雙語·杰克·倫敦短篇小說選 一塊牛排

A Piece of Steak

With the last morsel of bread Tom King wiped his plate clean of the last particle of flour gravy and chewed the resulting mouthful in a slow and meditative way．When he arose from the table，he was oppressed by the feeling that he was distinctly hungry．Yet he alone had eaten．The two children in the other room had been sent early to bed in order that in sleep they might forget they had gone supperless．His wife had touched nothing，and had sat silently and watched him with solicitous eyes．She was a thin，worn woman of the working-class，though signs of an earlier prettiness were not wanting in her face．The flour for the gravy she had borrowed from the neighbor across the hall．The last two ha'pennies had gone to buy the bread．

He sat down by the window on a rickety chair that protested under his weight，and quite mechanically he put his pipe in his mouth and dipped into the side pocket of his coat．The absence of any tobacco made him aware of his action，and，with a scowl for his forgetfulness，he put the pipe away．His movements were slow，almost hulking，as though he were burdened by the heavy weight of his muscles．He was a solid-bodied，stolid-looking man，and his appearance did not suffer from being overprepossessing．His rough clothes were old and slouchy．The uppers of his shoes were too weak to carry the heavy resoling that was itself of no recent date．And his cotton shirt，a cheap，two-shilling affair，showed a frayed collar and ineradicable paint stains．

But it was Tom King's face that advertised him unmistakably for what he was．It was the face of a typical prize-fighter；of one who had put in long years of service in the squared ring and，by that means，developed and emphasized all the marks of the fighting beast．It was distinctly a lowering countenance，and，that no feature of it might escape notice，it was clean-shaven．The lips were shapeless，and constituted a mouth harsh to excess，that was like a gash in his face．The jaw was aggressive，brutal，heavy．The eyes，slow of movement and heavy-lidded，were almost expressionless under the shaggy，indrawn brows．Sheer animal that he was，the eyes were the most animal-like feature about him．They were sleepy，lion-like—the eyes of a fighting animal．The forehead slanted quickly back to the hair，which，clipped close，showed every bump of a villainous-looking head．A nose，twice broken and moulded variously by countless blows，and a cauliflower ear，permanently swollen and distorted to twice its size，completed his adornment，while the beard，fresh-shaven as it was，sprouted in the skin and gave the face a blue-black stain．

All together，it was the face of a man to be afraid of in a dark alley or lonely place．And yet Tom King was not a criminal，nor had he ever done anything criminal．Outside of brawls，common to his walk in life，he had harmed no one．Nor had he ever been known to pick a quarrel．He was a professional，and all the fighting brutishness of him was reserved for his professional appearances．Outside the ring he was slow-going，easy-natured，and，in his younger days，when money was flush，too open-handed for his own good．He bore no grudges and had few enemies．Fighting was a business with him．In the ring he struck to hurt，struck to maim，struck to destroy；but there was no animus in it．It was a plain business proposition．Audiences assembled and paid for the spectacle of men knocking each other out．The winner took the big end of the purse．When Tom King faced the Woolloomoolloo Gouger，twenty years before，he knew that the Gouger's jaw was only four months healed after having been broken in a Newcastle bout．And he had played for that jaw and broken it again in the ninth round，not because he bore the Gouger any ill-will，but because that was the surest way to put the Gouger out and win the big end of the purse．Nor had the Gouger borne him any ill-will for it．It was the game，and both knew the game and played it．

Tom King had never been a talker，and he sat by the window，morosely silent，staring at his hands．The veins stood out on the backs of the hands，large and swollen；and the knuckles，smashed and battered and malformed，testified to the use to which they had been put．He had never heard that a man's life was the life of his arteries，but well he knew the meaning of those big，upstanding veins．His heart had pumped too much blood through them at top pressure．They no longer did the work．He had stretched the elasticity out of them，and with their distension had passed his endurance．He tired easily now．No longer could he do a fast twenty rounds，hammer and tongs，fight，fight，fight，from gong to gong，with fierce rally on top of fierce rally，beaten to the ropes and in turn beating his opponent to the ropes，and rallying fiercest and fastest of all in that last，twentieth round，with the house on its feet and yelling，himself rushing，striking，ducking，raining showers of blows upon showers of blows and receiving showers of blows in return，and all the time the heart faithfully pumping the surging blood through the adequate veins．The veins，swollen at the time，had always shrunk down again，though not quite—each time，imperceptibly at first，remaining just a trifle larger than before．He stared at them and at his battered knuckles，and，for the moment，caught a vision of the youthful excellence of those hands before the first knuckle had been smashed on the head of Benny Jones，otherwise known as the Welsh Terror．

The impression of his hunger came back on him．

“Blimey，but couldn't I go a piece of steak！”he muttered aloud，clenching his huge fists and spitting out a smothered oath．

“I tried both Burke's an'Sawley's，”his wife said half apolo-getically．

“An'they wouldn't？”he demanded．

“Not a ha'penny．Burke said—”She faltered．

“G'wan！Wot'd he say？”

“As how'e was thinkin' Sandel ud do ye to-night，an'as how yer score was comfortable big as it was．”

Tom King grunted，but did not reply．He was busy thinking of the bull terrier he had kept in his younger days to which he had fed steaks without end．Burke would have given him credit for a thousand steaks—then．But times had changed．Tom King was getting old；and old men，fighting before second-rate clubs，couldn't expect to run bills of any size with the tradesmen．

He had got up in the morning with a longing for a piece of steak，and the longing had not abated．He had not had a fair training for this fight．It was a drought year in Australia，times were hard，and even the most irregular work was difficult to find．He had had no sparring partner，and his food had not been of the best nor always sufficient．He had done a few days' navvy work when he could get it，and he had run around the Domain in the early mornings to get his legs in shape．But it was hard，training without a partner and with a wife and two kiddies that must be fed．Credit with the tradesmen had undergone very slight expansion when he was matched with Sandel．The secretary of the Gayety Club had advanced him three pounds—the loser's end of the purse—and beyond that had refused to go．Now and again he had managed to borrow a few shillings from old pals，who would have lent more only that it was a drought year and they were hard put themselves．No—and there was no use in disguising the fact—his training had not been satisfactory．He should have had better food and no worries．Besides，when a man is forty，it is harder to get into condition than when he is twenty．

“What time is it，Lizzie？”he asked．

His wife went across the hall to inquire，and came back．

“Quarter before eight．”

“They'll be startin' the first bout in a few minutes，”he said．“Only a try-out．Then there's a four-round spar 'tween Dealer Wells an'Gridley，an'a ten-round go 'tween Starlight an'some sailor bloke．I don't come on for over an hour．”

At the end of another silent ten minutes，he rose to his feet．

“Truth is，Lizzie，I ain't had proper trainin'．”

He reached for his hat and started for the door．He did not offer to kiss her—he never did on going out—but on this night she dared to kiss him，throwing her arms around him and compelling him to bend down to her face．She looked quite small against the massive bulk of the man．

“Good luck，Tom，”she said．“You gotter do 'im．”

“Ay，I gotter do 'im，”he repeated．“That's all there is to it．I jus' gotter do 'im．”

He laughed with an attempt at heartiness，while she pressed more closely against him．Across her shoulders he looked around the bare room．It was all he had in the world，with the rent overdue，and her and the kiddies．And he was leaving it to go out into the night to get meat for his mate and cubs—not like a modern working-man going to his machine grind，but in the old，primitive，royal，animal way，by fighting for it．

“I gotter do 'im，”he repeated，this time a hint of desperation in his voice．“If it's a win，it's thirty quid—an'I can pay all that's owin'，with a lump o'money left over．If it's a lose，I get naught—not even a penny for me to ride home on the tram．The secretary's give all that's comin' from a loser's end．Good-by，old woman．I'll come straight home if it's a win．”

“An' I'll be waitin' up，”she called to him along the hall．

It was full two miles to the Gayety，and as he walked along he remembered how in his palmy days—he had once been the heavyweight champion of New South Wales—he would have ridden in a cab to the fight，and how，most likely，some heavy backer would have paid for the cab and ridden with him．There were Tommy Burns and that Yankee nigger，Jack Johnson—they rode about in motor-cars．And he walked！And，as any man knew，a hard two miles was not the best preliminary to a fight．He was an old un，and the world did not wag well with old uns．He was good for nothing now except navvy work，and his broken nose and swollen ear were against him even in that．He found himself wishing that he had learned a trade．It would have been better in the long run．But no one had told him，and he knew，deep down in his heart，that he would not have listened if they had．It had been so easy．Big money—sharp，glorious fights—periods of rest and loafing in between—a following of eager flatterers，the slaps on the back，the shakes of the hand，the toffs glad to buy him a drink for the privilege of five minutes' talk—and the glory of it，the yelling houses，the whirlwind finish，the referee's “King wins！”and his name in the sporting columns next day．

Those had been times！But he realized now，in his slow，ruminating way，that it was the old uns he had been putting away．He was Youth，rising；and they were Age，sinking．No wonder it had been easy—they with their swollen veins and battered knuckles and weary in the bones of them from the long battles they had already fought．He remembered the time he put out old Stowsher Bill，at Rush-Cutters Bay，in the eighteenth round，and how old Bill had cried afterward in the dressing-room like a baby．Perhaps old Bill's rent had been overdue．Perhaps he'd had at home a missus an'a couple of kiddies．And perhaps Bill，that very day of the fight，had had a hungering for a piece of steak．Bill had fought game and taken incredible punishment．He could see now，after he had gone through the mill himself，that Stowsher Bill had fought for a bigger stake，that night twenty years ago，than had young Tom King，who had fought for glory and easy money．No wonder Stowsher Bill had cried afterward in the dressing-room．

Well，a man had only so many fights in him，to begin with．It was the iron law of the game．One man might have a hundred hard fights in him，another man only twenty；each，according to the make of him and the quality of his fibre，had a definite number，and，when he had fought them，he was done．Yes，he had had more fights in him than most of them，and he had had far more than his share of the hard，gruelling fights—the kind that worked the heart and lungs to bursting，that took the elastic out of the arteries and made hard knots of muscle out of Youth's sleek suppleness，that wore out nerve and stamina and made brain and bones weary from excess of effort and endurance overwrought．Yes，he had done better than all of them．There were none of his old fighting partners left．He was the last of the old guard．He had seen them all finished，and he had had a hand in finishing some of them．

They had tried him out against the old uns，and one after another he had put them away—laughing when，like old Stowsher Bill，they cried in the dressing-room．And now he was an old un，and they tried out the youngsters on him．There was that bloke，Sandel．He had come over from New Zealand with a record behind him．But nobody in Australia knew anything about him，so they put him up against old Tom King．If Sandel made a showing，he would be given better men to fight，with bigger purses to win；so it was to be depended upon that he would put up a fierce battle．He had everything to win by it—money and glory and career；and Tom King was the grizzled old chopping-block that guarded the highway to fame and fortune．And he had nothing to win except thirty quid，to pay to the landlord and the tradesmen．And，as Tom King thus ruminated，there came to his stolid vision the form of Youth，glorious Youth，rising exultant and invincible，supple of muscle and silken of skin，with heart and lungs that had never been tired and torn and that laughed at limitation of effort．Yes，Youth was the Nemesis．It destroyed the old uns and recked not that，in so doing，it destroyed itself．It enlarged its arteries and smashed its knuckles，and was in turn destroyed by Youth．For Youth was ever youthful．It was only Age that grew old．

At Castlereagh Street he turned to the left，and three blocks along came to the Gayety．A crowd of young larrikins hanging outside the door made respectful way for him，and he heard one say to another：“That's 'im！That's Tom King！”

Inside，on the way to his dressing-room，he encountered the secretary，a keen-eyed，shrewd-faced young man，who shook his hand．

“How are you feelin'，Tom？”he asked．

“Fit as a fiddle，”King answered，though he knew that he lied，and that if he had a quid，he would give it right there for a good piece of steak．

When he emerged from the dressing-room，his seconds behind him，and came down the aisle to the squared ring in the centre of the hall，a burst of greeting and applause went up from the waiting crowd．He acknowledged salutations right and left，though few of the faces did he know．Most of them were the faces of kiddies unborn when he was winning his first laurels in the squared ring．He leaped lightly to the raised platform and ducked through the ropes to his corner，where he sat down on a folding stool．Jack Ball，the referee，came over and shook his hand．Ball was a broken-down pugilist who for over ten years had not entered the ring as a principal．King was glad that he had him for referee．They were both old uns．If he should rough it with Sandel a bit beyond the rules，he knew Ball could be depended upon to pass it by．

Aspiring young heavyweights，one after another，were climbing into the ring and being presented to the audience by the referee．Also，he issued their challenges for them．

“Young Pronto，”Bill announced，“from North Sydney，challenges the winner for fifty pounds side bet．”

The audience applauded，and applauded again as Sandel himself sprang through the ropes and sat down in his corner．Tom King looked across the ring at him curiously，for in a few minutes they would be locked together in merciless combat，each trying with all the force of him to knock the other into unconsciousness．But little could he see，for Sandel，like himself，had trousers and sweater on over his ring costume．His face was strongly handsome，crowned with a curly mop of yellow hair，while his thick，muscular neck hinted at bodily magnificence．

Young Pronto went to one corner and then the other，shaking hands with the principals and dropping down out of the ring．The challenges went on．Ever Youth climbed through the ropes—Youth unknown，but insatiable—crying out to mankind that with strength and skill it would match issues with the winner．A few years before，in his own heyday of invincibleness，Tom King would have been amused and bored by these preliminaries．But now he sat fascinated，unable to shake the vision of Youth from his eyes．Always were these youngsters rising up in the boxing game，springing through the ropes and shouting their defiance；and always were the old uns going down before them．They climbed to success over the bodies of the old uns．And ever they came，more and more youngsters—Youth unquenchable and irresistible—and ever they put the old uns away，themselves becoming old uns and travelling the same downward path，while behind them，ever pressing on them，was Youth eternal—the new babies，grown lusty and dragging their elders down，with behind them more babies to the end of time—Youth that must have its will and that will never die．

King glanced over to the press box and nodded to Morgan，of the Sportsman，and Corbett，of the Referee．Then he held out his hands，while Sid Sullivan and Charley Bates，his seconds，slipped on his gloves and laced them tight，closely watched by one of Sandel's seconds，who first examined critically the tapes on King's knuckles．A second of his own was in Sandel's corner，performing a like office．Sandel's trousers were pulled off，and，as he stood up，his sweater was skinned off over his head．And Tom King，looking，saw Youth incarnate，deep-chested，heavy-thewed，with muscles that slipped and slid like live things under the white satin skin．The whole body was acrawl with life，and Tom King knew that it was a life that had never oozed its freshness out through the aching pores during the long fights wherein Youth paid its toll and departed not quite so young as when it entered．

The two men advanced to meet each other，and，as the gong sounded and the seconds clattered out of the ring with the folding stools，they shook hands and instantly took their fighting attitudes．And instantly，like a mechanism of steel and springs balanced on a hair trigger，Sandel was in and out and in again，landing a left to the eyes，a right to the ribs，ducking a counter，dancing lightly away and dancing menacingly back again．He was swift and clever．It was a dazzling exhibition．The house yelled its approbation．But King was not dazzled．He had fought too many fights and too many youngsters．He knew the blows for what they were—too quick and too deft to be dangerous．Evidently Sandel was going to rush things from the start．It was to be expected．It was the way of Youth，expending its splendor and excellence in wild insurgence and furious onslaught，over-whelming opposition with its own unlimited glory of strength and desire．

Sandel was in and out，here，there，and everywhere，light-footed and eager-hearted，a living wonder of white flesh and stinging muscle that wove itself into a dazzling fabric of attack，slipping and leaping like a flying shuttle from action to action through a thousand actions，all of them centred upon the destruction of Tom King，who stood between him and fortune．And Tom King patiently endured．He knew his business，and he knew Youth now that Youth was no longer his．There was nothing to do till the other lost some of his steam，was his thought，and he grinned to himself as he deliberately ducked so as to receive a heavy blow on the top of his head．It was a wicked thing to do，yet eminently fair according to the rules of the boxing game．A man was supposed to take care of his own knuckles，and，if he insisted on hitting an opponent on the top of the head，he did so at his own peril．King could have ducked lower and let the blow whiz harmlessly past，but he remembered his own early fights and how he smashed his first knuckle on the head of the Welsh Terror．He was but playing the game．That duck had accounted for one of Sandel's knuckles．Not that Sandel would mind it now．He would go on，superbly regardless，hitting as hard as ever throughout the fight．But later on，when the long ring battles had begun to tell，he would regret that knuckle and look back and remember how he smashed it on Tom King's head．

The first round was all Sandel's，and he had the house yelling with the rapidity of his whirlwind rushes．He overwhelmed King with avalanches of punches，and King did nothing．He never struck once，contenting himself with covering up，blocking and ducking and clinching to avoid punishment．He occasionally feinted，shook his head when the weight of a punch landed，and moved stolidly about，never leaping or springing or wasting an ounce of strength．Sandel must foam the froth of Youth away before discreet Age could dare to retaliate．All King's movements were slow and methodical，and his heavy-lidded，slow-moving eyes gave him the appearance of being half asleep or dazed．Yet they were eyes that saw everything，that had been trained to see everything through all his twenty years and odd in the ring．They were eyes that did not blink or waver before an impending blow，but that coolly saw and measured distance．

Seated in his corner for the minute's rest at the end of the round，he lay back with outstretched legs，his arms resting on the right angle of the ropes，his chest and abdomen heaving frankly and deeply as he gulped down the air driven by the towels of his seconds．He listened with closed eyes to the voices of the house，“Why don't yeh fight，Tom？”many were crying．“Yeh ain't afraid of 'im，are yeh？”

“Muscle-bound，”he heard a man on a front seat comment．“He can't move quicker．Two to one on Sandel，in quids．”

The gong struck and the two men advanced from their corners．Sandel came forward fully three-quarters of the distance，eager to begin again；but King was content to advance the shorter distance．It was in line with his policy of economy．He had not been well trained，and he had not had enough to eat，and every step counted．Besides，he had already walked two miles to the ringside．It was a repetition of the first round，with Sandel attacking like a whirlwind and with the audience indignantly demanding why King did not fight．Beyond feinting and several slowly delivered and ineffectual blows he did nothing save block and stall and clinch．Sandel wanted to make the pace fast，while King，out of his wisdom，refused to accommodate him．He grinned with a certain wistful pathos in his ring-battered countenance，and went on cherishing his strength with the jealousy of which only Age is capable．Sandel was Youth，and he threw his strength away with the munificent abandon of Youth．To King belonged the ring generalship，the wisdom bred of long，aching fights．He watched with cool eyes and head，moving slowly and waiting for Sandel's froth to foam away．To the majority of the onlookers it seemed as though King was hopelessly outclassed，and they voiced their opinion in offers of three to one on Sandel．But there were wise ones，a few，who knew King of old time，and who covered what they considered easy money．

The third round began as usual，one-sided，with Sandel doing all the leading and delivering all the punishment．A half-minute had passed when Sandel，overconfident，left an opening．King's eyes and right arm flashed in the same instant．It was his first real blow—a hook，with the twisted arch of the arm to make it rigid，and with all the weight of the half-pivoted body behind it．It was like a sleepy-seeming lion suddenly thrusting out a lightning paw．Sandel，caught on the side of the jaw，was felled like a bullock．The audience gasped and murmured awe-stricken applause．The man was not muscle-bound，after all，and he could drive a blow like a trip-hammer．

Sandel was shaken．He rolled over and attempted to rise，but the sharp yells from his seconds to take the count restrained him．He knelt on one knee，ready to rise，and waited，while the referee stood over him，counting the seconds loudly in his ear．At the ninth he rose in fighting attitude，and Tom King，facing him，knew regret that the blow had not been an inch nearer the point of the jaw．That would have been a knock out，and he could have carried the thirty quid home to the missus and the kiddies．

The round continued to the end of its three minutes，Sandel for the first time respectful of his opponent and King slow of movement and sleepy-eyed as ever．As the round neared its close，King，warned of the fact by sight of the seconds crouching outside ready for the spring in through the ropes，worked the fight around to his own corner．And when the gong struck，he sat down immediately on the waiting stool，while Sandel had to walk all the way across the diagonal of the square to his own corner．It was a little thing，but it was the sum of little things that counted．Sandel was compelled to walk that many more steps，to give up that much energy，and to lose a part of the precious minute of rest．At the beginning of every round King loafed slowly out from his corner，forcing his opponent to advance the greater distance．The end of every round found the fight manoeuvred by King into his own corner so that he could immediately sit down．

Two more rounds went by，in which King was parsimonious of effort and Sandel prodigal．The latter's attempt to force a fast pace made King uncomfortable，for a fair percentage of the multitudinous blows showered upon him went home．Yet King persisted in his dogged slowness，despite the crying of the young hotheads for him to go in and fight．Again，in the sixth round，Sandel was careless，again Tom King's fearful right flashed out to the jaw，and again Sandel took the nine seconds count．

By the seventh round Sandel's pink of condition was gone，and he settled down to what he knew was to be the hardest fight in his experience．Tom King was an old un，but a better old un than he had ever encountered—an old un who never lost his head，who was remarkably able at defence，whose blows had the impact of a knotted club，and who had a knockout in either hand．Nevertheless，Tom King dared not hit often．He never forgot his battered knuckles，and knew that every hit must count if the knuckles were to last out the fight．As he sat in his corner，glancing across at his opponent，the thought came to him that the sum of his wisdom and Sandel's youth would constitute a world's champion heavyweight．But that was the trouble．Sandel would never become a world champion．He lacked the wisdom，and the only way for him to get it was to buy it with Youth；and when wisdom was his，Youth would have been spent in buying it．

King took every advantage he knew．He never missed an opportunity to clinch，and in effecting most of the clinches his shoulder drove stiffly into the other's ribs．In the philosophy of the ring a shoulder was as good as a punch so far as damage was concerned，and a great deal better so far as concerned expenditure of effort．Also，in the clinches King rested his weight on his opponent，and was loath to let go．This compelled the interference of the referee，who tore them apart，always assisted by Sandel，who had not yet learned to rest．He could not refrain from using those glorious flying arms and writhing muscles of his，and when the other rushed into a clinch，striking shoulder against ribs，and with head resting under Sandel's left arm，Sandel almost invariably swung his right behind his own back and into the projecting face．It was a clever stroke，much admired by the audience，but it was not dangerous，and was，therefore，just that much wasted strength．But Sandel was tireless and unaware of limitations，and King grinned and doggedly endured．

Sandel developed a fierce right to the body，which made it appear that King was taking an enormous amount of punishment，and it was only the old ringsters who appreciated the deft touch of King's left glove to the other's biceps just before the impact of the blow．It was true，the blow landed each time；but each time it was robbed of its power by that touch on the biceps．In the ninth round，three times inside a minute，King's right hooked its twisted arch to the jaw；and three times Sandel's body，heavy as it was，was levelled to the mat．Each time he took the nine seconds allowed him and rose to his feet，shaken and jarred，but still strong．He had lost much of his speed，and he wasted less effort．He was fighting grimly；but he continued to draw upon his chief asset，which was Youth．King's chief asset was experience．As his vitality had dimmed and his vigor abated，he had replaced them with cunning，with wisdom born of the long fights and with a careful shepherding of strength．Not alone had he learned never to make a superfluous movement，but he had learned how to seduce an opponent into throwing his strength away．Again and again，by feint of foot and hand and body he continued to inveigle Sandel into leaping back，ducking，or countering．King rested，but he never permitted Sandel to rest．It was the strategy of Age．

Early in the tenth round King began stopping the other's rushes with straight lefts to the face，and Sandel，grown wary，responded by drawing the left，then by ducking it and delivering his right in a swinging hook to the side of the head．It was too high up to be vitally effective；but when first it landed，King knew the old，familiar descent of the black veil of unconsciousness across his mind．For the instant，or for the slighest fraction of an instant，rather，he ceased．In the one moment he saw his opponent ducking out of his field of vision and the background of white，watching faces；in the next moment he again saw his opponent and the background of faces．It was as if he had slept for a time and just opened his eyes again，and yet the interval of unconsciousness was so microscopically short that there had been no time for him to fall．The audience saw him totter and his knees give，and then saw him recover and tuck his chin deeper into the shelter of his left shoulder．

Several times Sandel repeated the blow，keeping King partially dazed，and then the latter worked out his defence，which was also a counter．Feinting with his left he took a half-step backward，at the same time upper cutting with the whole strength of his right．So accurately was it timed that it landed squarely on Sandel's face in the full，downward sweep of the duck，and Sandel lifted in the air and curled backward，striking the mat on his head and shoulders．Twice King achieved this，then turned loose and hammered his opponent to the ropes．He gave Sandel no chance to rest or to set himself，but smashed blow in upon blow till the house rose to its feet and the air was filled with an unbroken roar of applause．But Sandel's strength and endurance were superb，and he continued to stay on his feet．A knockout seemed certain，and a captain of police，appalled at the dreadful punishment，arose by the ringside to stop the fight．The gong struck for the end of the round and Sandel staggered to his corner，protesting to the captain that he was sound and strong．To prove it，he threw two backair-springs，and the police captain gave in．

Tom King，leaning back in his corner and breathing hard，was disappointed．If the fight had been stopped，the referee，perforce，would have rendered him the decision and the purse would have been his．Unlike Sandel，he was not fighting for glory or career，but for thirty quid．And now Sandel would recup