Appalling Cruelty

the shouting and cursing, the betting and arguing among the drunken dockyard crowd rises to a feverish pitch and explodes into a diabolical din as the wounded dogs snarl and lunge once more at each other's throat, clamping their foaming jaws on furry flesh, ripping it, their growls muffled by gore and dust and torn skin; one seizes the other's jugular, tightens his hold till the pavement is slippery with blackish blood; the vanquished falls, lies limp, its frothy jaw now loosened, just another mutilated carcass there in the bloodied dust. the shouting and cursing, the betting and arguing among the drunken dockyard crowd rises to a feverish pitch and explodes into a diabolical din.