"I never thought you'd be so well up to him.

Are you much damaged ?" "No," said I.
"Well, you'd best play steady this next round too," said my second.

"He can't hold out long with his elbows that height.

If you like you can have a quiet shot or two at his breastplate, just to get your hand in for the next round." This advice I, now quite warmed up to the emergency, adopted.
Whipcord returned to his sledge-hammer tactics, and as carelessly as ever, too; for more than once I got in under his guard, and once, amid terrific plaudits, got "home"-- so Flanagan called it--on his chin, in a manner which, I flattered myself, fairly astonished him.
"Now then, Whip, what are you thinking about ?" cried the Field-Marshal; "you aren't going to let the young 'un lick you, surely ?" "Time!" cried Daly, before the bruised one could reply; and so ended round two, from which I retired covered with dust and glory.
I felt very elated, and was quite pleased with myself now that I had, stood up to my man.

It seemed perfectly plain I had the battle in my own hands, so I inwardly resolved if possible to bring the affair to an end in the next round, and let my man off easy.
Conceited ass that I was! To my amazement and consternation, Whipcord came up to the scratch on time being called in an entirely new light.
Instead of being the careless slogger I had taken him for, he went to work now in a most deliberate and scientific manner.