Page:Lefty o' the Bush.djvu/96

 Locke, although his breast rose and fell rapidly, was, to all outward seeming, the fresher of the two.

Once a little, choking gasp escaped her, for the youth was sent reeling by a blow, Jock rushing forward to follow it up. Locke, however, kept his feet with the agility of a cat, avoiding that rush, and getting in a body punch that made the other man grunt.

Following this, discovering at last the drain his efforts were putting upon him, Hoover sought to take it easier, and recuperate. This quickly became apparent, and a cry arose:

"He's stalling, Lefty! Go to him! Don't let him get his wind back!"

Locke had no intention of permitting his antagonist to rest, and now he took the aggressive, and kept at it with persistence that wore on Hoover.

Up to this point, Mike Riley had entertained no doubt as to what the end must be, but now uncertainty seized him, followed by alarm as he beheld tokens which seemed to denote that Hoover was becoming a bit groggy.

The Bancroft manager had no wish to see his puissant slabman whipped, for that would leave him no longer the terror he had been to opposing