And I
am sure you will not expect me to pass that over. I may find myself
suddenly with a dozen duels on my hands instead of this one affair."
The direct simplicity of this argument came home to the colonel's
understanding. He looked at his subordinate fixedly. "Sit down,
Lieutenant!" he said, gruffly. "This is the very devil of a . . . Sit
down!"
"Mon Colonel," D'Hubert began again, "I am not afraid of evil tongues.
There's a way of silencing them. But there's my peace of mind, too.
I wouldn't be able to shake off the notion that I've ruined a brother
officer. Whatever action you take, it is bound to go farther. The
inquiry has been dropped--let it rest now. It would have been absolutely
fatal to Feraud."
"Hey! What! Did he behave so badly?"
"Yes. It was pretty bad," muttered Lieut. D'Hubert. Being still very
weak, he felt a disposition to cry.
As the other man did not belong to his own regiment the colonel had no
difficulty in believing this. He began to pace up and down the room. He
was a good chief, a man capable of discreet sympathy.
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