but Pete's bigness was due largely to
surplus material, and Pete had been anything but a temperate man of late.
Jim recollected this in calculating his chances and determining his
methods.

'Time!' cried Kyley.

Done took his ground easily, with his left arm well up, and his right in
for defence, a style so unusual at that date as to provide a little
derision amongst the onlookers. Mike, standing with his arms outspread
and his shoulders to the crowd, keeping the ring, smiled complacently.
Pete, confident in his height, weight, and strength, was determined to
make a short, hot fight of it, and went straight at Jim, both hands up,
and launched his right for the young man's face with terrific force. This
must have been a decisive blow had Jim's face remained there to receive
it, but Done ducked neatly, and the next moment his left was shot into
Quigley's cheek, sending the big man staggering, and raising a purple
wheal under the eye almost instantly. Pete's composure forsook him at the
first set back, and uttering a furious oath he rushed in again, swinging
both fists; but that shooting left hand met him full in the mouth, and
balked him again, his own sledge-hammer blows falling short of his
opponent. He pushed in recklessly, punching right and left, but Jim
dodged smartly, slipped under his arm, and jumped to the other end of the
ring. Quigley swung round and dashed at him, and once more Done's hard
left shot into his face, while the heavy blow of the giant was neatly
parried, and again Jim bewildered his man by ducking and slipping from
him.

'Why don't you stand up and fight him like a Briton?' cried one of the
supporters of the big digger.

'He's fightin' fair, an' as long as he fights fair he'll fight as he dom
well pleases!' said Ben Kyley, who had constituted himself referee.

Already Quigley was bleeding freely and panting from his exertions, while
Done, who betrayed no excitement and conserved his energies with miserly
care, was no more disturbed than if he had been taking a hand at cards.
He faced his foe as before, presenting as little as possible of his body
for a target, and met Pete's rush this time with an adroit side movement
and a heavy lifting blow in the body that made Quigley gasp, and robbed
him of the little bit of sense that had remained. He went blundering at
Jim, lashing out with left and right. There was a rapid exchange, and
using his guard arm in offence for the first time, Jim sent in a