It was not light enough for them to see to fight in a scientific manner. Hodge pressed the fighting from the very start. Skelding had tried to do this, but he found Bart a perfect whirlwind, flying about him here, there, everywhere, hitting him on one side and then on the other.
The spectators watched in great excitement. It was a fierce fight, and they knew it could not last long. Suddenly one of the men went down before a blow that sounded like a pistol-shot.
It was Skelding. Bart stood over him, panting.
“Get up! Get up and let me finish you! I’ve not begun to give you what you deserve!”
Skelding was ready enough to get up. He did so as soon as he could, meeting Bart’s rush in the best form he could command.
But the blows rained on Gene’s face. He felt the blood flowing, and he panted and staggered. What made him feel the worst was that he could not seem to reach Hodge with a single good blow.
Bart was fighting for the honor of Elsie, and it made him a thousand times more terrible than usual. Indeed, it was a wonder that Gene stood up before him as long as he did.
At last, however, Skelding went down again and again before those terrible fists. He could not stand in front of them at all, and he was very “groggy.”
“That’s enough, Hodge!” exclaimed one of the spectators. “You have given him punishment enough!”
“Keep back!” commanded Bart, in an awesome voice.