I seed Bills was riled, and more ’n likely wanted trouble; and shore enough, he went on to say, kind o’ snarlin’ like, ‘at “he’d knowed o’ men in his day ‘at had be’n licked far refusin’ to drink when their betters ast ’em;” and said furder ‘at “a lickin’ wasn’t none too good far anybody ‘at would refuse liquor like that o’ Ezry’s, and in his own house too”—­er buildin’, ruther.  Ezry shuck his head at him, but I seed ’at Bills was bound far a quarrel, and I winks at Steve, as much as to say, “Don’t you let him bully you; you’ll find your brother here to see you have fair play!” I was a-feelin’ my oats some about then, and Steve seed I was, and looked so sorry like, and like his mother, ’at I jist thought, “I kin fight far you, and die far you, ’cause you’re wuth it!”—­And I didn’t someway feel like it would amount to much ef I did die er git killed er somepin’ on his account.  I seed Steve was mighty white around the mouth and his eyes was a glitterin’ like a snake’s; but Bills didn’t seem to take warnin’, but went on to say ’at he’d knowed boys ’at loved the’r mothers so well they couldn’t drink nothin’ stronger ‘n milk.—­And then you’d ort o’ seed Steve’s coat fly off, jist like it wanted to git out of his way, and give the boy room accordin’ to his stren’th.  I seed Bills grab a piece o’ scantlin’ jist in time to ketch his arm as he struck at Steve,—­far Steve was a-comin’ far him dangerss.  But they’d ketched Steve from behind jist then; and Bills turned far me.  I seed him draw back, and I seed Steve a-scufflin’ to ketch his arm; but he didn’t reach it quite in time to do me no good.  It must a-come awful suddent.  The first I ricollect was a roarin’ and a buzzin’ in my ears, and when I kind o’ come a little better to, and crawled up and peeked over the saw-log I was a-layin’ the other side of, I seed a couple clinched and a rollin’ over and over, and a-makin’ the chips and saw-dust fly, now I tell you!  Bills and Steve it was—­head and tail, tooth and toenail, and a-bleedin’ like good fellers.  I seed a gash o’ some kind in Bills’s head, and Steve was purty well tuckered, and a-pantin’ like a lizard; and I made a rush in, and one o’ the Carter boys grabbed me and told me to jist keep cool; ’at Steve didn’t need no he’p, and they might need me to keep Bills’s friends off ef they made a rush.  By this time Steve had whirlt Bills, and was a-jist a-gittin’ in a fair way to finish him up in good style, when Wesley Morris run in—­I seed him do it—­run in, and afore we could ketch him he struck Steve a deadener in the butt o’ the ear and knocked him as limber as a rag.  And then Bills whirlt Steve and got him by the throat, and Ben Carter and me and old Ezry closed in—­Carter tackled Morris, and Ezry and me grabs Bills—­and as old Ezry grabbed him to pull him off, Bills kind o’ give him a side swipe o’ some kind and knocked him—­I don’t know how far!  And jist then Carter and Morris come a-scufflin’ back’ards right amongst us, and Carter throwed