'Nothing to say indeed, Sir,' said Mr Snodgrass, who began to feel rather uncomfortable himself.

'Will you step forward?' said the officer.

'Certainly,' replied Mr Snodgrass. The ground was measured, and preliminaries arranged. 'You will find these better than your own,' said the opposite second, producing his pistols. 'You saw me load them. Do you object to using them?'

'Certainly not,' replied Mr Snodgrass. The offer relieved him from considerable embarrassment, for his previous notions of loading a pistol were rather vague and undefined.

'We may place our men, then, I think,' observed the officer, with as much indifference as if the principals were chessmen, and the seconds players.

'I think we may,' replied Mr Snodgrass; who would have assented to any proposition, because he knew nothing about the matter. The officer crossed to Doctor Slammer, and Mr Snodgrass went up to Mr Winkle. 'It's all ready,' said he, offering the pistol. 'Give me your cloak.'

Vocabulary:

Preliminaries: The first parts of a job
Opposite second: Here it means the man helping Dr Slammer
Relieved: Here it means 'saved'
Notions: Ideas
Indifference: Not really caring about something
Assent: Agreement