ules; but he gets there. If they'll only let him, he'll give them the
best show for their money they ever saw.") A great argument began. Half
the people seemed to be on Pepito's side and half on the Doctor's side.
At last the Doctor turned to Pepito and made another very grand bow
which burst the last button off his waistcoat.

"Well, of course if the caballero is afraid--" he began with a bland
smile.

"Afraid!" screamed Pepito. "I am afraid of nothing on earth. I am the
greatest matador in Spain. With this right hand I have killed nine
hundred and fifty-seven bulls."

"All right then," said the Doctor, "let us see if you can kill five
more. Let the bulls in!" he shouted. "Pepito de Malaga is not afraid."

A dreadful silence hung over the great theatre as the heavy door into
the bull pen was rolled back. Then with a roar the five big bulls
bounded into the ring.

"Look fierce," I heard the Doctor call to them in cattle language.
"Don't scatter. Keep close. Get ready for a rush. Take Pepito, the one
in purple, first. But for Heaven's sake don't kill him. Just chase him
out of the ring--Now then, all together, go for him!"

The bulls put down their heads and all in line, like a squadron of
cavalry, charged across the ring straight for poor Pepito.

For one moment the Spaniard tried his hardest to look brave. But the
sight of the five pairs of horns coming at him at full gallop was too
much. He turned white to the lips, ran for the fence, vaulted it and
disappeared.

"Now the other one," the Doctor hissed. And in two seconds the gallant
assistant was nowhere to be seen. Juan Hagapoco, the fat matador, was
left alone in the ring with five rampaging bulls.

The rest of the show was really well worth seeing. First, all five
bulls went raging round the ring, butting at the fence with their horns,
pawing up the sand, hunting for something to kill. Then each one in turn
would pretend to catch sight of the Doctor for the first time and giving
a bellow of rage, would lower his wicked looking horns and shoot like an
arrow across the ring as though he meant to toss him to the sky.

It was really frightfully exciting. And even I who knew it was all
arranged beforehand, held my breath in terror for the Doctor's life when
I saw how near they came to sticking him. But just at the last moment,
when the horns' points were two inches from the sky-blue waistcoat, the
Doctor would spring nimbly to one side and the great brutes wo