“That’s the talk, Merry!” cried Hodge.
“The honorable gentleman is so greatly suspicious!” murmured Hashi.
“Now come ahead,” invited Frank, stepping to the very centre of the mat. “I shall defend myself at any cost to your limbs or life.”
“Curse him!” whispered Fillmore.
Some of the spectators clapped their hands.
“This was to be a friendly trial of skill,” said Maurice Spaulding.
“Of course it was!” cried Cutler Priest.
Hashi hesitated. For a moment his eyes left Frank. They met the eyes of Fillmore, and there he saw a command for him to go on.
“The honorable gentleman is wonderfully skillful,” said the Jap. “I congratulate him upon his excellent skill, and his hand I would shake.”
Was it possible that the Jap acknowledged himself beaten?