Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1916-09-21
CHAPTER II.
The Hammerlock.

WITH the words he Sprang for
NN ward and hit me twice. The
WV blows started at the very toe
of his foot, and they shook
me as no blows, even with the bare
| fist. had ever shaken me before or
since Completely daZed, l struck back,
but encountered only the empty air.
Four or five times from somewhere
those pile driver fists descended upon
me. Being now prepared to some eX-
! tent, l raised my elbows and managed
to defend my neck and jaws. The at
tack was Immediately transferred to
my body, but 1 stiffened my muscles
thankfully and took the punishment.
| MY river and farm work had so hard
ened me there that l believe | could
have taken the kick of mule without
damage were / expecting it.
The respite enabled my brain to
clear. I recovered slowly from the eff
feet Of those first two vicious blows.
| I saw Ward, his eyes narrowed calcu-
latingly, his body swinging forward
like a whalebone spring, delivering his
attack with nice accuracy. A slow an
| ger glowed through me. He had be-
gun without the least warning, had
caught me absolutely unaware. | hit
| back.
| He was 50 intent on his own assault.
so certain Of the binding effect Of his
! first attack, that I hit him. l saw his
| head snap back and the blood come
from his lips. The blows were weak,
for | was still dazed, but they served,
| together with the slow burn of my an
ger, greatly to steady me. We were
once more on equal terms.
For perhaps two minutes / tried to
exchange with him. He was in and
out like lightning. He landed on me
hard almost every time. He escaped
nine out Of ten of my return counters.
| Decidedly | was getting the worst Of
this, though my heavier body took
punishment better than his lighter and
more nervous frame. Then suddenly
| it occurred to me that I was playing
his game for him. AS long as he could
keep away from me he was at an ad-
vantage My best chance was to close.
From that moment | took the ag
gressive and was in consequence the
more punished. My rushes to close in
were skillfully eluded, and they gen
orally laid me wide open. My head
was singing, and my sight uncertain,
though I was in no real distress. Ward
danced away and slipped around tense
as panther.
Then by a very simple ruse l got
hold Of him. l tented at rushing him,
stopped and hit instead and then, fol-
lowing closely the blow, managed to
seize his arm. For ten seconds he
jerked and twisted and struggled to
release himself. Then suddenly he
gave that up, dove forward and caught
me in a grapevine.
| He was fairly skillful wrestler and
very st. ong. 1t was as though he were
| made Of whalebone springs. But new
er yet have l met man Of my weight
who possessed the same solid strength,
and Ward would tip the scales at con-
siderably less. I broke his hold and
went after him.
! slippery fish. Time after time he all
but wriggled from my grasp, and time
after time he broke my hold by sheer
agility. His eXertions must have been
to him something terrible, for they re-
! quired every ounce Of his strength at
| the greatest speed. / could, of course,
take it much easier, and every instant
| 4 4oI 20 Is I've, n
my hands, but apparently he was as
| vigorous as ever. He was in excellent
training. At last, however, | managed
to jerk him Whirling past me, to throw
his feet from under him and to drop
him beneath me. AS he fell he twist
| ed, and by a sheer f1uke l caught his
| wrist.
Thus through no great skill Of my
| own the fortunes of war had given me
a hammerlock on him. Most people
! know what that is. Any one else can
find out by placing his forearm across
| the small Of his back and then getting
somebody else to press upward on the
! forearm. The Greek statue of THE
! Wrestlers' illustrates it. AS the pres
| sure increases so does the pain. When
| the pain becomes intense enough the
wrestler rolls over, and the contest is
won. Some people can stand it longer
than others, but all sooner or later
| must give up. In fact, skilled wres-
| tiers, knowing that otherwise the in
evitable end is a broken arm, save
| themselves much tribulation by imme-
diately conceding the bout once this
| deadly hold is gained.
I began to force Talbot Wards hand
/ slowly up his back.
! Very gently, an inch at a time, l
| pressed. He said nothing. Once he
attempted to slip sideWise; but. find