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6 Patrick Henry Patrick Henry 7

Lige bid a sum that was prohibitive and a half was it discernible. It was Patrick Henry; Patrick
sob of pity escaped the young Miss as the auctioneer Henry, the fisherman; Patrick Henry, the lout.
tolled off in stentorian tones, "Going, going, going There were enraged snarls as the two wild animals
and sold to Lige W ethers by," at so many pounds of the woods had crashed together. There were two
in English money or its weight of tobacco ( tobacco roiling, twisting bodies, unmatched in size, but equal
at that time being almost, if not, a legal ten·der). in strength, their faces were fairly bloated by their
The slave girl stepped down off the block but fur- efforts, their necks assumed the size of the strug-
ther she would not move, and there was a cry of gling Gladiators of oid. So terrific was the battle
pain from her lips as Lige W ethers by sunk his that to this assemblage, so inured to the primitive-
powerful fingers into her arm. Then all the pent up ness of the age, it caused a hushed spell to sweep
feelings of the girl, all the wrong she had suffered over them, while with strained attitudes and wide
came to the surface. There was a yell of rage from stretched eyes they watched the combat over the
Lige;· the girl had fastened her teeth in the back of slave girl, who, with blood-covered face and trem-
the hand that so cruelly gripped her arm and hung bling limbs, cowered in fear. It was plain that the
on as a terrier would. Lige fairly roared his rage, lithe man was no match for the burly brute in size.
and when. finally he tore his hand away, the blood Yet his strength seemed God-given. The combat
spurted from the wound and covered the face of the was so wild, so terrific, that something had to give
girl. Everyone stood aside, though some, to their and it was the larger man. His. knees were seen
credit be it said, with clenched fists, for Lige was to sag, a look of terror came into his eyes. His
within the law. The girl was his property and Lige bones were fairly breaking, and then the lighter
was a man known for his deeds of strength even man slowly drew one of his arms, the right arm,
among powerful men. His nature was known to free. It came by fractions of an inch at first and
be that of a killer when in a rage and the rage of then gained speed, but when it ·finally was free it
Lige at this moment knew no bounds-. His eyes moved so fast the eye could not follow. There was
blazed with a rage. that was fiendish, his face was a sickening thud of bone meeting bone and flesh
contorted as that of a madman. His curses were meeting flesh, and the huge bulk of a man crashed
foul and loud. He threw the slave girl to her knees to the floor. The panther-like figure was upon him
with a force that seemed nearly to force the plank- with the rapidity of the animal of that name and
ing of the. 'dock. A long, cruel whiplash. cut through as the blood spurted from the nose and mouth of
the air like the hiss of a snake, as it fell upon the the fallen man he lifted him high above his head
shoulders, the neck and the head of his victim. and hurled him with one mighty heave into the sea.
When suddenly the crowd was catapulted aside, Only for one instant's time did he stand and then
something seemed to hurtle through the air. It was he turned away. As he walked past his roan horse
propelled so fast that not until it reached its goal the horse turned and followed him and they both