The Undefeated

'The Undefeated' is a fictional story that begins with a certain Mr. William Hollis, who was sitting on an old bacon box in the lee of a summerhouse in his lock-up garden as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and loosened his braces. The presence of a neighbor's elbows on the party hedge forbade a complete return to nature, but the freedom of Old Man Adam from the restraints imposed by society was envied just now by one at least of his heirs. By the side of Bill Hollis was a stone jar of Blackhampton ale, a famous brew, but even this could not save him from gasping like a carp. It was a scorcher and no mistake—thick, slab and hazy, the sort of heat you can almost cut with a knife. Leaning gracefully across from the next plot was a large, rotund gentleman with the face of a well-nourished ferret. Draped in an artful festoon beneath an old straw hat, a wreath of burdock leaves defended him from the weather. «Mr. Hollis»—he addressed the man on the bacon box with conversational charm—"if you want my opinion they're putting in a bit of overtime in Hell."