Chapter 1 - The fight
«Spy!»
Kaj insulted the man with violence and anger and pushed him against the wall.
«Spy on me, don't you dare!»
The other got up with difficulty and threw himself at him, screaming and grabbing him by his worn shirt, tearing it:
«Bandit!»
Kaj did not intend to let go «Shut up, you ugly coward!». He pressed him against the iron grate saying «Confidant of the overseers! Murderer you have us whipped without being guilty».
«So you want me to break your bones? You think you have the help of the island supervisor, but I confront both of you and reduce you to a pulp. No one has ever stood up to me, the One-eye, I am the most formidable fighter in Kapuyan». The proud inmate wiped the blood from his lip with the cloth of his uniform. «I will smash your face and send your teeth to walk in the forest, to the delight of the cobras!».
«No, because you are a spy, the prison spy»
«I'll be cursed if I don't kill you». A terrifying blasphemy came from the prisoner's lips «It's too much, that's enough!».
He threw himself at him staggering and without strength, while the other inmates watched making bets on the winner of the fight.
«You listened to our talk and you crawled up to me like a snake. Everyone knows that you are the darling of the overseers and the commander, you've never tasted the double chain, dog! I need to kill you! Spy!» Kaj vented his anger.
«Well yes, I was keeping an eye on you, damn pearl fisherman, and I listened to everything you said to the white prisoner, who doesn't want to talk to me, as if he wasn't a convict himself and you want to escape. No, I'll be there, at the right moment, to stop you. He threw his laughter and a slew of curses in his face, accompanied by the inmates voices inciting fight.
«Ah! All against me», sneered One-eyed, furious «then we'll see you, ugly jackals. To each his own and at the right time. I will let you feel my punches weigh».
«Start with me» Kaj shouted, spitting on him «we'll see if you scream so much in five minutes. But hurry up, this story must be ended before the guardians arrive».
«Here, take!» roared One-eyed, advancing with clenched fists on his broad chest.
That scene took place in the courtyard of the penitentiary, built in a clearing in Kapuyan, an island in the Spratly archipelago, a hundred inhospitable islands in the South China Sea. Kapuyan island had been expanded by the East Governorate, to build a prison for security prisoners, who died faster due to unhealthy weather and guards, as well as indigenous hostility, before ending the penalty for forced labor.
The only way of escaping the island was by sea, but unfortunately it was not visited by any vessel, other than the monthly one for the provision of food.
About twenty men had gathered in the courtyard, taking advantage of the rest and the absence of the guardians, who preferred to rest at that hour of the early afternoon, sure that none of the prisoners would take the opportunity to escape, given the behavior of the natives, enemies of every foreigner.
The two men who had attacked each other, earlier in words, and who were now preparing to break each other's ribs, despite the strict prison regulations and the fear of being punished with the fearsome hook whip that tore the skin, were two champions capable of compete for victory for a long time.
The initiator was Kaj, a young pearl fisherman, athletic in shape, tall and with a gorilla back, muscular arms without being too big. He had a courageous look and rather elegant features, which indicated that he was a descendant of a wealthy caste. His opponent, who called himself One-eye, because he lacked the left eye, replaced by a false glass eye with a veined yellow stone instead of the iris, was much shorter in stature, but the development of his body was enormous, far superior to that of the young man. He had a massive head, very large, with slightly slanted eyes, which betrayed a mixture of races; a smallpox-worn face and a bull's neck with giant shoulders and tremendously muscled arms, ending in two enormous fists.
Both wore a pair of gray canvas trousers and had thrown aside the shirts and clogs that the prison gave to the inmates for hard labor, and displayed the numerous and strange tattoos that decorated their arms and chests, representing snakes, idols and animals.
«Put him on!» the spectators shouted to Kaj «That spy deserves a correction!».
The One-eyed cast, with his only eye, a tige''s gaze on the other prisoners, while the young man spread his legs, covering his chest and face with his arms, in the attack post. They were about to lash out against each other, when the circle formed by the spectators was violently opened and a new character stood next to them saying:
«Let me do it Kaj. I also have an old account to settle with One-eye».
The newcomer was a white man of about thirty, with tanned skin in the various shades that can be seen on the faces of seafarers, with two eyes of a deep blue. His build was not as big as that of the two opponents, he was rather thin but slender.
Saying those words, he had thrown away the wide and worn straw hat that shielded the prisoners from the sun's rays, showing a thick blond hair. He put himself in the classic boxing position, but Kaj stopped him.
«No, don't fight with that rogue, with this man who is the strongest in the penitentiary, it's only me who can find a rival who can stand up to him.»
«Yes, let the boy do it, sir,» the spectators said in chorus. White hesitated briefly, then took two steps back, saying:
«I'll wait my turn; that spy today must have a solemn punishment and will have it either from the boy or from me.»
«Are you done with your chatter?» Kaj asked, starting to lose patience. «Or are you waiting for the overseers to open their eyes?»- And began the fight by throwing a formidable punch in the face of the One-eye. The circle formed by the spectators had immediately expanded, to leave the two more space. Everyone was silent, holding their breath so as not to lose anything of that fight, which promised to become terrible and which could end with the death of one or another opponent. For a few moments the two opponents looked at each other, then Kaj bent abruptly, after having dodged a blow from the eye, shouting:
«I understand you One-eye, take it!»
His formidable fist punch hitting the man in the middle of the chest, making him sound like a drum. If that body had not been more than robust, it would certainly have succumbed under the powerful blow, but the One-eye made an ugly face and pursed his lips so as not to let out a cry of pain, then in turn he leaped, beating one after the other many punches on the forearms of the young man.
«Ah! Now lose your coldness!» Kaj answered in a quiet voice «The arms of pearl fishermen can resist even hammering and you waste your time in vain, One-eye, if you knock here. he offered his chest to mock him.
A scream of rage escaped the spy.
«That he can't tear you down, it has yet to be said.» he roared «Yet you must fall».
Kaj, who did not want to give him time to prepare some more jokes, jumped forward to run over him immediately, but received a punch in the face that made him wobble and made his nose bleed. The young white man cried out, thinking he was lost, but the pearl fisherman quickly recovered. He fell on the One-eye, who was about to get up and hugged her half-body, lifting him off the ground and shaking him vigorously.
The One-eye, not having expected that attack that transformed the boxing match into a wrestling match, at first did not resist, then, realizing that he was about to be landed, he put his knees on the belly of Kaj, who was forced to leave him. Then a desperate fight broke out between the two athletes. They grabbed each other, bumped into each other with power, lowered and raised while trying to land. They blew, dripped with sweat, without uttering a cry so as not to wake the guards who slept not far away, under the shed of the timber yard.
The One-eyed man resisted furiously, but it was clear that he would eventually give in. His forces quickly ran out, while Kaj kept his for the last moment.
White followed the different phases of the struggle with keen interest, occasionally encouraging the pearl fisherman with a look with a wave of his hand. The others wagered softly, not money, but their meager food rations.
The fight had lasted for four or five minutes, more and more obstinate, when Kaj, who had managed to free his right arm, unloaded a terrible punch on the opponent's head. The latter bent abruptly, amazed by the blow that had thundered his brain. That moment of interruption was enough for the pearl fisherman to take advantage of it. He lifted the One-eye in his strong arms, held him suspended for a moment, then hurled him away, in the middle of a bush, beyond the paving of the courtyard.
«Give him the rest, Kaj» exclaimed the spectators «Dress him up!».
He was already on top of him with his fist raised, to teach him a terrible lesson, when a threatening voice rang out a short distance away:
«Stop or I'll burn your brains!»
A man dressed in white cloth, with a helmet on his head, had violently opened his way among the spectators, holding a double-barreled pistol in his left hand, which he aimed resolutely at Kaj. He was one of the prison guards, who had been awakened by the last cries of the convicts.