"By Jove, he's cornered!" exclaimed Fortescue, as Te Paheka, stepping back to avoid a left-hander, came in contact with the ropes.
The Afrikander's glove rasped the Maori's ribs. So violent was the effort that again Jan was on the point of overbalancing. This time Te Paheka followed up the advantage. An upper cut caught van Eindhovengen full on the point of his chin, while almost simultaneously the Maori drove home a resounding blow on the Afrikander's solar plexus.
Down like a felled ox the huge South African dropped. In silence the spectators heard the fateful ten seconds called, then a vociferous cheer from Afrikanders, Anzacs, and Maoris alike greeted the victor. For that instant the sporting instincts of the men triumphed over racial prejudices, and for the rest of the voyage--and after--the Maoris and Afrikanders "hit it off" splendidly.
[Illustration: "BY GUM, THAT'S A MIGHTY QUEER CHUNK OF COAL!">[
CHAPTER X
Volunteers for the Stokehold
Day after day passed, and although the Pomfret Castle was pelting along at full speed there were no signs of the convoy of which the Pintail formed part. If the liner were in wireless touch with the transports the fact was never communicated to the troops on board. As far as they were concerned the South Atlantic was a desert, for not another vessel had been sighted since leaving Cape Town.
At Sierra Leone the Pomfret Castle found two more liners awaiting her. Having coaled, the three vessels, under the escort of a light cruiser, left for Plymouth.