[CHAPTER XVII.]
JIU-JITSU VS. MUSCLE.
All else forgotten now, Ned fought warily.
Time and again Kennell rushed at him, apparently trying to end the battle in a hurry. But every time he rained his blows on thin air. Ned, perceiving that his only chance lay in tiring the man out, had early decided to adopt cautious tactics.
While avoiding the terrific rushes of his opponent, however, he still managed once in a while to land an effective blow.
On Kennell's seasoned body, however, they seemed to have but little effect.
The jackies groaned in sympathy for the lad as he put up his plucky and skillful defense. It was clear that they believed that the battle would be simply a question of a few minutes, unless it was cut short by the arrival of an officer.
As the petty officers were at dinner, however, and the commissioned dignitaries were enjoying a smoke aft, there seemed little likelihood of any interference before the contest was ended. The men were fighting in the shelter of the turret, so from the bridge nothing of what was transpiring was visible to the navigating officers or the quartermasters.