Prove it."
"Excuse me, Princess," said I, "but before that I have some other
things to prove, of which some are easy and others may be hard and
tedious."
"Seven--eight--nine." With no answer, but a curl of the lip, she
resumed her counting.
"Marc'antonio!" I called--he had almost reached the tree.
"Come here!"
He faced about, his eyes starting, his cheeks blanched. As he drew
nearer I saw that his forehead shone with sweat.
"I have a word for you," I said slowly. "In the first place an
Englishman does not shoot his game sitting; it is against the rules.
Secondly, he is by no means necessarily a fool, but, if it came to
shooting against two, he might have sense enough to get his first
shot upon the one who held the musket--a point which your mistress
overlooked perhaps." I bowed to her gravely. "And thirdly," I went
on, hardening my voice, "I have to tell you, Ser Marc'antonio, that
this friend of mine, whom you have killed, was not trying to escape
you, but running to seek help for the Princess."
Marc'antonio checked an exclamation. He glanced at the girl, and she
at him suspiciously, with a deepening frown.
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