In order to make the scoring of points more vivid and visible to the audience, it was decided, after some hesitation, that the gloves should be coated with shoe-blacking.

Bobbles realized that his salvation lay in quick attack and the seizure of every possible opportunity, as well as in his ability to escape the onslaughts of the heavy-weight.  He did not purpose turning it into a sprinting-match, but he felt that he was justified in making as much use of the art of evasion as possible.

He began the series by what was almost sharp practice, but was justified by the rules.

The referee sang out: 

“Gentlemen, shake hands.”

Then the long and the short of it quickly clasped boxing-gloves in the middle of the ring.

“Time!” cried the referee.

[Illustration:  THE BOXING MATCH.]

Immediately on the break-away, before Jaynes had got his hands into position, Bobbles had landed on him with a fine left upper cut that put a black mark on Jaynes’ jaw.  Jaynes looked surprised, and the audience laughed.  Bobbles also laughed, for he knew he would have few chances to place black spots on the upper works of the tall Jaynes, and that he must make his scores mainly upon the zone just above Jaynes’ belt.

Jaynes was as much angered as surprised at receiving the first blow, and sailed in with a vengeance to pepper Bobbles; but he began to think that he was boxing with a grasshopper before long, for, wherever he struck, there Bobbles was not.  In fact, most of his straight-arm blows were not only dodged by Bobbles with the smallest necessary effort, but were effectively countered.

Bobbles proved himself an adept at that best of boxing tactics, the ability to dodge.  He rarely moved more than would take him sufficiently out of harm’s way.  A little bending of the head from one side to the other, a quick side-step or an adroit duck, saved him from being the bull’s-eye of most of Jaynes’ attacks.

There were to be three rounds of three minutes each, with one minute’s intermission between rounds.  The first round was over before either of the men was much more than well warmed up to the work, and before either had scored any impressive amount of points.  Jaynes, however, realized that Bobbles had landed oftener than he, and that the sympathy of the audience was with the little fellow.  When time was called for the next round, therefore, he decided to rush things; and he charged on Bobbles with such fury that side-stepping and back-stepping were of little avail, and there was nothing for Bobbles to do but go into the mix-up and try to give as much as he received.

Before they knew just how, they were clinched, and the referee was cutting them apart like a cheese-knife.  And now the big man realized that on the swift interchange of blows Bobbles was quicker than he, and that he must keep him at a little distance.  Relying, then, on his greater reach, he went at Bobbles in a most exasperating manner, holding one long arm out straight, and fanning Bobbles with the other.  Bobbles ran into the outstretched fist with great enthusiasm at first, but after a moment’s daze he dodged round and under that arm and devoted himself to playing a tattoo on Jaynes’ solar plexus.  Since his glove left a black mark wherever it struck, it was tattooing in two senses.