“Didn’t hev no idee where I wus. Felt ’em run a chain through my arms, careful, efter they sot me down. I sot still fer mebbe five minutes. Seemed so ev’rybody’d gone out o’ the place. Could n’t hear nuthin’ nowhere. I le’ down the chain jest es ca-areful es I could, ‘n’ tuk off the blindfold. ’Twas all dark; could n’t see my hand afore me. Crep’ ’long the floor. See ’t was covered with sawdust. Tuk off m’ boots, ‘n’ got up on m’ feet, ‘n’ walked careful. Did n’ dast holler t’ Ray. Cal’lated when the squabble come I ‘d be ready t’ dew business. All t’ once I felt a slant ’n the floor. ‘T was kind o’ slip’ry, ‘n’ I begun t’ slide. Feet went out from under me ‘n’ sot me down quick. Tried t’ ketch holt o’ suthin’. Could n’t hang on; kep’ goin’ faster. Fust I knew I ‘d slid int’ some kind uv a box. Let me down quicker ’n scat over thet air grease a little ways. I out with my tew hands ‘n’ bore ag’in’ the sides o’ th’ box powerful ‘n’ stopped myself. Then I up with these here feet o’ mine. See the top o’ the box wa’n’t much more ‘n a foot above me. Tried t’ crawl up ag’in. Couldn’t mek it. Dum thing slanted luk Tup’s Hill. Hung on awhile, cipherin’ es hard es I knew how. Hearn suthin’ go kerslap. Seem so the hull place trembled. Raised up my head, ‘n’ peeked over my stumick down the box. A bar o’ light stuck in away down. Let myself go careful till I c’u’d see my nose in it. Then I got over on my shoulder ‘n’ braced on the sides o’ the box, back ‘g’in’ one side ‘n’ knees ‘g’in’ t’other. See ’t was a knot-hole where the light come in, ’bout es big es a man’s wrist. Peeked through, ‘n’ see a lot o’ lights ‘n’ folks, ‘n’ hearn ’em talkin’. Ray he stud on a platform facin’ a big, powerful-lookin’ cuss. Hed their coats ‘n’ vests off, ‘n’ sleeves rolled up, ‘n’ swords ready. See there wus goin’ t’ be a fight. Hed t’ snicker—wa’n’ no way I c’u’d help it, fer, Judas Priest! I knew dum well they wa’n’t a single one of them air Britishers c’u’d stan’ ’fore ‘im. Thet air mis’able spindlin’ devil I tol’ ye ‘bout—feller et hed the women—he stud back o’ Ray. Hed his hand up luk thet. ‘Fight!’ he says, ‘n’ they got t’ work, ‘n’ the crowd begun t’ jam up ‘n’ holler. The big feller he come et Ray es ef he wus goin’ t’ cut him in tew. Ray he tuk it easy ‘n’ rassled the sword of the big chap round ‘n’ round es ef it wus tied t’ hisn. Fust I knew he med a quick lunge ‘n’ pricked ’im ‘n the arm. Big chap wus a leetle shy then. Did n’t come up t’ the scratch es smart ‘n’ sassy es he’d orter. Ray he went efter ’im hammer ‘n’ tongs. Thet air long slim waist o’ hisn swayed ‘n’ bent luk a stalk o’ barley. He did luk joemightyful han’some—wish ’t ye c’u’d ‘a’ seen ’im thet air night. Hair wus jest es shiny es gold ‘n the light o’ them candles. He ‘d feint, an’ t’ other ’d dodge. Judas Priest! seemed so he put the p’int o’ the sword all over thet air big cuss. C’u’d ‘a’ killed ’im