Without waiting he attacked me hotly; all the same I saw he was wary, and was not weakened by over-confidence, as he was when we wrestled. His eyes continued to gleam with a fierce joy, and he laughed like a man well pleased. "You thought to beat Benet Killigrew," he cried, "you thought to use him as a tool, eh?" For full three minutes we fought without either gaining advantage, and I realized how much depended on the skill and strength of my right arm. I saw too that Benet meant to kill me; every thrust he made meant death had I not been successful in parrying them. Never before had I fought with such a man; never before had I seen such a gleam of joy, a joy that was devilish, as I saw in Benet Killigrew's eyes. I had no chance of noticing the two women, for Benet pressed me sorely. I fancied I heard some slight screams, but of these I recked nothing. A woman always cries out at a man's blows. For the first few minutes I acted on the defensive. I was anxious to test my antagonist, before seeking to disable him, for this was all I wanted to do. Presently, therefore I prepared myself for a method of attack of which I fancied Killigrew would be ignorant, but in making it I placed myself at a disadvantage, for my heel caught on a big stone which lay in the road, and I was thrown off my guard. He was not slow in making use of this, as may be imagined, and I doubt much if I could have saved myself, for I stumbled back a couple of paces, and as I stumbled I saw his sword arm raised. Before he could strike, however, his arm was caught from behind, and in a second I was my own man again. He gave a savage oath, and furiously threw aside the one who had kept him from taking advantage of my mishap. In a second I saw that it was Mistress Nancy Molesworth who had come to my aid, and while I felt ashamed that I needed to be helped by a maid, the incident in the battle nerved my arm. "Come on, Benet Killigrew," I said, "that stone shall not serve you again." "Bah, you were at my mercy," he cried, "but you were saved by the maid Nancy. Well, the best man shall have her!"