Jack," pushed me back so hard that I fell off the steps into the deep
water, and there was a general laugh against me. I did not care for the
ducking, but the laugh I could not bear: as soon as I gained the steps
again, I rushed upon him and threw him off, and he fell into the wherry,
and, as it afterward appeared, he strained his back very much;
nevertheless he came out to thrash me; and this time it was a regular
fight, as the pensioners and watermen interfered, taking us both up on
the higher ground, and seeing that it was fair play. Ben the Whaler
acted as my second, and we set to. The boy was too powerful for me, had
it not been for the hurt he had received and the instructions I obtained
from Ben every time that I sat on his knee between each round. Still it
was a very hard fight, and I was terribly beaten; but I could not give
up, for so many betted upon my winning, and Ben told me, at the end of
every round, that if I only stood up one more, I should be certain to
beat him, and that then I should be _Poor Jack forever!_ The last
inducement stimulated me to immense exertion. We closed and wrestled,
and my antagonist was thrown; and, in consequence of the strain he had
before received, he could not stand up anymore. Poor fellow! he was in
great pain; he was taken home, and obliged to have a doctor, and an
abscess formed in his side. He was a long while getting well, and, when
he came out of doors again, he was so pale. I was very sorry for him,
and we were always the best friends afterward, and I gave him many a
halfpenny, until I had an opportunity of serving him.

I mention these two fights because they obtained for me a greater
reputation than I deserved: this reputation perhaps saved me a great
deal more fighting, and obtained me the mastery over the other boys on
the beach. Indeed, I became such a favorite with the watermen that they
would send the other boys away; and thus did I become, at last, the
acknowledged, true, lawful, and legitimate "Poor Jack of Greenwich."