quentin, and I do not like your threat. You and I should do all in our power to prevent it from going farther. Your friend was too free with his words, I am told. If he did not like my entertainment, he should have left the room."
"Well, I didn"t like it, if you want to know," said d.i.c.key. "And I don"t care a continental who heard what I said."
"Does he still want to fight with his hands?" demanded Kapolski, now cool and ironical. There was an infuriating attempt on his part to speak as if he were addressing a small, pouting child.
"Anything--anything! The only point is, you"ll have to fight to-night--right now. I"ve two or three friends here who"ll see that I get fair play." said d.i.c.key, discretion flying to the wind.
"You shall fight and here!" exclaimed the Russian. "But you shall fight like a gentleman for once in your life. I will not claw and scratch with you, like the women do, but with any weapon you name."
d.i.c.key"s valor did not fade, but his discretion came to the surface with a suddenness that took his breath away. He turned to speak to Quentin and the millionaire. Phil"s face was deathly white, and there was a pleading look in his eyes. The millionaire was trembling like a leaf.
"I guess I"ll take pistols," said d.i.c.key, slowly. "I can"t hit the side of a barn, but he can"t bluff me, d.a.m.n him."
"Great Scott, d.i.c.key! Don"t do it, don"t do it!" whispered Quentin.
"This is my fight, you know it is, and I won"t let you--"
"You can"t help it, old boy. He"ll probably get me, but I may be lucky enough to have a bullet land in him. My only chance is to aim anywhere but at him, shut my eyes, and trust to luck." Then turning to Kapolski he said, deliberately: "Pistols, and here, if the prince does not object."
"Cannot this affair be postponed--" began Ugo, desperately.
"Not unless your friend forgets that I punched his head. It is now or never with me," said d.i.c.key.
"I insist that it is my right to fight this man!" exclaimed Quentin, standing forth. "I first expressed the opinion which Mr. Savage merely echoed and to which Prince Kapolski took exception."
"But you did not strike me. In any event, you shall come next, Mr.
Quentin; I shall take you on immediately after I have disposed of your c.o.c.kadoodle friend," said Kapolski, throwing aside his coat.
"You have pistols here, Prince Ravorelli?"
"This is murder," cried the millionaire, "and I shall take it before the United States government."
"d.i.c.key! d.i.c.key!" cried Phil, helplessly, as Savage began to remove his coat.
"I have weapons, if you insist, gentlemen," said Ugo. At his words intense excitement prevailed, for now there could be no doubt as to the result of the quarrel. Count Sallaconi hurried away for the pistols, smiling significantly as he pa.s.sed his prince. His smile said that Kapolski would kill two men that night.
"For G.o.d"s sake, d.i.c.key, be careful, if you must fight. Take deliberate aim and don"t lose your nerve," cried Quentin, grasping him by the arms. "You are as cold as ice."
"I haven"t fired a pistol more than a dozen times in my life," said d.i.c.key, smiling faintly.
"Then shoot low," said the millionaire.
"Your second, Monsieur?" said the Austrian duke, coming to Savage"s side.