d my
long hair securely tied up into a kind of "chignon" at the back of my
head. My opponent was a far bigger man than myself, but I felt pretty
confident in my ability as a trick wrestler, and did not fear meeting
him. What I did fear, however, was that he would dispute the findings of
the umpires if they were in my favour, in which case there might be
trouble. I had a shrewd suspicion that the chief was something of a
coward at heart. He seemed nervous and anxious, and I saw him talking
eagerly with his principal supporter. As for myself, I constantly dwelt
upon the ghastly plight of the two poor girls. I resolved that, with
God's help, I would vanquish my huge enemy and rescue them from their
dreadful position. I was in splendid condition, with muscles like steel
from incessant walking. At length the warriors squatted down upon the
ground in the form of a crescent, the chiefs in the foreground, and every
detail of the struggle that followed was observed with the keenest
interest.

I was anxious not to lose a single moment. I felt that if I thought the
matter over I might lose heart, so I suddenly bounded into the arena. My
opponent was there already--looking, I must say, a little undecided.

In a moment his huge arms were about my waist and shoulders. It did not
take me very long to find out that the big chief was going to depend more
upon his weight than upon any technical skill in wrestling. He possessed
none. He first made a great attempt to force me upon my knees and then
backwards; but I wriggled out of his grasp, and a few minutes later an
opening presented itself for trying the "cross-buttock" throw. There was
not a moment to be lost. Seizing the big man round the thigh I drew him
forward, pulled him over on my back, and in the twinkling of an
eye--certainly before I myself had time to realise what had happened--he
was hurled right over my head outside the enclosure. The
spectators--sportsmen all--frantically slapped their thighs, and I knew
then that I had gained their sympathies. My opponent, who had alighted
on his head and nearly broken his neck, rose to his feet, looking dazed
and furious that he should have been so easily thrown. When he faced me
for the second time in the square he was much more cautious, and we
struggled silently, but forcefully, for some minutes without either
gaining any decided advantage. Oddly enough, at the time I was not
struck by the dramatic element of the s