Pat leaped eagerly toward the prostrate boy, expecting to pin him to the ground and beat him half senseless. But Tom was quick as a cat. He turned over with lightning speed and rolled swiftly to one side. Pat came down clawing nothing but the air, mud and grass. Hot with thwarted fury, he scrambled to his feet and faced Tom again. Now Pat rushed anew; but it was noticeable that his rush was shorter and more feeble. This time he stumbled and went down on his hands and knees, as Tom slipped easily away. “C’mon!” snarled the infuriated soldier. “Stand up an’ fight like a man, yuh slinkin’ ’fraidy-cat!” It was clear that Fagan was trying to get Tom mad, so that he would wade in and mix it hammer and tongs. But Tom, though young in years, had an old head on his shoulders. He was too cagy to be caught in Pat’s snare. He merely danced about with fists ready, and on his face a cool and exasperating smile. Fagan made another bull-like rush; but to no avail. Tom dodged away like a shadow. Now Pat stood stock-still again. The look of surprise was growing on his puffed, bloody face; for he had taken several, straight, heavy punches. Furthermore, he was now blowing and puffing like a heavey horse. On the other hand, Tom was still breathing pretty evenly, but his arms and shoulders were getting sore and bruised from warding off Pat’s desperate swings. And thus it went for some time more,--with the ponderous soldier ever charging and the agile lad always cleverly evading his rushes. Then, all at once, Tom changed his strategy. His keen eye detected that the mountainous Fagan was half groggy and badly blown. Quick as a bounding deer, the boy sprang forward, catching the surprised soldier with his guard partly down. Tom bounced first his right fist, and then his left, off Pat’s face. But the heavy-set fellow wasn’t knocked over. His head rocked, he was stung hard, but he lunged blindly forward, notwithstanding. One big hand caught Tom by the arm, while the other crept halfway about the boy’s waist. The next moment or so was a whirlwind of excitement. The crowd was all jumping up and down and yelling like wild Indians. Tom, agile as he was, couldn’t break free, and he couldn’t get enough force in his blows, cramped as he was, to put Fagan down for good. It was a desperate tussle, now, to see which fighter could throw the other and come down on top. It was just the kind of fight that Tom had tried to avoid. But he was still strong and quick, while the hulking Pat was muscle-weary and spent; so the match now looked pretty even, in spite of the soldier’s greater bulk. Suddenly, the wily Tom got his heel back of Pat’s and tripped him handily. Pat fell hard, so hard that his savage clutch loosened. With a quick twist of his body Tom wrenched himself free and bounced to his feet again, alert for whatever might come.