mistakes in affairs of this kind. Mention your
friend, sir, at once, and have done with it.'

"Stung with his words and manner, I
exclaimed: 'My friend, sir, is Lieutenant Power.
His room is close by, so no time need be wasted;
and, excuse me, if I say the sooner you relieve
me of your presence the better.'

"'You're polite, sir,' retorted Kelly, frowning,
and rising from his chair, "and, maybe, I'll
ask you to explain those words; but one
mistake at a time. Good morning, sir."

"Ten minutes afterwards Power entered my
room with a grave air.

"'Milligan', he said, 'this is a serious
business. Of course, it was a horrid mistake. I
know that well enough; but there is no
explaining matters of this sort to a fellow like
Kelly. Then O'Halloran is mad with jealousy,
and perfectly unreasonable, besides, I hear he
tried to strike you, and that you knocked him
down. They say he wanted to have it out over
a handkerchief on the spot, and that, seeing
how tipsy you were, they forced him away with
great difficulty. Blenkens of ours says he
literally foamed at the mouth, and kept shouting,
"I'll not wait till morning. Blood and
'ouns, I'll not wait." I've arranged that the
affair shall come off at five P.M., with pistols.
I don't think you have a pair with hair triggers.
I have, and I know by experience that they
shoot straight. If you have anything to settle,
I advise you to do it at once, for O'Halloran is
a good shot when he is cool, but I hope his fury
will make him miss. Anyhow, you must not
try to miss him, or fire into the air, for he will
certainly hit you, if he can. The only good
thing is that this has broken off your affair with
Luisa. The old señora has heard of your giving
a note to Madame O'Halloran, and vows her
daughter shall have nothing to do with you.'

"I'll be ready, Power,' I said, 'and I'll just
put down a few things I want you to do, if
anything happens to me. After which, I shall turn
in again and have a sleep; for I feel tired, and
I should like to come to the ground cool and
comfortable." I said this more to be left to
myself than for anything else, but after penning
my memorandum, and drinking some of the
delicious sherbet they make in Guyana from the
juice of the pomegranate, I did really go to
sleep for several hours. Looking at my watch
when I awoke, I found it was half-past three,
so I took a cold bath and prepared to accompany
Power. At a quarter past four he came
to my room, we walked down to the street
and started off at a brisk rate into the country
to the west of the city. About two miles out
of the town we came to a ruined garden-house,
where Kelly and O'Halloran were waiting for
us. Power and Kelly saluted each other, but
to my cold bow O'Halloran only returned a
ferocious stare. Kelly then led the way through
the garden to a lane between walls, and not
more than ten feet broad, when he stopped
short, saying, 'This is the place; the sun won't
be in their eyes here.' I must confess I was a
good deal surprised at the choice of such a spot
for the encounter, where, when we were placed,
we should not be more than eight feet from one
another, and where the wall would assist one so
much in taking aim. But my blood was up. I was
quite prepared to fight even across a handkerchief.
Power, however, did not take the matter
so coolly. He spoke a few words in a low voice
to Kelly, but his manner convinced me he was
much exasperated. Kelly, however, was obstinate,
and after a short parley O'Halloran and
myself were placed opposite to one another,
but with our faces to the wall. Kelly then
said, 'Now gentlemen, I shall ask you, "Are
you ready?" and at the last word you will turn
round and fire. Gentlemen,' he continued
'are you——' Before he could get out the
word "ready" there was an explosion, a bullet
whizzed past my left ear, grazing it slightly,
and by an involuntary impulse I wheeled round
and fired. O'Halloran leaped up several feet
from the ground and fell forward. The ball had
passed through his heart. I threw myself on
my knees and raised the fallen man. His eyes
were fixed, a thin jet of blood issued from his
mouth, he was quite dead.

"'He fired a moment too soon,' said Kelly;
'but, by the powers, he has paid for his mistake.'

"That word reminded me of the absurd origin
of the quarrel. I was in no mood, as you
may imagine, to allow the hateful blunder to
produce any more mischief, so I frankly told
Kelly at once by what accident the note had
come into the possession of O'Halloran's wife,
and Power corroborated my statement.

"'Well,' said Kelly, 'it's a pity, so it is, but
it can't be helped now. You have behaved like
a man of honour, and I see, after all, that it was
a mistake!'

"With these words the major concluded his
story. I had finished my fourth cigar. 'Good
night, major,' I said. 'I am glad that my
mistake ended better than yours.'

"'Oh, faith, my dear sir,' said he, 'you know
it was no mistake at all with you; but, anyhow,
I'm glad it ended as it did.'"

              The third and concluding Portion of
                          GEORGE SILVERMAN'S
                               EXPLANATION,
                          BY CHARLES DICKENS
                       Will be published next week.

                           The third Portion of
                          HOLIDAY ROMANCE
                       BY CHARLES DICKENS
                Will be published in the monthly part for March, and
the Romance will be concluded in the monthly part for
April.