case-hardens

Updated: July 31, 2026

Peters was much the larger man, and lifting at a handspike, in the clearing at a log-rolling, would have been stronger; but the bully, the half-coward, in combat, is rarely as strong as the brave man. The blood of courage case-hardens a muscle. They looked at each other, these two men whose relationship, never agreeable, was nearing a crisis.

Opie Percival Read - The Starbucks