Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-09

! ~. -. n"e Wlping the blooo Iroip
| '"y yves as ! did SO.
ana now as faced him once more, all
tnnBs vanished from my ken save the
! Hen Delore me-he filled the universe.
anu, even as he leaped upon me, I
| Ieeped upon him and struck with all my
srensthi there was jarring, splinterlng
shock and Black George was beaten
/ down upon his knees. but as, dropping my
| weapon, I stepped forward, he rose and
! STOOD painting and staring at the broken
cudgel In his hand.
! "Georgel" said l.
| You m a-bleedin' Petert"
for that matter, so are you"
"Blood-lettin' be-Food for a man
| sometmes-it eases un."
= ny does" painted; perhaps you are
= -Wllnng to-hear reason-now7"
we be-even so fur-but fists be better
nor-sueks any day-an' I-be goin'-to
| try ye-wi' fstsr'
| citntly?"
NO" cried George between set teeth,
| theer De more nor blood -lettin 'twixt
| you an mel said as 'ow one on us
would lie out ere all night-an' so e
shall-by God!-come on-lsts be best
| arter ALI"
This was the heyday OF boxing, and
| WINE at oxford had earned some small
| Iaine nj the sport. But Il was one thing
70 spar with a man my own weight In
padded ring, with limited rounds gov
erhed by code of rules and quite an
other tc hight man like Black George
| m lonely meadow, by light OF moon
! moreover, he was well acquainted with
! the science, as | could see from the way
ne shaped" the only difference between
us being that, whereas he fought with
feet planted square and wide apart. 1
balanced myself upon my tiptoes.
Brief though the respite had been, Il
had served me to recover my breath
ana though my head yet rung from the
| Cuugel-stroke and the blood still flowed
Freely getting every now and then into
my eyes, my brain was clear as we
| fronted each other.
The smith stood with his mighty
shoulders stopped something forward. his
lett arm drawn back, his right flung
| across his chest, and so long as we
iousht L watched that great fist and
knotted forearm, for. though he struck
oftener with his left, It was in that
really lay.
1t is not my intention to chronicle this
| nBht blow by blow; enough and more
| than. enough, has already been said in
| that regard; suffice II then that as the
hght progressed l found that / was far
the quicker, as 1 had hoped, and that
the majority of his blows 1 either blocked
or avoided easily enough.
Time after time his fist shot over my
| shoulder, or over my head, and time after
time l countered heavily-now on his
body now on his face; once he staggered,
and once l caught a momentary glimpse
o. his features convulsed with pain; he
| was smeared with blood from the waist
up, but still he came on.
l fought desperately now, savagely,
, taking advantage Of every opening, for
though l struck him four times to his
once yet his blows had four times the
weight OF mine; my forearms were
bruised to either elbow, and nv breath
came i'm gasps; and always 1 watched
that deadly right" And presently It
came, with arm and shoulder and body
behind it-quick as a flash, and resistless
as cannonball, but l was ready, and,
as leaped struck, and struck him clean
and true upon the angle of the jaw, and.
spinning round, Back George fell and lay
with his arms wide stretched and face
buried in the grass.
Slowly, slowly he got upon his knees
and thence to his feet and so stood pant
ing, hideous with blood and sweat,
bruised and cut and disfgured, staring at
me, as one in amaze.
Now, as 1 looked, my heart went out
to him, and 1 reached forth my right
hand
George" I painted. "oh. Georgew
But Black George only looked at me,
and shook his head and groaned.
"Oh, Peter!' said he, you be a man,
| Peter! I've fou't-ah! many's the time,
an no man ever knocked me down afore.
oh, Peter! II could love zee for it
| II 1 didn't hate the very sight of 'ee-
come on, an let's get it over an done
| VII"
| So once again fists were clenched and
jaws set-once again came the trampling
| of feet. the hiss of breath and the thud-
ding shock of blows given and taken.
| sudden, jarring impact-the taste OF
| sulphur on my tongue-a gathering dark
| ness before my eyes, and, knowing this
| was the end. l strove desperately to close
with him; but / was dazed, blind-my
| arms fell paralyzed and, in that mo-
| ment the Smiths right fist drove for
ward. A jagged flame shot up to heaven
| the earth seemed to rush up toward me
| "a roaring blackness engulfed me and
| then-silence.
CHAPTER XIX.
GONE one was calling to me. a long
- way off.
Some one was leaning down from
great height to call to me in the depths;
| and the voice was wonderfully sweet, but
faint, faint, because the height was so
very high, and the depths so very great.
And still the voice called and called.
and felt sorry that could not answer,
because, as / say the voice was troubled,
and wonderfully sweet.
And, little by little, IT seemed that IL
grew nearer. this voice; was It descending
to me in these depths OF blackness, or
was / being lifted up to the heights
where, knew, blackness could not be9
Ay. indeed, / was being lifted, for could
| feel a hand upon my brow-a smooth,
cool hand that touched my cheek, and
brushed the hair from my forehead; a
strong, gentle hand Il was, with soft
fingers, and It was lifting me up and up
from the loathly depths which seemed
more black and more horrible the farther
drew from them.
And so ! heard the voice nearer, and
ever nearer, until could distinguish
words, and the voice had tears in II, and
the words were very tender
"Peter-speakl-speak TO me- Peteri"
"Charmian" said 1, within myser
why. truly, whose hand but hers could
have lifted me out OF that gulf of death,
back to light and life?' Yet / did not
speak aloud, for / had no mind to. yet
while.
"Ahl speak 20 me-speak TO me, Peter
How can you lie there so still and pAleY"
And now her arms were about me,
strong and protecting, and my head was
drawn down upon her bosom.
"Oh, Peterl-my Peterl"
Nay but was this CHAIRMAN, the cold,