Evening star., 1924-08-19
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

The display on both sides, the quick
ness of the one and the steadiness of
the other, had excited the partisan
spirit of the crowd, and the men were
making new bets and increasing orig
inal bets. Again, and yet again.
White Fang sprang in, slaShed and
got away untouched; and still his
strange foe followed after him. with
out too great haste. not slowly, but
deliberately and determinedly, in
buSineSSlike sort of way. There was
purpose in his Notwithstanding
for him to do that he was intent upon
doing and from which nothing could
distract him.
His whole demeanor, every action.
was stamped with this purpose. 1t
puzzled White Fang. Never had he
seen such dog. 1t had no hair
protection 1t was soft and bled
easily. There was no thick mat of
fur to battle White Fang's teeth, as
they were often baffled by dogs of
his own breed. Each time that his
teeth struck they sank easily into
the yielding flesh. while the animal
did not seem able to defend itself.
Another diSconcertinS thing was that
it made outcry, such as he had
been accustomed to with the other
dogs he had fought. Beyond a growl
or a grunt the dog took its punish
ment silently. And never did II flag
in its pursuit of him.
Not that Cherokee was slow: He
could turn and whirl swiftly enough.
but White Fang was never there.
Cherokee was puzzled, too. He had
never fought before with Il dog with
which he could not close The desire
to close had always been mutual.
But here was a dog that kept at
distance. dancing and lodging here
A,,I he
it did get its teeth into him. 1T did
not hold on, but let go instantly and
darted away again.
But White Fang could not get at
the soft underside of the throat. The
bulldog stood too short. while its
massive jaws were an added protec-
ton. White Fang darted in and out
unscathed, while Cherokee's wounds
increased. Both sides of his neck
and head were ripped and Slashed.
He bled freely. but showed no signs
of being diSconcerted. He continued
his plodding pursuit. though once, for
the moment batfied he came to full
stop and blinked at the men who
looked on. at the same time wagging
his stump of tail as an expression
of his Willingness to fight.
In that moment White Fang was
In upon him and out, in passing rip
ping his trimmed remnant of an ear.
With slight manifestation of anger,
Cherokee took up the pursuit again.
running on the inside OF the circ p
White Fang was making. and striv
ing to fasten his deadly grip on
White Fang's throat. The bulldog
missed by hairs breadth. and cries
of praise went up as White Fang
doubled suddenly out of danger in
the opposite direction.
The time went by. White Fang
still a Indu duper nd 6nnhljnSr
leaping in and out. and ever intlicting
damage. And still the bulldog, with
grim certitude, toiled after him.
Sooner or later he would accomplish
his purpose, get the grip that would
win the battle. In the meantime he
accepted ali the punishment the other
could deal him. His tufts of ears
had become taSsels. his neck and
shoulders were Slashed in a score of
places and his very lips were cut
and bleeding-all from those light
ming snaps that were beyond fore
seeing and guarding.
Time and again White Fang had
attempted to knock Cherokee off his
feet but the difference in their
height was too great. Cherokee was
too squat too close to the ground.
White Fang tried the trick once too
often. The chance came in one of
his quick doublingS and counter
clrcllnSS- re caught CneTokee WITH
head turned away as he whirled more
slowly. His shoulder was exposed.
White Fang drove in upon it: but
his own shoulder was high above,
while he struck with such force that
his momentum carried him on across
over the others body. For the first
time in his fighting history, men saw
White Fang lose his footing. His
body turned half SomerSault in the
air and he would have landed on his
back had he not twisted, catlike. still
in the air, in the effort to bring his
feet to the earth. AS it was, he
struck heavily on his side. The next
instant he was on his feet. but in
that instant Cherokee's teeth closed
on his throat.
1t was not a good grip. being too
low down toward the chest. but Cher
okee held on. White Fang sprang to
his feet and tore wildly around. try
ing to shake off the bulldogs body.
IT made him frantic. this clinging.
dragging weight. 1t bound his move
ments. restricted his freedom. 1t
was like the trap, and all his instinct
resented it and revoIted against it.
1t was a mad revolt For several
minutes he was to all intents insane.
THE basic life that was in him took
charge of him. The will to exist of
his body Surged over him. He was
dominated by this mere f1esh-love of
life. All intelligence was gone. 1t
was as though he had no brain. His
reason was unSeated by the blind
yearning of the flesh to exist and
move, at all hazards to move, to con-
tinue to move. for movement was the
expression OF its existence.
Round and round he went. whirl-
ing and turning and reversing, trying
to shake off the 5O-pound weight
that dragged at his throat. The bull
dog did little but keep his grip.
Sometimes, and rarely, he managed
10 get his feet to the earth. and for
moment to brace himself against