egular gap between the
two folds of the door and the door inclined more and more inwards.
Through the opening thus made, I held the pistol, pointed straight at
his temples and only an inch away from him. He is a very strong man, I
thought, but another effort of strength and he will be lying dead at my
feet."

The girl was quite overcome by the narration of this scene. She paused
for a moment to recover herself, during which Henrietta, as pale as a
statue, gazed at her in silence.

Presently she resumed:

"At that critical moment, a cry like the howl of a wild beast resounded
in front of the hut. The door fell back into its proper place and
rushing to the little window, I saw that _two_ men now stood in front
of the hut.

"Juon Tare had arrived at last!

"It was neither speech nor language that he addressed to his antagonist
in the first instant of their encounter, it was the savage roar of a
wild beast rushing upon its prey.

"Juon Tare is a very strong man. Fortunately, he is also a peaceful,
retiring creature, for if he were as passionate as he is strong and
frequented the wine shops, every carouse would end with the death of a
man. All the more horrible was it therefore to behold him at that moment
like a ravening beast of prey.

"The detected seducer at once made a rush for his arms, but Juon Tare
overtook him with an enormous bound and seized one of his hands. If
Fatia Negra had been one of God's ordinary creatures, he must have been
writhing the next moment with crushed limbs on the ground beneath Juon's
knee; but at the very instant in which Juon caught hold of one hand, the
robber faced about and seizing the herdsman round the body began to
wrestle with him.

"The moon flooded the valley with its light; the whole course of the
struggle was plainly visible.

"As soon as Juon Tare perceived that his antagonist was foolhardy enough
to try a fall with him, he complacently allowed his body to be encircled
and calmly murmured: 'Ho, ho! then you would wrestle with me, eh, Fatia
Negra! Very well, be it so!'

"Then he also quietly encircled the trunk of his opponent with those
terrible arms of his, which had shown themselves capable on one occasion
of throttling a bear, and prepared to crush his adversary.

"And thus began an awful struggle, the mere remembrance of which is a
horror.

"There is nothing more terrible than when two men struggle for life or
death with their bare hands.

"Juon Tare's treme