But that wa'n't Jarvis's program. He begins like a bridge car-rusher
makin' for a seat, and he had me back into my corner in no time at all.
We mixed it then, mixed it good and plenty. Jarvis wa'n't handin' out
any love-taps, either; and I didn't have beef enough to stop a
hundred-an'-eighty pound swing without feelin' the jar. I was dizzy from
'em all right; but I jumps in close an' pounds away on his ribs until he
gives ground. Then I comes the Nelson crouch, and rips a few cross-overs
in where they'd do the most good.
That didn't stop him, though. Pretty soon he comes in for more. Say, I
never see a guy that could look pleasanter while he was passin' out hot
ones. It wasn't a fightin' grin, same as Terry wears; it was just a
calm, steady, business-like proposition, one of the kind that goes with
a "Sorry to trouble you, but I've got to knock your block off." Now, I
can grin, too, until I makes up my mind that it's time to pull the other
chap's cork. But I was never up against any of this polite business
before. It wins me, though. Right there I says to myself: "Jarvis, if
you can keep that up for two rounds more, you're welcome to win out." It
was worth the money.
And just as I gets this notion in my nut, he cuts loose with a bunch of
rapid-fire jabs that had me wonderin' where I'd be if one landed just
right. I ain't got it mapped out yet just how it happened; for about
then the ladies let go a lot of squeals; but I remembers stoppin' a
facer that showed me pin-wheels, an' then I quits fancy boxin'.
We was roughin' it all over the ring, and Swifty an' the Gorilla was
yellin' things, an' Slattery was yellin' back at them, and the muss was
as pretty as any ten-dollar-a-head crowd ever paid to see, when all of a
sudden Jarvis misses a swing, and I throws all I had into an upper cut.
It connected with his chin dimple like a hammer on a nut. The next thing
I knows Swifty has the elbow-lock on me from behind, and Mike is
standin' over Mr. Jarvis makin' the count.
Well, there wa'n't any cheerin' and shoutin'. I didn't have to shake
hands with any crazy bunch, or be toted off to the dressin'-room on
their shoulders. When I gets so I can look straight I sees mother keeled
over in her chair, and sister fannin' her with the chocolate box. And
say, I felt like a lead quarter. Next I takes a squint at Lady Evelyn.
She was standin' up as stiff as a tin soldier on parade, with her eyes
snappin' and her fingers clinched.
Just one of them looks was enough for me. I gets busy with a pail, and
goes to work on Jarvis. He was clean out, of course, but restin' as easy
as a baby. We was bringin' him round all right, when I feels a push that
shoves me to one side, and in rushes Lady Evelyn. She gets one arm under
his neck just as he opens his eyes with that kind of a "What's the
matter now?" way they has of comin' back.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account