The unpleasant emphasis which he placed upon the word "gentlemen" created a decided sensation among the group of idlers; and, as he stepped from behind the table, he was confronted by a young man with bloodshot eyes and bloated cheeks, but dressed in the extreme of fashion. "Sir, you wear the colors of the United States Army," said the juvenile tippler; "but you can't be permitted to insult a gentleman with impunity." Lieutenant Somers wanted to laugh in the face of this specimen of bar-room chivalry, for he forcibly reminded him of a belligerent little bantam-rooster that paraded the barnyard of his mother's cottage at Pinchbrook; but he was prudent enough not to give any further cause of offense. Bestowing one glance at this champion of the tippler's coterie, he turned aside, and attempted to move towards the door. "Stop, sir," continued the young man, who plainly wanted to make a little capital out of a fight, in defense of the dignity of his friends. "You can't go without an apology, or--or a fight," added the bully, shaking his head significantly, as he placed himself in front of the young lieutenant. "What am I to apologize for?" asked Somers. "You insulted the whole party of us. You intimated that we were no gentlemen." "I haven't spoken to any of you since I came in," protested Somers. "I never had anything to do with you, and I don't know whether you are gentlemen or not." "You hear that, gentlemen!" added the bully. "I think I have said all that is necessary to say; with your leave I will go," said Somers. "Stop, sir!" snarled the young ruffian, putting his hand on the lieutenant's collar. "Take your hand off!" said he sternly. The fellow complied. "This thing has gone far enough, sir," said Captain de Banyan, stepping between Somers and his assailant. "Lieutenant Somers is my friend; and, if you put the weight of your little finger upon him, I'll annihilate you quicker than I did a certain Austrian field-marshal at the battle of Solferino. Gentlemen, permit me to apologize for my inexperienced friend if he has uttered any indiscreet word." "He must apologize!" blustered the young ruffian. "He says we are no gentlemen. Let him prove it." "You have proved it yourself, you little ape," replied the captain, as he stepped up to the bar, and paid his reckoning, bestowing no more attention upon the ruffled little bully than if he had been a very small puppy; which perhaps he was not, by a strict construction of terms. "I demand satisfaction!" roared the flashy little toper. "Apologize, or fight!" "Neither, my gay and festive lark," said the captain with abundant good humor, as he took Somers's arm, and sauntered leisurely towards the door. "Now, my dear fellow, we will go and hear what Lieutenant-Colonel Staggerback has to say about the battle of Bull Run. I was in that action, and rallied the Fire Zouaves when Colonel Ellsworth was killed."