It now occurred to me that since my adversary had proved himself the
stronger when I had tried to force his hand, my better plan would be to
tire him if possible before taking the offensive again, and to this end
I led him on, always nimbly avoiding the strokes he aimed at me instead
of spending my strength by attempting to oppose them, and this method
proved so successful that I presently had the satisfaction of observing
in my opponent evident signs of exhaustion. Realizing his impotence,
and now beside himself with anger, Van Luck suddenly rushed upon me,
when, using a trick I had learnt, I tripped him so that he fell,
dropping his knife, which, before he could recover it, I secured. By
all the rules of the game he was now at my mercy, and I called upon him
to surrender, but, with a scowl, he refused to give in. The advantage
I had gained now entitled me to stab him to death where he stood, or to
cut off his ears if I had the mind to do it, but I could not bring
myself to kill, or maim, an unarmed man. I therefore threw down both
knives at Hartog's feet, and returned once more to the fight with bare
hands. My superior agility now began to tell in my favour, and I found
I was the better boxer and wrestler of the two, so that I rained blows
upon my opponent, some of which drew blood.
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