Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 6, 1923 — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

: ee whale oa ed Ais forearms were thicker than his own biceps, and his chest was round as a keg. His doubled fists looked the size of young cabbages, and much harder. But all this did not disturb the Slapper. He had put on the mitts too many times with men twice his weight, and made them look foolish. Mere muscle ~ meant nothing whatever to him. -And_be- cause he had so often appeared in public, and before audiences so much more critical and outspoken than this one, he felt not the- Even — slightest sense of embarrassment. - Micah, anery as. he was, and delighted at the chance to show off before his towns- men, was not so entirely at ease.- The Slapper was glad that he wore sneak- ers instead of the narrow toed tan shoes he had first selected. He took careful note s | the footing; it wasn’t too. good, cor of wiry turf, somewhat uneven, ‘flanked — a distance of about thirty yards by the pond and the grove. One might easily slip here, or turn an ankle. And although he had been through his share of gang fights in which bare fists—and worse—had been used, he would have been more at home with a nice set of gloves laced upon his-hands; say five ouncers, with the horsehair neatly worked back from the knuckles. - Micah took the offensive. It wouldn’t - Jook good for the bigger, heavier man to . settle back and wait for his weaker oppo-- ent to attack. So, with an awkward, rak- ing swoop, he shrew out his right with all his force behind it, making no preliminary The Slapper threw up his left very FO slightly, and turned his head; but there was feint. such tremendous power in the blow that, al- though it was only glancing, he was swept clean off his feet and stretched on his side in the grass. A murmur rose from the — crowd, and Micah snarled triumphantly and jumped in. In his code, when you got a man down you did your best work. He. didn’t get up again until he said he’d had enough. — But the Sienna wasn’t ee He jumped i lightly to his feet, grinning. He had at— __Jeast found out that the village champion -__ packed a mean wallop. It would pay him not to get careless and let one of those hay- makers: = lip through his B defense, 0 or he'd be too, in order ee = $0 ‘THIS IS ‘WEDLOCK! as. Raphael’s cherubs gaze upon the a counters, hooks, “chops, jolts, knocked for a chain of ichsige Ss as glanced right and left to see that the crowd tles. The Slapper filled his lungs and be- — gan a series of rapid and baffling feints. That is, they might have been baffling had Micah paid the slightest. attention to them, — He didn’t. Having, as he conceived, scored a clean knockdown with the utmost ease, he craved for another, and. tore wildly = in, wide open, both arms flailing: The Slappet: Jet him c come, then leaned in —— ——— merely to caress Micah’s nose; but a ee of red blood spurted from it, as if one had smashed a beet with a. baseball bat. Te locked worse than it burt, but it hurt ee : tee: men ate do ee ‘siniiae- ‘circom- stances, Micah didn’t know just howit had — happened, but tore after his elusive oppo- nent, determined to get. him to earth b again. — a6 Sith: ‘his stout boots Sie the hance : = came. ———— It wasn’t easy to keep away oar he partly because the onlookers crowded too = close, and more because of the footing. The = Slapper- knew that it would never do to- stand and swap punches, much less to fall- into a clinch. Nobody was holding a watch— on Sens; es were a to. De no = ee wind 2S were Micah to. 7 low, or give him the knee. And if ee ae much good it would do him! sive, but at long range. “He Sear dence : in and out, dering his man by a tantal-— izing play of arms, the seeming proffer of an unprotected jaw, a quick step-to. oni side or the other, always in motion, co ss ng less. And all the time, with strai — = ing. on ‘Micah’s. = ae “On. 2 —