ike
that of a beast rose in his throat as they went to the floor, and in
that death-grip Philip thought of Bram.

More than once in watching the wolf-man he had planned how he would pit
himself against the giant if it came to a fight, and how he would evade
the close arm-to-arm grapple that would mean defeat for him. And this
man was Bram's equal in size and strength. He realized with the swift
judgment of the trained boxer that open fighting and the evasion of the
other's crushing brute strength was his one hope. On his knees he flung
himself backward, and struck out. The blow caught his antagonist
squarely in the face before he had succeeded in getting a firm clinch,
and as he bent backward under the force of the blow Philip exerted
every ounce of his strength, broke the other's hold, and sprang to his
feet.

He felt like uttering a shout of triumph. Never had the thrill of
mastery and of confidence surged through him more hotly than it did
now. On his feet in open fighting he had the agility of a cat. The
stranger was scarcely on his feet before he was at him with a straight
shoulder blow that landed on the giant's jaw with crushing force. It
would have put an ordinary man down in a limp heap. The other's weight
saved him. A second blow sent him reeling against the log wall like a
sack of grain. And then in the half-gloom of the cabin Philip missed.
He put all his effort in that third blow and as his clenched fist shot
over the other's shoulder he was carried off his balance and found
himself again in the clutch of his enemy's arms. This time a huge hand
found his throat. The other he blocked with his left arm, while with
his right he drove in short-arm jabs against neck and jaw. Their
ineffectiveness amazed him. His guard-arm was broken upward, and to
escape the certain result of two hands gripping at his throat he took a
sudden foot-lock on his adversary, flung all his weight forward, and
again they went to the floor of the cabin.

Neither caught a glimpse of the girl standing wide-eyed and terrified
in the door. They rolled almost to her feet. Full in the light she saw
the battered, bleeding face of the strange giant, and Philip's fist
striking it again and again. Then she saw the giant's two hands, and
why he was suffering that punishment. They were at Philip's
throat--huge hairy hands stained with his own blood. A cry rose to her
lips and the blue in her eyes darkened with the fighting fire of her
ancestors.