Story 1--Chapter III.
Hanging by One Hand.
“How is it to be?” asks Slaughter, holding the watch as if he were weighing it. “By one hand or both?”
“One hand, of course. That was the challenge.”
“I propose that the other be tied. That will be the best way, and fair for both parties. There will then be no balancing, and it will be a simple test of strength in the arm used for suspension. The right, of course. Let the left be tied down. What say you, boys?”
“There can be no objection to that. It’s equal for both,” remarks Randall.
“I make no objection,” says Brandon.
“Nor I,” assents the young hunter; “tie as you please, so long as you tie alike.”
“Good!” ejaculates Bill Buck, with a sly wink to his companions, unseen by the last speaker.
The competitors stand under the branch of the tree ready to be tied. A minute or two sufficed for this. It is done by a piece of string cord looped upon the left wrist, and then carried round the thigh. By this means the left arm is secured against struggling or in anyway lessening the strain upon the right.