If he broke a finger
or strained a tendon, he must bear his suffering, and labour on until
his eight weeks were up; books, newspapers, rational amusements were
unknown to him; he lived on amid cursing, fighting, fierce toil, and
general bestiality.
Pray, what were Jim's recreations? When he ran up to London he remained
violently, aggressively drunk while his money lasted, and at such times
he was as dangerous as a Cape buffalo in a rage. With all his weight he
was as active as a leopard, and his hitting was as quick as Ned
Donnelly's. He enjoyed a fight, but no one who faced him shared his
enjoyment long; for he generally settled his man with one rush. He used
both hands with awful severity; and in short, he was one of the most
fearsome wild beasts ever allowed to remain at large. I have known him
to take four men at once, with disastrous results to the four, and, when
he had to be conveyed to the police-station (which was rather
frequently), fresh men were always brought round to handle him.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174