Fred Fearnot's Double Duel; or, Bound to Show His Nerve

Fred Fearnot's Double Duel: Or, Bound to Show His Nerve This serial by Hal Standish, published in *Work and Win* (July 21, 1899), depicts Fred Fearnot, an American youth visiting Paris, navigating French dueling customs. Young Count Albert, son of the Duchess de Villanuve, pressures Fred to serve as second in his duel with a military officer over a ball-room incident. Fred refuses, concerned about international complications and his parents' disapproval, though he pursues Albert to dissuade him. The narrative shifts to Fred's discussion at an Athletic Club with Colonel Beauvais about American marksmanship, comparing casualty statistics from Civil War battles with Solferino, and relating a scout's account of thirty-eight Indians defeated through superior shooting. Fred concludes marksmen outweigh large organized forces—theories of youth he expects to vindicate in his lifetime. Count Albert appears as the dialogue concludes.