A couple of hundred years ago, this quick escalation, from mundane to murderous, might have taken several days. After the challenge was made and accepted, the duel would have to be scheduled, and a suitably secluded plot of land identified, and the weapons chosen, and the seconds (dueling’s version of the bridegroom’s best man) signed on. Then the appointed day would come — and what if it rained? Oh, snap! Were there rainouts in dueling, like in baseball? Heck, they might have decided to wait until autumn.