“Come on dar,” Pierre shouted, as he pushed back his chair. “You hav’ now eat enough for two men. Eef you eat mooch more eet will be no fun to put you on your back.”
“Huh, I, Jean Larue, will geeve you all der fun you want in one leetle minute,” Jean retorted, as he too jumped up from his chair and started for the door, followed by the entire crew.
The snow still lay deep in the woods, but in front of the bunk house it was packed hard, making a smooth although a slippery floor. Once outside in the crisp air, the two men quickly pulled off their heavy mackinaws and thick woolen shirts.
“My, what men,” Bob whispered, as they stood there stripped to the waist.
Physically, at least, they were deserving of the exclamation. Big and thick set, without an ounce of superfluous flesh on their torsos, the muscles played in ripples beneath the smooth skin.
No complicated set of rules governed an impromptu match of this kind. No getting of three points on the ground was necessary to win. The first man down was the loser, and in case both came down together, the man on top was the winner.
A stranger would have thought, from the appearance of the men, that it was to be a fight to the finish, but all present knew that the two were great friends and that the loser would take his defeat in good part and hope to win the next time. However, they had seen the two men wrestle before and knew that each would exert himself to the utmost to win.
For some moments the two giants circled around each other, watching with hawk-like keenness for an opening. The right hold meant half the battle, as they well knew, and a false hold might well mean defeat. Suddenly, seeing his chance, Pierre leaped forward and caught his opponent about the waist. And then the real struggle began.
“Just look at those muscles will you,” Jack whispered to Bob.
It was little wonder that the display excited the boy’s admiration. The huge muscles stood out like immense cords as the two men strained with all their might to upset each other. Pulling and pushing they whirled about on the smooth snow, neither seeming to be able to gain the advantage. Once Jean slipped, and the boys thought that he was going down, but he quickly recovered his footing and, in a second, seemed on even terms again. Both men were breathing hard and it seemed as though one or the other must yield soon, but as to which one it would be there was no indication.