oss the cabin, they encountered soft flesh that tried
to escape from beneath their feet; at first Bill thought it was Joe,
returned to consciousness. But in an instant he knew the truth. "Go
back to your corner. Virginia," he commanded.

For some reason that he could not guess, she had seen fit to crawl forth
from her shelter; whether or not she returned to it he couldn't tell.
There was no chance to warn her again. His foes were upon him.

This was not a silent fight, at first. So that they would not attack
each other, Harold and Pete cried out often, to reveal their location
and to signal a combined attack against Bill. In the instants that he
was free from Bill's arms and he knew that his confederate was out of
range, Harold fired blindly with his pistol. Their bodies crashed
against the wall, broke the furniture into kindling at their feet; they
snarled their hatred and their curses.

Bill fought like a giant, a might of battle upon him never known before.
He would hurl away one, then whirl to face the other; his fists would
lash out, his mighty shoulders would wrench. More than once their
combined attack hurled him to the floor, but always he was able to
regain his feet. Once he seized Harold's wrist, and twisting it back
forced him to drop the pistol. But Pete's interference prevented him
from breaking his arm.

Steadily Harold and Pete were learning to work together. They were used
to the darkness now; Pete obeyed the white man's shouts. Two against one
was never a fair fight, and they knew that by concerted action they
could break him down.

One lucky blow sent Pete spinning to the floor, and Bill's strong arms
hurled Harold after him. Just for a fraction of an instant he stood
braced and alone in the center of the cabin. For the instant a silence,
deep and appalling past all words, fell over the room. But Harold's
voice quickly shattered it.

"Up and at him Pete!" he cried, hoarse with fury. They both sprang upon
him again.

Both were fortunate in securing good holds, and as they came from
opposite sides, Bill found it impossible to hurl them off. Both of his
foes recognized their great chance; if they could retain their hold only
for a moment they could break him and beat him down. Harold also knew
that this was the moment of crisis. All three contestants seemed to
sweep to the fray with added fury. Bill was drawing on his reserve
strength--the battle could only last a few minutes lo