From Here to Eternity_ The Restored Edit - Jones, James [288]
Prew’s legs were very tired and his forearms, elbows and shoulders were getting sore from the punches he had caught with them. His right hand was swollen some and Bloom had seen it and gotten less gunshy and taken to rushing him. He still had not had a chance to land the right on Bloom’s adam’s apple. He was beginning to wonder if there would ever be a chance to. He did not want to try it unless he was sure because his hand would not stand many more misses that ended on Bloom’s head.
Anyway, Bloom was rushing him, swinging both hands, and he had all he could do to keep out of the way especially when Bloom got him back against the crowd. Once, like that, Bloom managed to land a straight right that way, a straight punch not a roundhouse, when he was back against the crowd and it exploded on his temple and then he was on his knees in the crowd lying across some spectator who had fallen under him, feeling very sleepy and very tired and everything sounding funny and far off and he had a very hard time getting himself back up because his legs did not want to work any more.
Another time, considerably later he felt, he tripped over somebody’s feet when Bloom rushed him back into the crowd, and fell without being hit. He saw the kick coming and rolled away from it feeling very angry, which he had not felt all day until now. Somebody had stepped in and pushed Bloom back and was admonishing with him about not fighting fair. He saw that it was Stark in the gathering darkness. The crowd was loudly agreeing with Stark. The crowd did not want their boxing exhibition ruined now after it was so fine by having them start fighting on the ground. Bloom was disagreeing.
When he stepped back in Bloom had his right drawn way back and cocked, to hit him, standing as close as they would let him get to him, and Prew came down with the heel of his field shoe smashing it down on Bloom’s instep. Bloom opened his mouth wide to yell, his right still drawn back and cocked but forgotten, and Prew jabbed hard with his left landing flush on the bad nose and Bloom yelled and put both hands up and he hooked with his left to the belly as low as he could get without actually hitting Bloom in the balls and Bloom did not grunt but he put both hands down, probably because the jab on the nose and the hurt instep had stunned him a little, and he was wide open for the right to the adam’s apple and Prew threw it. It hurt his hand like hell but it was worth it. Bloom choked and grabbed his neck with both hands and fell down off his feet for the first time.
On his knees his head hanging Bloom choked and hawked and gasped and felt of his neck gingerly and his face turned red, then purple, then almost black and he lay down. He vomited his supper and then got back up choking and rushed at Prew with his head down like a ram.
Prew had stepped back to give him room and it was lucky he had because if he had been any closer he would not have had time to bring his knee up in Bloom’s down-turned face if he had been any closer. As it was, the bone of his knee hit Bloom’s chest and only the thick pad of thigh muscles hit Bloom’s face and nose. Bloom went over backward and landed in the vomit, his nose that was broken but not bleeding or swollen, his eye that was blacked but not closed or swollen, his belly that was punched repeatedly but not bruised, his adam’s apple that should be mashed but could still swallow,