"Well, Tobie, come on, for heaven's sake! What the devil! are your trousers too tight for you? you act as if you couldn't walk!" "Yes, they cut me; they hurt me terribly." Count Dahlborne's second was a Swede, a friend of his, who was as tall and stiff as he; he had been in Paris only a few days, and did not understand French, his ability to speak that tongue being thus far limited to the phrases: _Oui, monsieur_, and _bien obligé_. Albert went forward to meet his opponent, and they saluted each other with much courtesy. "Allow me to present Monsieur de Mulberg," said the count, waving his hand toward his second. Albert, assuming that it was a Swedish custom to introduce one's second, stepped back, and said, indicating Tobie, who persisted in remaining in the background: "And I have the honor of presenting Monsieur Tobie Pigeonnier." The salutations were repeated, and Monsieur de Mulberg walked up to Tobie and held out his hand, saying: "_Bien obligé_,[N] monsieur!" "What's that? it isn't worth while," rejoined Tobie, allowing his hand to be shaken with a decidedly ill grace. Albert pointed to a path at the right, and said to the count: "Let us go in this direction; we shall be able to find a place where we shall not be seen or disturbed." They all followed Albert, Tobie still in the rear and walking as if he were very uncomfortable. Albert halted in an isolated open space, surrounded by dense bushes, saying: "It seems to me that we shall be very comfortable here." Count Dahlborne nodded his head in assent, and turned to his friend. "Arrange the preliminaries with monsieur, Monsieur de Mulberg," he said. Monsieur de Mulberg walked gravely to Tobie, and began to talk Swedish with him, offering his pistols. Tobie poked him in the stomach, and said: "Look you! I believe you agree with me that this affair can be arranged. What is the difficulty? I'll bet that it's some foolish trifle." Monsieur de Mulberg, who was a very ceremonious individual, was much offended because the little man presumed to poke him in the stomach. He frowned, uttered a violent oath, stamped on the ground, and handed Tobie a pistol, exclaiming: "_Oui, monsieur, bien obligé._" Tobie hastily drew back, saying to his principal: "How do you expect me to agree to anything with this gentleman? He talks some language I never heard before, and looks all the time as if he meant to fire at me." "Look you, monsieur le comte," said Albert, "I fancy that we can arrange matters better than our seconds can. Let us stand thirty paces apart; we will each walk forward ten paces when your second claps his hands, and fire when we please. Is that satisfactory to you?" "Perfectly." "I will take my place.--Tobie, count off thirty paces, starting from here." Tobie acted as if he were uncertain whether he would do it or not; but he finally decided to do so, and made each of his paces twice the usual length.