ings. In the second and third rounds this
proved to be the case and the contest came to an end amidst applause.

The next pair were light-weights, and Sheen settled himself to watch
more attentively. From these he would gather some indication of what he
might expect to find when he entered the ring. He would not have to
fight for some time yet. In the drawing for numbers, which had taken
place in the dressing-room, he had picked a three. There would be
another light-weight battle before he was called upon. His opponent was
a Tonbridgian, who, from the glimpse Sheen caught of him, seemed
muscular. But he (Sheen) had the advantage in reach, and built on that.

After opening tamely, the light-weight bout had become vigorous in the
second round, and both men had apparently forgotten that their right
arms had been given them by Nature for the purpose of guarding. They
were going at it in hurricane fashion all over the ring. Sheen was
horrified to feel symptoms of a return of that old sensation of panic
which had caused him, on that dark day early in the term, to flee
Albert and his wicked works. He set his teeth, and fought it down. And
after a bad minute he was able to argue himself into a proper frame of
mind again. After all, that sort of thing looked much worse than it
really was. Half those blows, which seemed as if they must do
tremendous damage, were probably hardly felt by their recipient. He
told himself that Francis, and even the knife-and-boot boy, hit fully
as hard, or harder, and he had never minded them. At the end of the
contest he was once more looking forward to his entrance to the ring
with proper fortitude.

The fighting was going briskly forward now, sometimes good, sometimes
moderate, but always earnest, and he found himself contemplating,
without undue excitement, the fact that at the end of the bout which
had just begun, between middle-weights from St Paul's and Wellington,
it would be his turn to perform. As luck would have it, he had not so
long to wait as he had expected, for the Pauline, taking the lead after
the first few exchanges, out-fought his man so completely that the
referee stopped the contest in the second round. Sheen got up from his
corner and went to the dressing-room. The Tonbridgian was already
there. He took off his coat. Somebody crammed his hands into the gloves
and from that moment the last trace of nervousness left him. He
trembled with the excitement of the thing, and hoped s