Martin kept her teeth off his face with great difficulty, and griped her throat fiercely, and she kept rending his shoulder.

It was like blunt reaping-hooks grinding and tearing.

The pain was fearful; but, instead of cowing the old soldier, it put his blood up, and he gnashed his teeth with rage almost as fierce as hers, and squeezed her neck with iron force.

The two pair of eyes flared at one another--and now the man's were almost as furious as the brute's.

She found he was throttling her, and made a wild attempt to free herself, in which she dragged his cowl all over his face and blinded him, and tore her claw out of his shoulder, flesh and all; but still he throttled her with hand and arm of iron.