“Dowetakeoffourcoats？“saidPhilippetohisadversarycoldly。
“Ofcourse，“answeredMaxence，withtheassumptionofabully。
Theydidso；therosytintsoftheirskinappearingthroughthecambricoftheirshirts。Each，armedwithacavalrysabreselectedofequalweight，aboutthreepounds，andequallength，threefeet，placedhimselfathisownline，thepointofhisweaponontheground，awaitingthesignal。Bothweresocalmthat，inspiteofthecold，theirmusclesquiverednomorethaniftheyhadbeenmadeofiron。
Goddet，thefourseconds，andthetwosoldiersfeltaninvoluntaryadmiration。
“Theyareaproudpair！“