XXVII + 

The shining pistols are uncased, + 

The mallet loud the ramrod strikes, + 

Bullets are down the barrels pressed, + 

For the first time the hammer clicks. + 

Lo! poured in a thin gray cascade, + 

The powder in the pan is laid, + 

The sharp flint, screwed securely on, + 

Is cocked once more. Uneasy grown, + 

Guillot behind a pollard stood; + 

Aside the foes their mantles threw, + 

Zaretski paces thirty-two + 

Measured with great exactitude. + 

At each extreme one takes his stand, + 

A loaded pistol in his hand. + 