that flying mere was certainly a bird! said bobbles. ware went down with jumbo, to land on his chest and break any bridge the boy might form. and the flying mere had been such a surprise, and the fall was so far and the floor so hard, that, while jumbo instinctively tried to bridge, his effort collapsed. his two shoulders touched. the bout was over. the first fall had been so quickly accomplished, and jumbo had offered so feeble a resistance, that the troy faction at once accepted the wrestling-match as theirs, and the kingstonians gave up the evening as hopelessly lost. jumbo was especially covered with chagrin, since he had practised so long, and had builded so many hopes on this victory; worst of all, the whole success of the contest between the two academies depended on his victory. when, then, after a rest, the referee called time! ware came stalking up jauntily and confidently; but jumbo, instead of skulking, was up, and at, and on him like a wildcat. ware had expected that the lakerim youngster would pursue the same elusive tactics as before, and he was all amaze while jumbo was seizing his left hand with his own left hand, and, darting round behind him, was bending wares arm backward and upward into the hammerlock. the pain of this twist sent wares body forward, so that jumbo could reach up under his right armpit and, placing the palm of his right hand on the back of wares head, make use of that crowbar known as the right half-nelson. this pressure was gradually forcing ware forward on the top of his head; but he knew the proper break for the hammerlock, and simply threw himself face forward on the mat. as he rose to his knees again jumbo pounced on him like a hawk, and while ware waited patiently the little lakerimmer was reaching under wares armpit again for another half-nelson; but ware simply dodged the grasping of jumbos right hand, or, bringing his right arm vigorously back and down, so checked jumbos arm that the boy could not reach his neck. jumbo now tried, by leaning his left forearm and all his weight upon wares head, to bring it into reach; but wares neck was too strong, and when he stiffened it jumbo could not force it down. ware waited in amused patience to learn just how much jumbo knew about wrestling. jumbo wandered around on his knees, feinting for another half-nelson, and making many false plays to throw ware off his guard. suddenly, while ware seemed to be all neck against a half-nelson, jumbo dropped to his knees near wares right arm, and, shooting his left arm under wares body and his right arm across beneath wares chin, laid violent hold on the mans left arm near the shoulder with what is known as the farther-arm hold. jumbos movement was so quick and unexpected that ware could not parry it by throwing his left leg out and forward for a brake. he realized at once that he would have to go, and when jumbo gave a quick yank he rolled over and bridged. but jumbo followed him quickly over, and clasping wares left arm between his legs, he forced the right arm out straight also with both his hands so that ware could not roll. then he simply pressed with all his force upon wares chest. and waited. also weighted. ware squirmed and wriggled and grunted and writhed, but there was no escape for him, and while he stuck it out manfully, with jumbo heavy upon him, he knew that he was a goner. and finally, with a sickly groan, london bridge came a-falling down. the bout was jumbos, and he retired to his corner with a heart much lighter. the applause of the audience, the rip-roaring enthusiasm of the kingston academy yell, followed by the beloved club cry of lakerim, rejoiced him mightily. he had put down a man far heavier than he; and he felt that possibly, perchance, maybe, there was a probability of a contingency in which he might be able to have a chance of downing him once moreperhaps. it was a very cool and cautious young man that came forward to represent kingston when the referee exclaimed: shake hands for the third and last bout! jumbo, as soon as he had released wares fingers, dropped to his hands and knees on the mat, squatting far back on his haunches, and manifested a cheerful willingness to go almost anywhere except on the back of his two shoulders. it was wares turn to be aggressive now, for he had been laughed at not a little for being downed by so small an opponent. he spent some time and more strength in picking jumbo up bodily from the mat and dropping him all over the place. jumbos practice at bridging stood him in excellent stead now, and he got out of many a tight corner by a quick, firm bridge or a sudden spin. ware time after time forced one of the boys shoulders to the mat, and strove with all his vim to force the other shoulder down. and he generally succeeded; but the first always came up. jumbo went willingly from one shoulder to the other, but never from one to both. he frequently showed a most obliging disposition, and did what ware wanted him to, or, rather, he did just that and a little morehe always went too far; and ware was becoming convinced that he never could get those two obstinate shoulder-blades to the mat at the same time. after much puttering, he reached the goal of his ambition, and got the deadly full-nelson on jumbos head, and forced it slowly and irresistibly down. just as he was congratulating himself that he had his fish landed, jumbo suddenly whirled his legs forward and assumed a sitting position. the whole problem was reversed. ware rose wearily to his feet, and jumbo returned to his hands and knees. once more ware strove for the nelson. he was jabbing jumbos head and trying to shove it down within reach of his right hand. suddenly, with a surprising abruptness, jumbos head was not there,he had jerked it quickly to one side,and wares hand slipped down and almost touched the floor. but the watchful jumbo had seized wares wrist with both hands, and returned to the big fellow the compliment of the straight-ann leverage and the flying mere which had been so fatal to himself in the first bout. wares fall was not nearly so far as jumbos had been, and he managed to bridge and save himself. before jumbo could settle on his chest, ware was out of danger. but he went to his hands and knees in a defensive attitude that showed he was nearly worn out. jumbo did not see just what right ware had to imitate his own position, and the two of them sprawled like frogs, eying each other jealously. jumbo soon saw that he was expected to take the aggressive or go to sleep; so, with a lazy sigh, he began snooping around for those nuggets of wrestling, the nelsons. after foiling many efforts, the trojan noted all at once that jumbos head was not above wares shoulders, but back of the right armpit. in a flash a thought of pity went through wares brain