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"Well, perhaps I do," she said, and gave hiray fornized it, fro acquaintance with the lady, as a shiver of anticipation rather than revulsion

Dr Hunter recognized it, too He grinnedhis arm to Miss Woodford

"Allow me to secure you a place, ma’am"

Grey and Nicholls both moved purposefully to prevent hi at each other as Dr Hunter escorted Caroline to the tank and introduced her to the eel’s owner, a s creature naed Nicholls aside and plunged into the crowd, elbowing his way ruthlessly to the front Hunter spotted hi in your chest, Major?"

"Have I--what?"

"Metal," Hunter repeated "Arthur Longstreet described to me the operation in which he removed thirty-seven pieces of metal froh, Ithe eel Metal conducts electricity, you see, and the chance of burns--"

Nicholls had ave an unpleasant laugh, hearing this

"A good excuse, Major," he said, a noticeable jeer in his voice He was very drunk indeed, Grey thought Still--

"No, I haven’t," he said abruptly

"Excellent," Suddfield said politely "A soldier, I understand you are, sir? A bold gentleman, I perceive--who better to take first place?"

And before Grey could protest, he found hi his, her other held by Nicholls, as glaring entlemen?" Suddfield cried "How many, Dobbs?"

"Forty-five!" cah which the line of participants snaked, joined hand-to-hand and twitching with excite

"All touching, all touching?" Suddfield cried "Take a firrip!" He turned to Grey, his shtly, please--just there, just there before the tail!"

Disregarding his better judgment and the consequences to his lace cuff, Grey set his jaw and plunged his hand into the water

In the split second when he grasped the sliot fro violently backward, every muscle in his body contorted, and he found hi in a vain atteeon, Mr Hunter, squatted next to hiht-eyed interest

"How do you feel?" he inquired "Dizzy at all?"

Grey shook his head, oldfish’s, and with some effort thumped his chest Thus invited, Mr Hunter leaned down at once, unbuttoned Grey’s waistcoat, and pressed an ear to his shirtfront Whatever he heard--or didn’t--seeether, and brought them down on Grey’s chest with a thud that reverberated to his backbone

This blow had the salutary effect of forcing breath out of his lungs; they filled again by reflex, and suddenly he remembered how to breathe His heart also seean beating again He sat up, fending off another blow froe round him

The floor was filled with bodies So in abandon helped to their feet by friends Excited exclamations filled the air, and Suddfield stood by his eel, bearatulations The eel itself seerily switching its heavy body

Edwin Nicholls was on hands and knees, Grey saw, rising slowly to his feet He reached down to grasp Caroline Woodford’s arms and help her to rise This she did, but so aardly that she lost her balance and fell face-first into Mr Nicholls He in turn lost his own balance and sat down hard, the Honorable Caroline atop him Whether from shock, excitement, drink, or simple boorishness, he seized the moment--and Caroline--and planted a hearty kiss upon her astonished lips

Matters thereafter were soue impression that he had broken Nicholls’s nose--and there was a set of burst and swollen knuckles on his right hand to give weight to the supposition There was a lot of noise, though, and he had the disconcerting feeling of not being altogether firmly confined within his own body Parts of hi the outlines of his flesh

What did re--still somewhat iiven up entirely under the strain of electric shock That is, he could hear, but what he heardof buzzing and ringing, but he could not connect the mouths around hi what he meant it to, for that matter

He was surrounded by voices, faces--a sea of feverish sound andout an ar as much to discover where it was as to strike anyone, but felt the inized: Lucinda, shocked and furious; Caroline, distraught, her red hair disheveled and co down, all its powder lost

The net result of everything was that he was not positive whether he had called Nicholls out or the reverse Surely Nicholls ed hiore-soaked handkerchief held to his nose and a hoht in his narrowed eyes But then he’d found hi in the little park that fronted the Joffreys’ house, with a pistol in his hand He wouldn’t have chosen to fight with a strange pistol, would he?

Maybe Nicholls had insulted hi it?

It had rained earlier, was chilly noas whipping his shirt round his body His sense of s working properly He sreen of the plants, and his oeat, oddlyredolent of mud and sliainst his breeches

So to him With difficulty, he fixed his attention on Mr Hunter, standing by his side, still with that look of penetrating interest Well, of course They’d need a surgeon, he thought dieon at a duel