His eye was fixed all the time on his man.

He did not speak or turn aside, but walked on in.
There were no preliminaries, there was no delay.

In a flash the Saxon ordeal of combat was joined.

The two fighters met in a rush.
At the center of the fighting space they hung, body to body, in a whirling _melee_.

Neither had much skill in real boxing, and such fashion of fight was unknown in that region, the offensive being the main thing and defense remaining incidental.