"You remind me of an aged and over-fat porcupine with his big
paunch and crooked arms. What horror must it have been for my Elise to
have lived in sight of such a beast as you!"
With a bellow Dupont was at him. And swifter than eyes had ever seen man
move at Lac Bain before, Reese Beaudin was out of his way, and behind
him; and then, as the giant caught himself at the edge of the platform,
and turned, he received a blow that sounded like the broadside of a
paddle striking water. Reese Beaudin had struck him with the flat of his
unclenched hand!
A murmur of incredulity rose out of the crowd. To the forest man such a
blow was the deadliest of insults. It was calling him an Iskwao--a
woman--a weakling--a thing too contemptible to harden one's fist against.
But the murmur died in an instant. For Reese Beaudin, making as if to
step back, shot suddenly forward--straight through the giant's crooked
arms--and it was his fist this time that landed squarely between the eyes
of Dupont. The monster's head went back, his great body wavered, and then
suddenly he plunged backward off the platform and fell with a crash to
the ground.
A yell went up from the hooded stranger. Joe Delesse split his throat.
The crowd drowned Reese Beaudin's voice. But above it all rose a woman's
voice shrieking forth a name.
And then Jacques Dupont was on the platform again. In the moments that
followed one could almost hear his neighbor's heart beat.
Pages:
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86