Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 137: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

FLOOD. we took? I left it, anyhow; an’ if it wasn’t enough, say so.” ‘Money! Who asked ye for money? Damn yer dirty money!” “JT jedge, from your talk, ye ain’t satisfied.” Z ‘An’ ye jedge right!” “What then? D’ye cal’late to satisfy yerself with shootin’ off yer mouth an’ wavin’ yer arms ’round?” Beside himself with rage, Leblanc jumped for the other without waiting for him to get to his feet. Archie was surely taken at a grave disadvantage, and yet the imme- diate result of Leblanc’s attack appeared to prove otherwise. As the cock of the river flung himself forward, Archie settled back on the flat of his shoulders and folded back his long legs. Instead of landing on Archie’s head and shoulders, Leblanc landed fairly on the soles of Archie’s moccasins; and then the long legs straightened with astounding force and the cock of the river made a retrograde flight beyond his jumping off place and lit -on the back of his neck in the deep snow. When he got himself right end up and the snow out of his eyes, he found Archie out there waiting for him. It was a distinguished battle. The spectators, Gabe Loon and Joe and the small boy, sat spellbound. It was unlike any fight of which the boy had ever read, and Joe had never seen anything that could hold a candle to it. Feet and hands were used with equal facility. - Every trick of offense and defense known to three generations of white-water boys was demonstrated by the bewhiskered giant who had been named Dandy Devil McKim and the stalwart fellow who was now cock of the river. Joe held his breath for fear that one or another of this friend’s stiff limbs would snap at any moment under the terrific strain to which they were being subjected. Rough-and-tumble does not describe a tenth of it. The famous and deadly “slash ” was delivered twice, once by each of the combatants, but fortunately without reaching the mark either time. This ex- traordinary mode of attack called for 4 handspring on the part of the attacker. 767 When delivered in spiked boots on an un- ready objective, it was deadly. It is now extinct even on the upper river. Leblanc had weight and youth on his side, Archie had height and reach on his. For several minutes there appeared to be noth- ing to choose between them in the matters of skill and strength and agility. Each escaped a knockout from hand or foot by a hair’s breadth more than once. Twice they went to the trampled snow together, only to whirl up again and tear apart. Archie had blood in his whiskers. Le- blanc showed a useless eye. Then Leblanc called his teeth into play and, for a fraction of a second, got a hold with them on the outer edge of Archie’s left hand. That was too much for Archie McKim’s calm spirit. Leblanc’s head. It was not until fifteen minutes later that Leblanc returned to consciousness of life. He looked dizzily upon the same peaceful scene which he had disturbed for a little while so short a time before with his unex, pected and violent intrusion. There sat Archie McKim stitching away at a garment of blanketing, and there re- clined the small boy and the large young negro and the elderly Maliseet idly looking on. Leblanc groaned. “Yell feel better afore long,” said Ar- chie, glancing up from his sewing. ‘“‘ Yer neck ain’t broke, an’ Joe here give it a good rubbin® with liniment. Ye hadn’t oughter bit me.” ‘“ What'd ye hit me wid?” asked the sufferer. Archie raised his great right hand, and the needle which he held between the thumb and fore-finger looked ridiculously out of place there. Leblanc groaned again. ‘“ Charlie Dix said as how ye’re called the cock o’ the river,” said Archie, in his mild drawl. “I was named that same myself hereabouts, nigh onto thirty years ago. Kinder looks like I’d been re-elected.” He chuckled at that as if at a statement absurd enough to pass as a joke. Then he smoothed his whiskers with quite an-air of a humorous great-grandfather and resumed his stitching.. EOmicbdoo <SiiGO A fist like a petrified ham - came in contact with the left side of Tim im