He struck as hard as he could.

And he struck with the tines down--For, in his simple, direct African way he wished to kill his enemy, and he wished to kill him as soon as possible.

That was his single, earnest purpose.
On this account, Rupe Collins was peculiarly unfortunate.

He was plucky and he enjoyed conflict, but neither his ambitions nor his anticipations had ever included murder.

He had not learned that an habitually aggressive person runs the danger of colliding with beings in one of those lower stages of evolution wherein theories about "hitting below the belt" have not yet made their appearance.
The rake glanced from the back of Rupe's head to his shoulder, but it felled him.