The bull jerked up his head, his eyes injected, his tongue
rolling out. The bear raised one of his mighty paws and dealt him a box
on the ear. The head fell with an ugly thud on the hard floor of the
corral. The bear adjusted himself comfortably and licked his paws.
On the wall the onlookers were far more excited than the gladiators in
the arena. The Perezes sympathised with their personal property, but
Roldan and Adan felt that the bear was their menagerie, and that their
honour was at stake. Party feeling ran very high. Roldan and Benito were
twice separated by their anxious elders.
"Ay! yi!" cried Carlos. "The bull wakes."
The poor bull, in truth, despite the crushing weight on his vitals,
raised his head again, shook himself feebly, and was once more boxed
into unconsciousness. The side of his face was crushed; his body was
slowly flattening. The family encouraged him with tears and spirit.
"Ay, Ignacio, Ignacio, my poor one!" cried Don Jose. "Arouse thyself and
kill the brute. Ay! thou wert so beautiful, so elegant, thy sleek sides
like the satin of Dona Theresa--and he like a wild man that has never
washed. Where is thy pride, Ignacio? Arouse thyself!"
Thus encouraged, the bull raised his head once more.
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