To the inexperienced eye, it would appear that the frenzied giant, gripping the throat of the man who had fallen beneath him, must rise from the struggle an easy victor.

Brute force was all that was needed--there was neither room nor time for the display of any cunning of fence.
But knowledge, though it cannot give strength, gives coolness.

Taken by surprise as he was, Maurice Frere did not lose his presence of mind.

The convict was so close upon him that there was no time to strike; but, as he was forced backwards, he succeeded in crooking his knee round the thigh of his assailant, and thrust one hand into his collar.

Over and over they rolled, the bewildered sentry not daring to fire, until the ship's side brought them up with a violent jerk, and Frere realized that Gabbett was below him.