By Right of Sword

  CHAPTER X.

  "THAT BUTCHER, DURESCQ."

  We were not by any means done with Devinsky yet, however, and I was tohave striking proof of this a couple of days later. I met him in theinterval as men in the same regiment are bound to meet; and I deemed itbest to avoid all open rupture, seeing that he was my superior officer,and unpleasant consequences to others beside myself might result.

  I told him shortly that Olga declined his offer and that it must neverbe renewed. He took it coolly enough, replying only that his feelingsfor her would never change, nor should he abandon the resolve to makeher his wife. Then he made overtures of peace and apologised for whathe had said. I thought it discreet to patch up a sort of treaty ofmutual tolerance.

  I was speaking of this to Essaieff, to whom, in common with all themess, Devinsky's infatuation for Olga was perfectly well known, and myformer second seemed particularly impressed by it. Since the duel Ihad seen more of him than of any other man, and I liked him. I couldbe with him more safely than with others, moreover, because he had seenso little of the unregenerate Alexis. Every man who had been at allintimate with my former self I now avoided altogether, because of therisk of detection--although this risk was of course diminishing withevery day that passed.

  "I don't like what you say, Petrovitch," said Essaieff, after he hadthought it over. "I'm convinced Devinsky's a dangerous man; and if heattempts to make things up with you, depend upon it he's got some uglyreason behind."

  "A reason in petticoats," said I, lightly. "A brother's a charmingfellow to a man in love with the sister."

  "No doubt; but he thought he was going to kill the 'charming fellow' inthat duel. Why did he go away; and where did he go?"

  "He didn't tell me his private business, naturally."

  "Yet I'm much mistaken if it didn't in some way concern you."

  "I don't see how."

  "We don't see the sun at midnight, man; but that's only because there'ssomething in the line of sight. Other people can see it clearlyenough."

  "Well, I don't see this sun, any way; and I'm not going to worry aboutit."

  "Have you ever heard of Durescq? Alexandre Durescq?" he asked after apause.

  "No, never," I answered promptly, making one of those slips which itwas impossible for me to avoid in my private chats. Essaieff's nextwords shewed me my blunder.

  "My dear fellow, you must have heard of him. Durescq, the duellist.The man who has the reputation of being the best swordsman in theRussian army. The French fellow who naturalised, and clapped a 'c'into his name and cut off the tail of it to make Duresque into Durescq.Why, he was here last year, and dined with us at the mess. Devinskybrought him. You had joined us then, surely and must have beenintroduced by Devinsky? You must remember him."

  "Oh, that Durescq!" I exclaimed, as if recalling the incident.

  "'That Durescq!' There's no other for the whole Russian army," saidEssaieff drily. "And if he heard you say it, he'd want an explanationquickly enough."

  "I was thinking for a minute of another Duresque, Essaieff, whom I knewmuch better. Different sex, whose killing of men was done in adifferent way." I smiled as I made the equivocation.

  "I met him this morning," said my companion, not noticing my remark andlooking more thoughtful than before. "I wonder if Devinsky's absencehas anything to do with Durescq's presence; and whether..." he pausedand looked at me. "It would be a damnably ugly business; butDevinsky's not incapable of it; and so far as I know, the other man'sworse than he is. Moreover, I know that they have been together inmore than one very dirty affair. There are ugly items enough standingto both their debits. But this would be murder--sheer, deliberate,damnable murder, and nothing else."

  I had rarely seen him so excited as he was now.

  "You think Devinsky has brought this man here to do what he couldn't dohimself the other morning?"

  "I don't say I think it," replied Essaieff, cautiously. "I shouldn'tlike to think it of any man: but if I were you I'd be a bit cautiousabout getting into a quarrel."

  "Caution be hanged," I cried. "If that's their game I'll force thepace for them. We'll have a real fight next time, Essaieff, and we'llmake the thing such that one of us is bound to go under. But I'll haveone condition, and one only--that Devinsky meets me first. And if Idon't send him first to hell to wait for his friend or act as my _avantcourier_, may I have the palsy."

  "What a fire-devil you've turned, Alexis," said Essaief,enthusiastically. It was the first time he had used my Christian name,and it pleased me. "Even the rankers have found you out now. 'Thatdevil Alexis,' is what they call you one to the other, since you beattheir best men in leaping, and running, and staff playing. If the warcomes, as like good Russians we pray it may, what a time you'll have.They'll follow you anywhere. Yes, there's shrewdness enough in yourlast devilment. If you insist on first killing Devinsky, Durescq willprobably take back a bloodless sword to the capital."

  His pithy reference to the feeling in the regiment touched my vanity onits weak spot, and gave me quite disproportionate pleasure. As wetalked over this possible plan of Devinsky's I tried to get him tospeak of the feeling again. It is rather a paltry confession to make;but the nick-name, 'That devil Alexis,' was exactly what I would havewished to bear.

  Although Essaieff had suggested this action on the part of Devinsky, Iscarcely thought it possible that he would do what we had discussed;but I had not been many minutes in the club that evening before thething seemed not only probable, but certain; and I saw that I had avery ugly corner to turn.

  Alexandre Durescq was there and I eyed him curiously. He was tallerthan I by an inch, but not so broad. His figure was well knit andlithe, and he moved with the air which a man gets whose sinews are ofsteel and are kept in perfect condition by constant and severetraining. He was the type of a sinewy athlete.

  His face was a most unpleasant one. The features were thin and allvery long; and the thinness added to the apparent abnormal length frombrow to chin. His complexion was almost Mongolian in its sallowness;his hair coal black, and his eyes, set close to his large and veryprominent aquiline nose, were small but brilliant in expression andseemingly coal black in colour. Altogether a most remarkable lookingman; and I was not astonished that Essaieff had been surprised when Isaid I had forgotten him. He was not a man to be forgotten. Theexpression of his face was sardonic and saturnine, and his manners andgestures were all saturated with intense self-assertiveness. He moved,looked, and spoke as though he felt that everyone was at once beneathhim and afraid of him.

  He was at the far end of the room when I entered, and I saw Devinskystoop and whisper to him immediately he caught sight of me. The manturned slightly and glanced in my direction, and my instincts warned meof danger.

  I would not baulk the pair; but I would not provoke the quarrel. Imoved quietly about the room, chatting with one man and another; butkeeping a wary eye disengaged for the two at the other end. GraduallyI worked my way round to where they were, and both rose as Iapproached. I saw too, that Devinsky's old seconds and toadies werenear and were watching me and smirking. They formed a group of threeor four men who seemed to me to have intimation what was coming. Theywere waiting to see me "jumped."

  I knew, however, that if I kept quiet, I should make the task moredifficult for the pair, and thus compel Devinsky to shew his hand; andso give me the pretext I needed to force the first fight on him.

  "Good evening, Petrovitch, or Lieutenant Petrovitch, I suppose I shouldsay," said Devinsky, and the instant he spoke I could tell he had beendrinking. "I think you've met my friend Captain Durescq?"

  "Not yet," I said, looking straight into Devinsky's eyes with a meaninghe read and didn't like.

  "Is this the gentleman who is so particular in asserting hislieutenancy? Good evening, Lieutenant Petrovitch." He said this in atone that was insufferably insolent; and as if to point the insult, thetwo toadies when they heard it, sniggered audibly.

  N
othing could have played better into my hands. All four made anextraordinary blunder, since they shewed, before I had opened my lips,that the object was to force a quarrel; and thus the sympathies ofevery decent man in the place were on my side. I kept cool. I was toowary to take fire yet.

  "I thought you knew Captain Durescq when he was here last year," saidDevinsky. "But you may have forgotten."

  "Good evening, Captain Durescq," said I, ignoring Devinsky andreturning the other man's greeting. "What is the latest war news in StPetersburg?"

  "Bad for those who do not like fighting," he said, looking at me in away that turned this to a personal insult.

  "But good perhaps, for those soldiers whose swords are to hire," Ireturned, with a smile which did not make my point less plain.

  The man's eyes flashed.

  "They will take the place of your friends who do not like thefighting," I added; and at this all about us grew suddenly silent.

  "My friends? How do you mean?" asked Durescq stiffly.

  "Those you mentioned in your first sentence. Whom else should I mean?"and I let my eye rest as if by accident on Devinsky.

  "You have a singular manner of expressing yourself, Lieutenant."

  "We provincials do not always copy the manners of the capital, youknow," I returned in my pleasantest manner. "I think the provinces aregrowing more and more independent every year. We arrange our ownaffairs in our own way, have our own etiquette, form our ownassociations, and settle our own quarrels without aid from the capital."

  I heard Devinsky swear softly into his moustache at this; but there wasnothing for them to take hold of, though every man in the roomunderstood what I meant; and nearly all were now listening.

  "Yes, I have heard you have singular manners in the provinces. Myfriend here, Devinsky, has told me several curious things. I heard ofone provincial for instance, who allowed himself to be insulted andbrowbeaten till his cowardice was almost a by-word, and it becamereally impossible for him to remain in the army unless he accepted thechallenge he had so often refused. And then he begged, almost withtears, to get terms made; and when this was not done, he deadened hisfears with drink and came to the club here like a witless fool,behaving like a drunken clown; and then at last actually went out andfought in a condition of seeming delirium. We do not have that in thecapital. In St Petersburg we should have such a scabby rascal whippedon a gun."

  A movement among the group of toadies shewed me how this burlesque ofmy conduct was appreciated there, while Devinsky was grinningboastfully.

  "Did Major Devinsky tell you that?" I asked; my voice down at least twotones in my excitement, while my pulses thrilled at the insult. Butoutwardly I was calm.

  "Yes, I think that's a pretty fair description, isn't it, Devinsky?"replied Durescq, turning coolly to the latter for confirmation. Thenhe turned again to me and asked:--"Why, do you recognise thedescription, Lieutenant Petrovitch?"

  "You have not heard the whole of the story," I answered, getting thewords out with difficulty between teeth I had to clench hard to keep mypassion under control. "The man who was beaten in the duel left Moscowin a panic and went to St Petersburg for a purpose--that you mayperhaps approve." There was now dead silence in all the room and theeyes of every man in it were rivetted on me. "The first object of theduel was that he might kill in it the man whose skill was thought to beinferior to his own, so that he might persecute with his disgustingattentions the sister of him on whom he had fixed the quarrel.Failing, he went to fetch a cleverer sword than his own to do his dirtywork; and he fetched----" I paused and then my rage burst out like avolcano--"He fetched a butcher named Durescq to do butcher's work; andI, by God! won't baulk him."

  With this I lost all control, and springing upon him I seized his noseand wrung it and twisted it, dragging his head from side to side in myungovernable fury, until I nearly broke my teeth with the strainingforce with which I clenched them. Then raising my hand I slapped hisface with a force and loudness that resounded right through the roomand made every man start and wonder what would come next.

  "That is from the man you say dare not fight. One last word. Before Imeet the butcher, I insist on meeting the man who hired him.Lieutenant Essaieff will act for me."

  With that I left the room, feeling that although I was now all butcertain to be killed by Durescq I should at least die as became "thatdevil Alexis."