I had no liking for the gauntlet performance, and refused to have anything to do with it, as did most, if not all, of my crowd.

While the gauntlet was in operation, I was standing by my tent at the head of a little street, about two hundred feet from the line, watching what was being done.
A sailor was let in.

He had a large bowie knife concealed about his person somewhere, which he drew, and struck savagely with at his tormentors on either side.

They fell back from before him, but closed in behind and pounded him terribly.

He broke through the line, and ran up the street towards me.