"'Rivals for my beloved daughter's favour, ye have met to fight, so that the bitter enmity between ye may be closed. May God decide which is the better man by giving him strength to overcome the other. Let truth and honour and courage, triumph over lies and shame and cowardice. Take ye each a weapon, and let my sitting down be the signal for ye to begin.' "Then we each stepped forward and took a sword; beautifully finished weapons, about two feet in length and two inches in breadth, dagger pointed, and keen as razors on their innermost edge. "Each with his gleaming naked sword clasped in his right hand then faced the other, and after a moment's pause, Perodii spoke: "'So, at last, the hour of my vengeance hath come; and here by my right of birth and station may I slay thee, and sweep thee from my path. Look to it, for thy moments now are numbered.' "'I wait for you, Perodii, and may Heaven defend the right.' "'Keep thy holy words for thine own comfort, thou boasting, short-lived fool; but methinks I will cut still shorter thy puny span with this,' and as he spoke he held aloft the glittering blade. "'You speak that of which you know nothing, Perodii. My span of life is now as long as yours; for know you not that I have passed through holy rites that have endowed me with a fuller measure of years? But we waste time in profitless talk. Come, put up your sword, and defend yourself----' "'Hold! I see Echri's ring upon thy finger. Come, fight fairly. Take off that cursed relic. We want none of Echri's magic here.' "'Coward! then you fear its virtues now! Well, I have no wish to take advantage of you. Here, Sandy, hold this ring, and take care of it well. I would not lose it for a world'; and so saying, I slipped the precious talisman from my finger, and turned to give it to Sandy. "That moment nearly proved fatal to me; for, without warning, Perodii rushed forward and made a terrible thrust at my unguarded body. But Sandy was too quick for him, and putting out his foot, he threw the Prince headlong. "'Na, na, Mr. Perodii, none o' that here. Ye've got to fight fair and square, and not tak' a mon unawares.' "'Coward!' I shouted. 'Get up and defend yourself, or my indignation may prompt me to slay you where you are.'