GREAT MEN'S BODIES
neither ran nor surrendered. Every man fought savagely; and several of our horses had been killed by bayonet-thrusts; when Krueger, his eyes blazing with fury, rode straight at the big man who had spoken, parried his fierce lunges, and, with a side-long stroke, cut the top of his head clean off. But the next moment, while each one of us was busy defending himself, more than twenty of the mutineers surrounded Krueger, some striking with gun-butts; others tried to run him through; and others again trying to pull him off his horse. His uniform was torn and pierced in a dozen places; and how he escaped instant death is a miracle. Like circular lightning-flashes his sabre whirled around his head, or darted out like a tongue of flame from side to side; and, wherever it struck, there lay a dead man.
"'After fighting desperately for ten minutes or so, seeing that the game was lost, they threw down their arms and cried for quarter. Then, when all the survivors had been properly surrounded by guards, it was found that Krueger had, single-handed, killed no fewer than fifteen men, while neither he nor his horse had received a serious wound. That was why I said he was a great swordsman.'
"'What kind of a looking man is President Krueger?' I asked. 'He is about five feet nine tall, and when I last saw him, twenty-three years ago, he had dark hair, and weighed about one hundred and sixty-five pounds. I really can't tell the color of his eyes; but they were pleasant to look at, except when he was angry; then they had a sort of stony glare that wasn't very nice to face. He was very muscular, and a great deal stronger than many men fifty pounds heavier. When he'd once made up his mind about anything, he was as obstinate as a mule, and would take his own
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