"Give me your sword hilt," I said, as I raised the barrel level with his eyes. But the fool had seen me unhorsed so grossly, that he laughed in my face, and made a pass at my weapon with his blade. I held fire while his point cut my cheek open, and I ordered him back, hoping I could spare his life. But he cursed me and pressed on, aiming a blow at my head to knock me from my horse, so I could wait no longer. Then, to save my life, I pulled down the flint. The next instant he lay dead in the road with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. It was all done so quickly that the Corporal and Barron sat looking on, hardly realizing what had happened. This gave me the moment I needed, so I pulled out my left hand weapon. "Surrender your sword, sir," I cried to the Corporal, for the excitement of the fight was hot within me and my patience was at an end. "Not to such a swordsman as you; it would disgrace me," replied the Corporal contemptuously, and he began the fight by making a pass at Barron, which the old Captain parried. Round and round and past each other went the horses, guided by trained hands, and the sword blades slipped with a ringing sound from lunge to parry. So fast did they fight that I found myself sitting there quietly in my saddle looking on, never thinking for an instant that one snap shot from my pistol would put an end to the affair. It was rapidly growing dark, but at that distance I could have broken the soldier's sword blade while it was in play, had I so wished. The man was certainly a master of fence and I soon saw that Barron had no chance whatever with him. Still I never thought to fire upon a man engaged with another in a fair fight. The cut in my cheek bled freely, but I felt no pain or dizziness and was cool enough to think calmly. Once the thought came to me to get the dead man's sword and take part in the unequal affray, but I put it aside and made up my mind to shoot only at the last minute to save Barron's life. Suddenly a new idea flashed through my head and I instantly raised the pistol. The corporal's horse turned his nose in my direction and I marked the white blaze between his eyes. "Crack!" And down both horse and rider went, just as Barron whirled a wicked cut at the soldier's head. The old Captain's weapon went wide and the Corporal jumped to his feet as lightly as a cat and was on guard again before Barron fully realized what had happened. "Come!" I cried. "Let him go!" And I galloped away down the road before I finished speaking. Barron wheeled his horse to follow just as the soldier started for him. In an instant the animals were together, running neck and neck, with that Corporal within six feet of Barron's saddle, running as I had never seen a man run before. Away we went, and for a second or two I was afraid Barron would be run through the back, but the pace proved a trifle too strong for our enemy.