"It's a fight!"
"Why, what do you know about this! Jack is fighting Nappy Martell!"
"Martell tackled me first, but Jack took the fight out of my hands," explained Fred to his cousins.
"Who has got the best of it?" questioned Bart White, excitedly.
"I think Jack has the best of it so far," answered Gif; "but the fight isn't finished yet," he added, a bit anxiously.
"You're right it isn't finished yet!" retorted Slugger Brown. "Just you wait until Nappy gets his second wind, and then you'll see what he'll do to Rover."
Once more the two contestants were circling around, each trying to get in some kind of telling blow. Various passes were made, and in the excitement the pair left the roadway and began to circle around on the grassy bank of the river.
"Look out there, or you'll both go overboard!" sang out Spouter in alarm.
The cadets who were fighting were too engrossed to pay attention to this warning. They kept on circling about, and then Nappy Martell made a wild and vicious pass for Jack's head. The latter dodged like lightning, came up under his opponent's arm, and the next instant landed a swinging blow on Martell's ear which sent him staggering backward several paces, to fall with a splash into the river.