Billy recalled the yelling samurai with their keen swords and
terrible spears. He saw the little room in the "palace" of Oda
Yorimoto, and again he faced the brown devils who had
hacked and hewed and stabbed at him that day as he fought
to save the woman he loved. Coward! What was there in this
padded ring for a man to fear who had faced death as Billy
had faced it, and without an instant's consciousness of the
meaning of the word fear? What was wrong with him, and
then the shouts and curses and taunts of the crowd smote
upon his ears, and he knew. It was the crowd! Again the
heavy fist of the "coming champion" brought Billy to the mat,
and then, before further damage could be done him, the gong
saved him.
It was a surprised and chastened mucker that walked with
bent head to his corner after the first round. The "white
hope" was grinning and confident, and so he returned to the
center of the ring for the second round. During the short
interval Billy had thrashed the whole thing out. The crowd
had gotten on his nerves. He was trying to fight the whole
crowd instead of just one man--he would do better in this
round; but the first thing that happened after he faced his
opponent sent the fans into delirious ecstasies of shouting and
hooting.
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