Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/98

72 not hear my approach; and touching-him lightly on the shoulder, I drew my cuchillo at the same instant. He turned quickly, and with a cry like that of a maniac, sprang from my grasp and fled. I followed, and he presently stopped short; for I think he considered the attempt to escape me utterly useless, and so prepared for a last desperate defence.

" 'He was cooler at the time than I was: he was defending his life—I was thirsting for his blood. At first he had the advantage, and wounded me on my left arm, upon which I had no covering. But my strength and rage were irresistible: I bore him to the ground with all my force, and, with the vivid remembrance of my poor wife and children before my mind, I shortened the hold of my weapon to bury it in his breast. Just at this moment my arm was seized from behind, and the knife wrested from my grasp. It was the capitaz, who had beheld us from a distance, and now hastened to put an end to the affray.

" 'With a single blow, however, I laid the capitaz prostrate on the ground, recovering my knife at the same instant. Meanwhile, my adversary had risen to his feet; and before I had