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The Duellist
by
‘Till we meet,’ Masha said to Kister, following him into the hall and gazing at him with a soft smile, as he slowly and tenderly kissed her hands.
‘Till we meet,’ Fyodor Fedoritch repeated confidently; ’till we meet.’
But when he had driven half a mile from the Perekatovs’ house, he stood up in the carriage, and with vague uneasiness began looking for the lighted windows…. All in the house was dark as in the tomb.
XI
Next day at eleven o’clock in the morning Kister’s second, an old major of tried merit, came for him. The good old man growled to himself, bit his grey moustaches, and wished Avdey Ivanovitch everything unpleasant…. The carriage was brought to the door. Kister handed the major two letters, one for his mother, the other for Masha.
‘What’s this for?’
‘Well, one can never tell…’
‘Nonsense! we’ll shoot him like a partridge…’
‘Any way it’s better…’
The major with vexation stuffed the two letters in the side pocket of his coat.
‘Let us start.’
They set off. In a small copse, a mile and a half from the village of Kirilovo, Lutchkov was awaiting them with his former friend, the perfumed adjutant. It was lovely weather, the birds were twittering peacefully; not far from the copse a peasant was tilling the ground. While the seconds were marking out the distance, fixing the barrier, examining and loading the pistols, the opponents did not even glance at one another…. Kister walked to and fro with a careless air, swinging a flower he had gathered; Avdey stood motionless, with folded arms and scowling brow. The decisive moment arrived. ‘Begin, gentlemen!’ Kister went rapidly towards the barrier, but he had not gone five steps before Avdey fired, Kister started, made one more step forward, staggered. His head sank… His knees bent under him… He fell like a sack on the grass. The major rushed up to him…. ‘Is it possible?’ whispered the dying man.
Avdey went up to the man he had killed. On his gloomy and sunken face was a look of savage, exasperated regret…. He looked at the adjutant and the major, bent his head like a guilty man, got on his horse without a word, and rode slowly straight to the colonel’s quarters.
Masha… is living to this day.