It was only after the occupation of that town
that Captain Feraud had leisure to consider his future conduct in view
of the fact that Captain D'Hubert had been given the position of third
aide-de-camp to the marshal. He considered it a great part of a night,
and in the morning summoned two sympathetic friends.
"I've been thinking it over calmly," he said, gazing at them with
bloodshot, tired eyes. "I see that I must get rid of that intriguing
personage. Here he's managed to sneak onto the personal staff of the
marshal. It's a direct provocation to me. I can't tolerate a situation
in which I am exposed any day to receive an order through him, and God
knows what order, too! That sort of thing has happened once before--and
that's once too often. He understands this perfectly, never fear. I
can't tell you more than this. Now go. You know what it is you have to
do."
This encounter took place outside the town of Lubeck, on very open
ground selected with special care in deference to the general sense of
the cavalry division belonging to the army corps, that this time the two
officers should meet on horseback. After all, this duel was a cavalry
affair, and to persist in fighting on foot would look like a slight
on one's own arm of the service. The seconds, startled by the unusual
nature of the suggestion, hastened to refer to their principals. Captain
Feraud jumped at it with savage alacrity. For some obscure reason,
depending, no doubt, on his psychology, he imagined himself invincible
on horseback.
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