I only looked at him, and made no answer, feeling none due. He came

out into the open, followed by a nondescript dog, which had the lack

of decency--and also of discretion--to attack my dog Partial with no

parley or preliminary. I wot not of what stock Partial came, but

somewhere in his ancestry must have been stark fighting strain. Mutely

and sternly, as became a gentleman, he joined issue; and so well had

he learned the art of war that in the space of a few moments, in spite

of the loud outcry of the owner of the invading cur, he had him on his

back in a throat grip which was the end of the battle and bade fair

soon to be the end of the enemy.

The man who had accosted us caught up a club and made toward Partial

with intent to kill him. Then, indeed, we all sprang into action. In

two strides I was before him.

"Drop that!" I said to him quickly, but I hope not angrily. "Call him

off, Jack!" I cried to Lafitte at the same time.

The sound of conflict ceased as Partial was persuaded to release his

fallen foe, and the latter disappeared, with more wisdom as to

attacking a band of pirates. His owner, however, was not so easily

daunted. He still advanced toward Partial, and as I still intervened,

he made a vicious side blow at me with his club.

It all happened, almost, in the twinkling of an eye. Here, then, was

an adventure, and before the end of our second day!

There was not time to learn or to ask the reason for this man's

animosity toward us, and, indeed, no thought of that came to my mind.

A man may lay tongue to one--within certain bounds--and one will only

walk away from him; but the touch of another man's hand or weapon is

quite another matter. That arouses the unthinking blood, and follows

then, no matter the issue, the gaudium certaminis, with no care as

to odds or evens. Wherefore, even as the club whizzed by to my side

step, I came back from the other foot and smote the hostile stranger

on the side of the neck so stiffly that he faltered and almost

dropped. Then seeing that I was so much lighter than himself and

perhaps valuing himself against me purely on a basis of avoirdupois,

pound for pound, he gathered and came at me, roaring out blasphemy and

obscenity which I had rather Lafitte and L'Olonnois had not heard.

I had not often fought in fact, but knew that, sometimes, a gentleman

must fight. What astonished me now was the fact that fighting

contained no manner of repugnance to me. With a certain joy I met my

foe, circled with him, exchanged blows with him--unequally it is true,

for I was cool as though trying a cause at law, and he was very angry:

so that he got most of my leads, and I but few of his, albeit jarring

me enough to make my ears sing and my eyes blur somewhat, although of

pain I was no more conscious than a fighting dog. The turf was soft

underfoot, and the space wide, so that we fought very happily and

comfortably over perhaps a hundred feet of country, first one and then

the other coming in; until at last I had him so well blown that he

stood, and I knew we must now end it toe to toe. I bethought me of a

trick of my old boxing teacher, and stood before him with arms curved

wide apart, inviting him to come into what seemed an opening. He

rushed, and my left fist caught him on the neck. He straightened to

finish me, but I stooped and brought my right in a round-arm blow,

full and hard into the small of his back and at one side. It sickened

him, and before he could rally, I stepped behind him, and having no

ethics save the necessity of subduing him, I caught up his arm by the

wrist, and slipping under it with my shoulder, pulled it down till he

howled: a trick, only one of very many, which Hiroshimi patiently had

taught me.




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