He snatched the hood off his head and hurled it into the bushes; then
with another angry pull he ripped the skirt off, and, casting it to one
side stood forth in proper man’s attire, though that of a citizen and
not of the British soldier that he was.
He confronted me, very angry. I did not think of much at that moment
save how wonderfully his face was like his sister Kate’s. I had never
taken such thorough note of it before, though often the opportunity was
mine.
Our pause had given him breath, and he stood awaiting my attack like
one who fights with his fists in the ring. My loaded pistol was in my
belt, but he did not seem to think that I would use it; nor did I think
of it myself. His, unloaded, lay on the ground. I advanced upon him,
and with his right fist he struck very swiftly at my face. I thrust my
head to one side and the blow glanced off the hard part of it, leaving
his own face unprotected. I could have dealt him a heavy return blow
that would have made his face look less like his sister Kate’s, but I
preferred to close with him and seize him in my grasp.
Though lighter than I he was agile, and sought to trip me, or by some
dexterous turn otherwise to gain advantage of me. But I was wary,
knowing full well that I ought to be so, and presently I brought him
down in a heap, falling upon him with such force that he lay a few
moments as if stunned, though it was but the breath knocked out of him.
“Do you give up?” I asked, when he had returned to speaking condition.
“Yes,” he replied. “You were always too strong for me, Dick.”
Which was true, for there never was a time, even when we were little
boys, when I could not throw him, though I do not say it as a boast,
since there were others who could throw me.
“Do you make complete and unconditional surrender to me as the sole
present representative of the American army, and promise to make no
further effort to escape?” asked I, somewhat amazed at the length of my
own words, and a little proud of them too.
“Yes, Dick, confound it! Get off my chest! How do you expect me to
breathe?” he replied with a somewhat unreasonable show of temper.
I dismounted and he sat up, thumping his chest and drawing very long
breaths as if he wished to be sure that everything was right inside.
When he had finished his examination, which seemed to be satisfactory,
he said:
“I’m your prisoner, Dick. What do you intend to do with me?”
“Blessed if I know,” I replied.
In truth, I did not. He was in citizens’ clothes, and he had been
lurking inside our lines for at least a day or so. If I gave him up to
our army, as my duty bade me to do, he might be shot, which would be
unpleasant to me as well as to him for various reasons. If I let him go
he might ruin us.
“Suppose you think it over while I rest,” he said. “A man can’t run a
mile and then fight a big fellow like you without getting pretty tired.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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