Every time I hit him he blinked and seemed to pause.

I guessed the reason for that.

He had gone through life keeping the crown of the causeway, and nobody had ever stood up to him.
He wasn't a coward by a long chalk, but he was a bully, and had never been struck in his life.

He was getting struck now in real earnest, and he didn't like it.

He had lost his bearings and was growing as mad as a hatter.
I kept half an eye on the clock.