As he banged me down upon my feet his face was bent close to
mine and I did the only thing a gentleman might do under the
circumstances of brutality, boorishness, and lack of consideration
for a stranger's rights; I swung my fist squarely to his jaw and
he went down like a felled ox. As he sunk to the floor I wheeled
around with my back toward the nearest desk, expecting to be
overwhelmed by the vengeance of his fellows, but determined to
give them as good a battle as the unequal odds would permit before
I gave up my life.

My fears were groundless, however, as the other Martians, at first
struck dumb with wonderment, finally broke into wild peals of
laughter and applause. I did not recognize the applause as such,
but later, when I had become acquainted with their customs, I
learned that I had won what they seldom accord, a manifestation
of approbation.

The fellow whom I had struck lay where he had fallen, nor did any of
his mates approach him. Tars Tarkas advanced toward me, holding out
one of his arms, and we thus proceeded to the plaza without further
mishap. I did not, of course, know the reason for which we had come
to the open, but I was not long in being enlightened. They first
repeated the word "sak" a number of times, and then Tars Tarkas made
several jumps, repeating the same word before each leap; then,
turning to me, he said, "sak!" I saw what they were after, and
gathering myself together I "sakked" with such marvelous success
that I cleared a good hundred and fifty feet; nor did I this time,
lose my equilibrium, but landed squarely upon my feet without
falling. I then returned by easy jumps of twenty-five or thirty