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 them. King had listened to Janet's appeal, and dallied a few moments too long; now they were caught in the midst of the mob that packed close on all sides. Two men, taking note of his difficulty, grasped the horses by the bits; but the crowd, seemingly deaf and oblivious to everything except the imminent fist fight, could not be induced to make way.

"I'm sorry, Janet," said the lumberman's son. "This is no place for you. I was a fool to wait a minute when the trouble began."

"Never mind," she returned, her voice quivering a little, her face quite colorless. "I—I want to see. It isn't right for them to fight; it isn't fair. Lefty can't be a match for that ruffian. Why don't they stop it?"

Not much time was wasted in preparation when it was understood that Locke was ready to meet his challenger. Members of the two teams began pushing the crowd back to make room, begging them to give the men a chance, and a fifteen-foot space was finally cleared. Eager spectators climbed upon the shoulders of those in front of them; the bleachers, at one end, were loaded to the cracking point with human beings; and every stout limb of a near-by tree quickly bore human fruit.