His Other Wife: A Novel — page 141: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A MORTAL COMBAT. 133 ‘<I suppose, sir, you will have no objection to explain- ing the very remarkable conduct of which you were guilty toward me this evening ?” Warren had stopped within an arm’s length of his in- terlocutor, who concluded his question by taking the cigar from his lips and puffing a cloud of smoke into the star-lit air. ‘“‘T am unaware of anything specially remarkable in my manner where you were concerned, but you are welcome to put your own construction on any act of mine. ” Warren’s tone was a trifle contemptuous, as he scanned the lithe, supple form before him—slender and delicate as an Arab’s, but fibrous and tense as if its tissues were of steel. ‘‘TIf you are ignorant of any offense to a gentleman in your behavior this evening, I have only to say that your instincts on such points must be as obscure as your birth, sir.” The words were ineffably insolent, and the haughty tone of the patrician exquisite rendered them utterly un- bearable to the proud manhood of Gordon Warren. ‘‘T trust you will find nothing obscure about /Azs, sir!” With a movement altogether as light and as cool as his tone, Warren struck Vernois a blow upon the mouth that staggered him. The delicate aristocrat knew that however he might surpass the stalwart plebeian in insolence of speech, he GComichoo <Sis (E(0)