Did you ever Drive a Jibber down to a Fight ? 271 



out the slightest return. The Capten was in esctacies ; and his 

 long-faced friend, who was of a much less demonstrative tempera- 

 ment, mildly expressed his regret that I should have been so unfor- 

 tunate as to risk my money on so bad a man, but at the s;ime time 

 pohtely offered to accommodate me now with 30/. to 10/. if I 

 wished it. I had one solitary ten-pound note and a few shillings, 

 and was just in the humour for any rash act 3 so I handed it over at 

 once to Spring who was standing close behind us, and it was covered 

 in an instant by three new crisp ten-pound notes, which the long- 

 faced gentleman seemed to be holding all ready in his hand. As 

 he gave the money to Tom Spring, I heard him tell him to stand 

 where he was for a few minutes, as he would not have to hold the 

 money long j and I moreover heard the Capten whisper to him, 

 " Mind, I go you halves !" 



It is a good old motto that a great deal of harm arises from doing 

 things in too much of a hurry 3 and if the long-faced gent had not 

 been so desperately eager to close my bet, he would have saved him- 

 self 30/. I don't think the fight had lasted more than twenty 

 minutes, and the black's partisans were already shouting to him to go 

 in and win. It really seemed now as if there would be very little 

 trouble to do this, and he went hopping up to Bungaree in his 

 usual dancing-master fashion, as "The Life" would term it, "to put 

 the final polish on him." But the Australian, like one of his native 

 snakes, was scotched, but not killed, and he met the black with a 

 tremendous blow on the throat, which sent him off his legs just like 

 a nine-pin. No pen can describe the hubbub and excitement which 

 arose round the ring at this unexpected change in the aspect of 

 affairs. Several of the black's friends pushed their way to his 

 corner to offer advice to his seconds. He never, however, could 

 shake off the effects of that blow. The Australian, now determined 

 to make hay while the sun shone, never gave him a moment's rest, 

 but paid back with good interest all the rough usage he had received 

 in the early part of the contest j and after fighting perhaps half an 

 hour longer, the black was reluctantly taken from the ring by his 

 seconds, who deemed it cruelty to persevere any longer with a 



