D'Arnot was asleep when Tarzan entered their apartmentsafter leaving Rokoff's. Tarzan did not disturb him, butthe following morning he narrated the happenings ofthe previous evening, omitting not a single detail.

"What a fool I have been," he concluded. "De Coude andhis wife were both my friends. How have I returned theirfriendship? Barely did I escape murdering the count. I havecast a stigma on the name of a good woman. It is very probablethat I have broken up a happy home."

"Do you love Olga de Coude?" asked D'Arnot.

"Were I not positive that she does not love me I could notanswer your question, Paul; but without disloyalty to her Itell you that I do not love her, nor does she love me. For aninstant we were the victims of a sudden madness--it was notlove--and it would have left us, unharmed, as suddenly asit had come upon us even though De Coude had not returned.As you know, I have had little experience of women. Olgade Coude is very beautiful; that, and the dim light and theseductive surroundings, and the appeal of the defenseless forprotection, might have been resisted by a more civilizedman, but my civilization is not even skin deep--it does not godeeper than my clothes.

"Paris is no place for me. I will but continue to stumbleinto more and more serious pitfalls. The man-maderestrictions are irksome. I feel always that I am a prisoner.I cannot endure it, my friend, and so I think that I shall goback to my own jungle, and lead the life that God intendedthat I should lead when He put me there."

"Do not take it so to heart, Jean," responded D'Arnot."You have acquitted yourself much better than most`civilized' men would have under similar circumstances.As to leaving Paris at this time, I rather think thatRaoul de Coude may be expected to have something to sayon that subject before long."

Nor was D'Arnot mistaken. A week later on Monsieur Flaubertwas announced about eleven in the morning, as D'Arnot andTarzan were breakfasting. Monsieur Flaubert was animpressively polite gentleman. With many low bows he deliveredMonsieur le Count de Coude's challenge to Monsieur Tarzan.Would monsieur be so very kind as to arrange to havea friend meet Monsieur Flaubert at as early an hour asconvenient, that the details might be arranged to the mutualsatisfaction of all concerned?

Certainly. Monsieur Tarzan would be delighted to placehis interests unreservedly in the hands of his friend,Lieutenant D'Arnot. And so it was arranged that D'Arnotwas to call on Monsieur Flaubert at two that afternoon,and the polite Monsieur Flaubert, with many bows, left them.

When they were again alone D'Arnot looked quizzically at Tarzan.

"Well?" he said.

"Now to my sins I must add murder, or else myself be killed,"said Tarzan. "I am progressing rapidly in the ways ofmy civilized brothers."

"What weapons shall you select?" asked D'Arnot."De Coude is accredited with being a master with the sword,and a splendid shot."

"I might then choose poisoned arrows at twenty paces,or spears at the same distance," laughed Tarzan."Make it pistols, Paul."

"He will kill you, Jean."

"I have no doubt of it," replied Tarzan. "I must die some day."

"We had better make it swords," said D'Arnot. "He will besatisfied with wounding you, and there is less danger of amortal wound.""Pistols," said Tarzan, with finality.

D'Arnot tried to argue him out of it, but without avail,so pistols it was.

D'Arnot returned from his conference with Monsieur Flaubertshortly after four.

"It is all arranged," he said. "Everything is satisfactory.Tomorrow morning at daylight--there is a secluded spot onthe road not far from Etamps. For some personal reasonMonsieur Flaubert preferred it. I did not demur."

"Good!" was Tarzan's only comment. He did not refer tothe matter again even indirectly. That night he wrote severalletters before he retired. After sealing and addressing themhe placed them all in an envelope addressed to D'Arnot.As he undressed D'Arnot heard him humming a music-hall ditty.

The Frenchman swore under his breath. He was very unhappy,for he was positive that when the sun rose the nextmorning it would look down upon a dead Tarzan. It gratedupon him to see Tarzan so unconcerned.

"This is a most uncivilized hour for people to kill eachother," remarked the ape-man when he had been routed out ofa comfortable bed in the blackness of the early morning hours.He had slept well, and so it seemed that his head scarcelytouched the pillow ere his man deferentially aroused him.His remark was addressed to D'Arnot, who stood fullydressed in the doorway of Tarzan's bedroom.

D'Arnot had scarcely slept at all during the night. He wasnervous, and therefore inclined to be irritable.

"I presume you slept like a baby all night," he said.

Tarzan laughed. "From your tone, Paul, I infer that yourather harbor the fact against me. I could not help it, really."

"No, Jean; it is not that," replied D'Arnot, himselfsmiling. "But you take the entire matter with suchinfernal indifference--it is exasperating. One wouldthink that you were going out to shoot at a target,rather than to face one of the best shots in France."

Tarzan shrugged his shoulders. "I am going out to expiatea great wrong, Paul. A very necessary feature of the expiationis the marksmanship of my opponent. Wherefore, then, shouldI be dissatisfied? Have you not yourself told me that Countde Coude is a splendid marksman?"

"You mean that you hope to be killed?" exclaimed D'Arnot,in horror.

"I cannot say that I hope to be; but you must admit thatthere is little reason to believe that I shall not be killed."

Had D'Arnot known the thing that was in the ape-man'smind--that had been in his mind almost from the firstintimation that De Coude would call him to account on thefield of honor--he would have been even more horrified thanhe was.

In silence they entered D'Arnot's great car, and insimilar silence they sped over the dim road that leadsto Etamps. Each man was occupied with his own thoughts.D'Arnot's were very mournful, for he was genuinely fondof Tarzan. The great friendship which had sprung up betweenthese two men whose lives and training had been so widelydifferent had but been strengthened by association, forthey were both men to whom the same high ideals of manhood,of personal courage, and of honor appealed with equal force.They could understand one another, and each could be proudof the friendship of the other.

Tarzan of the Apes was wrapped in thoughts of the past;pleasant memories of the happier occasions of his lostjungle life. He recalled the countless boyhood hours thathe had spent cross-legged upon the table in his dead father'scabin, his little brown body bent over one of the fascinatingpicture books from which, unaided, he had gleaned the secretof the printed language long before the sounds ofhuman speech fell upon his ears. A smile of contentmentsoftened his strong face as he thought of that day of daysthat he had had alone with Jane Porter in the heart of hisprimeval forest.

Presently his reminiscences were broken in upon by thestopping of the car--they were at their destination.Tarzan's mind returned to the affairs of the moment.He knew that he was about to die, but there was no fear ofdeath in him. To a denizen of the cruel jungle death isa commonplace. The first law of nature compels them tocling tenaciously to life--to fight for it; but it doesnot teach them to fear death.

D'Arnot and Tarzan were first upon the field of honor. Amoment later De Coude, Monsieur Flaubert, and a thirdgentleman arrived. The last was introduced to D'Arnot andTarzan; he was a physician.

D'Arnot and Monsieur Flaubert spoke together in whispersfor a brief time. The Count de Coude and Tarzan stood apartat opposite sides of the field. Presently the secondssummoned them. D'Arnot and Monsieur Flaubert had examinedboth pistols. The two men who were to face each other amoment later stood silently while Monsieur Flaubert recitedthe conditions they were to observe.

They were to stand back to back. At a signal from MonsieurFlaubert they were to walk in opposite directions,their pistols hanging by their sides. When each had proceededten paces D'Arnot was to give the final signal--then theywere to turn and fire at will until one fell, or each hadexpended the three shots allowed.

While Monsieur Flaubert spoke Tarzan selected a cigarettefrom his case, and lighted it. De Coude was the personificationof coolness--was he not the best shot in France?

Presently Monsieur Flaubert nodded to D'Arnot, andeach man placed his principal in position.

"Are you quite ready, gentlemen?" asked Monsieur Flaubert.

"Quite," replied De Coude.

Tarzan nodded. Monsieur Flaubert gave the signal. Heand D'Arnot stepped back a few paces to be out of the lineof fire as the men paced slowly apart. Six! Seven! Eight!There were tears in D'Arnot's eyes. He loved Tarzan very much.Nine! Another pace, and the poor lieutenant gave thesignal he so hated to give. To him it sounded the doomof his best friend.

Quickly De Coude wheeled and fired. Tarzan gave a little start.His pistol still dangled at his side. De Coude hesitated,as though waiting to see his antagonist crumple to the ground.The Frenchman was too experienced a marksman not to know thathe had scored a hit. Still Tarzan made no move to raise his pistol.De Coude fired once more, but the attitude of the ape-man--theutter indifference that was so apparent in every line of thenonchalant ease of his giant figure, and the even unruffledpuffing of his cigarette--had disconcerted the best marksmanin France. This time Tarzan did not start, but again De Coudeknew that he had hit.

Suddenly the explanation leaped to his mind--his antagonistwas coolly taking these terrible chances in the hopethat he would receive no staggering wound from any ofDe Coude's three shots. Then he would take his own timeabout shooting De Coude down deliberately, coolly, and incold blood. A little shiver ran up the Frenchman's spine.It was fiendish--diabolical. What manner of creature was thisthat could stand complacently with two bullets in him, waitingfor the third?

And so De Coude took careful aim this time, but his nervewas gone, and he made a clean miss. Not once had Tarzanraised his pistol hand from where it hung beside his leg.

For a moment the two stood looking straight into eachother's eyes. On Tarzan's face was a pathetic expressionof disappointment. On De Coude's a rapidly growingexpression of horror--yes, of terror.

He could endure it no longer.

"Mother of God! Monsieur--shoot!" he screamed.

But Tarzan did not raise his pistol. Instead, he advancedtoward De Coude, and when D'Arnot and Monsieur Flaubert,misinterpreting his intention, would have rushed betweenthem, he raised his left hand in a sign of remonstrance.

"Do not fear," he said to them, "I shall not harm him."

It was most unusual, but they halted. Tarzan advanceduntil he was quite close to De Coude.

"There must have been something wrong with monsieur'spistol," he said. "Or monsieur is unstrung. Take mine,monsieur, and try again," and Tarzan offered his pistol, buttforemost, to the astonished De Coude.

"MON DIEU, monsieur!" cried the latter. "Are you mad?"

"No, my friend," replied the ape-man; "but I deserve to die.It is the only way in which I may atone for the wrong I havedone a very good woman. Take my pistol and do as I bid."

"It would be murder," replied De Coude. "But what wrongdid you do my wife? She swore to me that--"

"I do not mean that," said Tarzan quickly. "You saw allthe wrong that passed between us. But that was enough tocast a shadow upon her name, and to ruin the happiness ofa man against whom I had no enmity. The fault was allmine, and so I hoped to die for it this morning. I amdisappointed that monsieur is not so wonderful a marksmanas I had been led to believe."

"You say that the fault was all yours?" asked De Coude eagerly.

"All mine, monsieur. Your wife is a very pure woman.She loves only you. The fault that you saw was all mine.The thing that brought me there was no fault of either theCountess de Coude or myself. Here is a paper which will quitepositively demonstrate that," and Tarzan drew from his pocketthe statement Rokoff had written and signed.

De Coude took it and read. D'Arnot and Monsieur Flauberthad drawn near. They were interested spectators of thisstrange ending of a strange duel. None spoke until DeCoude had quite finished, then he looked up at Tarzan.

"You are a very brave and chivalrous gentleman," he said."I thank God that I did not kill you."

De Coude was a Frenchman. Frenchmen are impulsive. He threwhis arms about Tarzan and embraced him. Monsieur Flaubertembraced D'Arnot. There was no one to embrace the doctor.So possibly it was pique which prompted him to interfere,and demand that he be permitted to dress Tarzan's wounds.

"This gentleman was hit once at least," he said. "Possibly thrice."

"Twice," said Tarzan. "Once in the left shoulder, and againin the left side--both flesh wounds, I think." But the doctorinsisted upon stretching him upon the sward, and tinkeringwith him until the wounds were cleansed and the flow ofblood checked.

One result of the duel was that they all rode back to Paristogether in D'Arnot's car, the best of friends. De Coudewas so relieved to have had this double assurance of hiswife's loyalty that he felt no rancor at all toward Tarzan.It is true that the latter had assumed much more of the faultthan was rightly his, but if he lied a little he may beexcused, for he lied in the service of a woman, and he liedlike a gentleman.

The ape-man was confined to his bed for several days. Hefelt that it was foolish and unnecessary, but the doctor andD'Arnot took the matter so to heart that he gave in to pleasethem, though it made him laugh to think of it.

"It is droll," he said to D'Arnot. "To lie abed because of apin prick! Why, when Bolgani, the king gorilla, tore me almostto pieces, while I was still but a little boy, did I have anice soft bed to lie on? No, only the damp, rotting vegetationof the jungle. Hidden beneath some friendly bush I lay fordays and weeks with only Kala to nurse me--poor, faithfulKala, who kept the insects from my wounds and warned offthe beasts of prey.

"When I called for water she brought it to me in her ownmouth--the only way she knew to carry it. There was nosterilized gauze, there was no antiseptic bandage--therewas nothing that would not have driven our dear doctor madto have seen. Yet I recovered--recovered to lie in bedbecause of a tiny scratch that one of the jungle folk wouldscarce realize unless it were upon the end of his nose."

But the time was soon over, and before he realized itTarzan found himself abroad again. Several times De Coudehad called, and when he found that Tarzan was anxious foremployment of some nature he promised to see what couldbe done to find a berth for him.

It was the first day that Tarzan was permitted to go outthat he received a message from De Coude requesting himto call at the count's office that afternoon.

He found De Coude awaiting him with a very pleasant welcome,and a sincere congratulation that he was once moreupon his feet. Neither had ever mentioned the duel or thecause of it since that morning upon the field of honor.

"I think that I have found just the thing for you, MonsieurTarzan," said the count. "It is a position of much trust andresponsibility, which also requires considerably physical courageand prowess. I cannot imagine a man better fitted thanyou, my dear Monsieur Tarzan, for this very position. It willnecessitate travel, and later it may lead to a very much betterpost--possibly in the diplomatic service.

"At first, for a short time only, you will be a special agentin the service of the ministry of war. Come, I will take youto the gentleman who will be your chief. He can explainthe duties better than I, and then you will be in a positionto judge if you wish to accept or no."

De Coude himself escorted Tarzan to the office of GeneralRochere, the chief of the bureau to which Tarzan would beattached if he accepted the position. There the count lefthim, after a glowing description to the general of the manyattributes possessed by the ape-man which should fit himfor the work of the service.

A half hour later Tarzan walked out of the office thepossessor of the first position he had ever held. On the morrowhe was to return for further instructions, though GeneralRochere had made it quite plain that Tarzan might prepareto leave Paris for an almost indefinite period, possibly onthe morrow.

It was with feelings of the keenest elation that he hastenedhome to bear the good news to D'Arnot. At last he was to beof some value in the world. He was to earn money, and, bestof all, to travel and see the world.

He could scarcely wait to get well inside D'Arnot's sittingroom before he burst out with the glad tidings. D'Arnot wasnot so pleased.

"It seems to delight you to think that you are to leaveParis, and that we shall not see each other for months, perhaps.Tarzan, you are a most ungrateful beast!" and D'Arnot laughed.

"No, Paul; I am a little child. I have a new toy, and I amtickled to death."

And so it came that on the following day Tarzan leftParis en route for Marseilles and Oran.