Tom goes in in a twinkling, and hits two heavy body blows, and gets away again before the Slogger can catch his wind, which when he does he rushes with blind fury at Tom, and being skilfully parried and avoided, overreaches himself and falls on his face, amidst terrific cheers from the School-house boys.
"Double your two to one ?" says Groove to Rattle, notebook in hand.
"Stop a bit," says that hero, looking uncomfortably at Williams, who is puffing away on his second's knee, winded enough, but little the worse in any other way.
After another round the Slogger too seems to see that he can't go in and win right off, and has met his match or thereabouts.

So he too begins to use his head, and tries to make Tom lose his patience, and come in before his time.

And so the fight sways on, now one and now the other getting a trifling pull.
Tom's face begins to look very one-sided--there are little queer bumps on his forehead, and his mouth is bleeding; but East keeps the wet sponge going so scientifically that he comes up looking as fresh and bright as ever.

Williams is only slightly marked in the face, but by the nervous movement of his elbows you can see that Tom's body blows are telling.

In fact, half the vice of the Slogger's hitting is neutralized, for he daren't lunge out freely for fear of exposing his sides.