{"product_id":"2940013740730","title":"Alleys of Peril","description":"THE MINUTE I seen the man they'd picked to referee the fight\u003cbr\u003ebetween me and Red McCoy, I didn't like his looks. His name was Jack\u003cbr\u003eRidley and he was first mate aboard the _Castleton,_ one of them lines\u003cbr\u003ewhich acts very high tone, making their officers wear uniforms. Bah!\u003cbr\u003eThe first cap'n I ever sailed with never wore nothing at sea but a\u003cbr\u003epair of old breeches, a ragged undershirt and a month's growth of\u003cbr\u003ewhiskers. He used to say uniforms was all right for navy admirals and\u003cbr\u003ebell-hops but they was a superflooity anywheres else.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell, this Ridley was a young fellow, slim and straight as a spar,\u003cbr\u003ewith cold eyes and a abrupt manner. I seen right off that he was a\u003cbr\u003ebucko which wouldn't even let his crew shoot craps on deck if he could\u003cbr\u003ehelp it. But I decided not to let his appearance get on my nerves, but\u003cbr\u003eto ignore him and knock McCoy stiff as quick as possible so I couldst\u003cbr\u003ehave the rest of the night to myself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThey is a old feud between the _Sea Girl_ and McCoy's ship, the\u003cbr\u003e_Whale._ The minute the promoter of the Waterfront Fight Arena heard\u003cbr\u003eboth our ships had docked, he rushed down and signed us up for a\u003cbr\u003efifteen-round go--billed it as a grudge fight, which it wasn't nothing\u003cbr\u003ebut, and packed the house.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe crews of both ships was holding down ringside seats and the\u003cbr\u003especial police was having a merry time keeping 'em from wrecking the\u003cbr\u003eplace. The Old Man was rared back on the front row and ever few\u003cbr\u003eseconds he'd take a long swig out of a bottle, and yell: \"Knock the\u003cbr\u003eflat-footed ape's lousy head off, Steve!\" And then he'd shake his fist\u003cbr\u003eacross at Cap'n Branner of the _Whale,_ and the compliments them two\u003cbr\u003eold sea horses wouldst exchange wouldst have curled a Hottentot's\u003cbr\u003ehair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou can judge by this that the Waterfront Fight Arena is kinda\u003cbr\u003efree and easy in its management. It is. It caters to a rough and ready\u003cbr\u003eclass, which yearns for fast action, in the ring or out. Its\u003cbr\u003eperformers is mostly fighting sailors and longshoremen, but, if you\u003cbr\u003ecan stand the crowd that fills the place, you'll see more real mayhem\u003cbr\u003ecommitted there in one evening than you'll see in a year in the\u003cbr\u003epoliter clubs of the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell, it looked like every sailor in Hong Kong was there that\u003cbr\u003enight. Finally the announcer managed to make hisself heard above the\u003cbr\u003ehowls of the mob, and he bellered: \"The main attrackshun of the\u003cbr\u003eevenin'! Sailor Costigan, one hunnerd an' ninety pounds, of the _Sea\u003cbr\u003eGirl--_\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The trimmest craft afloat!\" roared the Old Man, heaving his empty\u003cbr\u003ebottle at Cap'n Branner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And Red McCoy, one hunnerd an' eighty-five pounds, of the\u003cbr\u003e_Whale_,\" went on the announcer, being used to such interruption.\u003cbr\u003e\"Referee, First Mate Ridley of the steamship _Castleton,_ the\u003cbr\u003emanagement havin' requested him to officiate this evenin'. Now, gents,\u003cbr\u003ethis is a grudge fight, as you all know. You has seen both these boys\u003cbr\u003eperform, an'--\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And if you don't shut up and give us some action we'll wreck the\u003cbr\u003edump and toss your mangled carcass amongst the ruins!\" screamed the\u003cbr\u003emaddened fans. \"Start somethin' before we do!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe announcer smiled gently, the gong sounded, and me and Red went\u003cbr\u003etogether like a couple of wildcats. He was a tough baby, one of them\u003cbr\u003esquat, wide-built fellows. I'm six feet; he was four inches shorter,\u003cbr\u003ebut they wasn't much difference in our weight. He was tough and fast,\u003cbr\u003ewith one of these here bulldog faces, and how that sawed-off brick-top\u003cbr\u003ecould hit!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWell, nothing much of interest happened in the first three rounds.\u003cbr\u003eOf course, we was fighting hard, neither of us being clever, but both\u003cbr\u003estrong on mixing it. But we was both too tough to show much damage\u003cbr\u003ethat early in the fight. He'd cut my lip and skinned my ear and\u003cbr\u003eloosened some teeth, and I'd dropped him for no-count a couple of\u003cbr\u003etimes, but outside of that nothing much had happened.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe'd stood toe-to-toe for three rounds, flailing away right and\u003cbr\u003eleft and neither giving back a step, but, just before the end of the\u003cbr\u003ethird, my incessant body punching began to show even on that chunk of\u003cbr\u003egranite they called Red McCoy. For the first time he backed out of a\u003cbr\u003emix-up, and just before the gong I caught him with a swinging right to\u003cbr\u003ethe belly that made him grunt and bat his eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSO I COME out for the fourth round full of snap and ginger and\u003cbr\u003epromptly run into a right hook that knocked me flat on my back. The\u003cbr\u003ecrowd went crazy, and the _Whale's_ men begun to kiss each other in\u003cbr\u003etheir ecstasy, but I arose without a count and, ducking the cruel and\u003cbr\u003eunusual right swing McCoy tossed at me, I sunk my left to the wrist in\u003cbr\u003ehis belly and crashed my right under his heart.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070205673712,"sku":"2940013740730","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013740730_p0.jpg?v=1763589616","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013740730","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}