this mandate, `Ugly' made that mad-bull rush at
me which he had contemplated in the first instance at the commencement
of hostilities; but having had some considerable previous experience in
the use of those weapons of attack and defence alike, with which a
beneficent nature has so thoughtfully provided menfolk, from many a
rough and tumble fight on Common Hard with the mudlarks and other idle
scamps frequenting that place, who used to be always playing pranks with
father's wherry, trying to steal anything they could lay hold of, should
we leave her for a minute alone, I had no difficulty in avoiding the
onslaught of my opponent.

I kept my right hand well up on guard, across my chest; and, my left
fist being extended, I caught my gentleman a pretty tidy blow under the
chin that floored him as quickly as before.

"Bedad, Tom, ye had him there!" cried Mick, dancing round me in ecstasy,
while `Ugly's' second was picking him up. "Jist giv' him a onener in
his bread-basket, me jewel, an' ye'll finish him!"

This was not so easy a matter, however, as my chum supposed; Moses Reeks
being of that bulldog nature, as his looks testified, that would not
give in until thoroughly licked.

"Steady there," cautioned his second, trying his best to prevent him
from continuing his foolish mode of plunging attack; but the pig-headed
chap would persist in continually rushing in on my guard, and getting
knocked down as regularly, time after time, without his having a chance
of landing a blow at me, his fists ever whirling about aimlessly, and
being easily avoided by myself. "Keep yer bloomin' dukes out straight
in front of yer, silly! 'It 'im in the heye, I tell yer! Wy, yer
lettin' 'im 'ave hit hall 'is own way!"

"Blatheration!" cried Mick, my champion, quite as energetically, in
counter encouragement to me. "Go for him, Tom; go straight for him
agin! Faith, me jewel, you'll lave him soon so as how his blessed own
mother, bad cess to her, wouldn't know him, sure as me name now's Mick
Donovan!"

Urged on in this fashion on either side, we went at it hammer and tongs,
`Ugly' getting more cautious from his repeated familiarity with the deck
planking, and fighting more scientifically after the first two or three
rounds.

The consequence of this was that he got in one or two nasty blows with
his sledge-hammer fists on the side of my head, which made my ears ache,
besides giving me a fine black eye on the port side.

He could n