plaintively: "But looks are deceivin'."

The center of the disturbance appeared to be a man indeed. He was even
taller than Harrigan and broader of shoulder, and, like the latter,
there was a suggestion of strength in him which could not be defined by
his size alone. At the distance they could guess his smile as he faced
the clamoring mob.

"Break in there!" ordered the sergeant to his companions, and started
toward the angry circle.

As he spoke, they heard one of the Negroes curse and the fist of the
tall man darted at the face of a soldier and drove him toppling back
among his comrades. They closed on the white man with a yell; a passing
group of their compatriots joined the affray; the whole mass surged in
around the tall fellow. Harrigan's head went back and his eyes half
closed like a critic listening to an exquisite symphony.

"Ah-h!" he whispered to himself. "Watch him fight!"

The policemen struck the outer edge of the circle with drawn clubs, but
there they stopped. They could not dent that compacted mass. The
soldiers struggled manfully, but they were held at bay. Harrigan could
see the heaving shoulders of the defender over the heads of the
assailants, and the crack of hard-driven fists. The attackers were
crushed together and had little room to swing their arms with full
force, while the big man stood with his back against the wall of the
cottage and made every smashing punch count.

As if by common assent, the soldiers suddenly desisted and gave back