Page:Jim of the Hills.djvu/43

 " 'Tain't a dog-fight!" shouts Bob Blair. "Stand up straight an' fight it fair." I get end-up with a grin. "Time!" yells Pike, an' bangs a tin. "Corners, boys. A minute's spell." "Good lad, Jim! You're doin' well," Says the little Dusty, Dick. . . . Murray's eye is closin' quick.

It was Spring, sweet Spring, an' a man must have his fling:  ''Healthy men must be respondin' to the moods the seasons bring.  That sweet air, with scrub scents laden, all my body was invadin', '' ''Till each breath I drew within me made me feel I was a king.   'Twas the season to be doin' — fondlin' maids, or fightin' men— '' An' I felt my spirit yearnin' for another crack at Ben.

Pike bangs on his tin again. "Time!" he roars. "Get to it, men!" I come eager, fit to dance; Ben spars cautious for a chance. With a laugh I flick him light; Then—like lightnin' comes his right Full an' fair upon the jaw — Lord, the purple stars I saw!