Evening star., 1921-05-15

box. straddled the wooden fence.
hesitated for second while two
ridiculous Magellan policemen In
cooked hats made futile grabs at his
the arena. Behind him he heard
Gonelli shout: Let him mount! Give
him the gray horse-' And a roar of
voices. rising suddenly from the great
crowd, sounded like an explosion or
thunder, or the deep booming OF siege
white glare of the hot sand. But he
| caught the bride of the big gray as
| he passed, saw the astounded picador
slip to the ground and sprint to the
fence, vaulting it nimbly with fash
of his white -stockinged legs. Then
Pug mounted. leaned forward to
speak to the old horse in a quiet
urgent voice, and knew suddenly that
every eye in Magella was focused on
him. For q brief second he felt IKE
a nervous tenor planted in the spot.
| light for the big aria in Carmen
Then he threw back his head. stared
the crowd in the face, and waved his
hanJ. The bull was in corner of
| the ring, his head lowered, his bored.
somber eyes fixed on an agile young
tempting Providence with red scarf
Pug felt the old gray's body tremble.
He saw the agile youngster step
aside, and the bull, bafhed. furious.
disgusted, tore across the bloody arena
VIII What aeaaa happened n ni sYe then Pug himself
could never remember. In Ave min
utes he learned more about bull
I fighting than he could have learned
at Joselito's right hand. 1t was easy
enough to dodge the bulls infuriated
| charges so long as the old horse kept
his head. When Pug tired of that he
dismounted and played tiddledywinks
with Magellan feelings. One-stepping
at Claridge's and jumping through
Manhattan hoops had taught him how
to step fast. how to dodge trouble.
and how to come up smiling. He
heard roars of approval around him.
and 1t stirred something in his blood.
Keeping his tireless self between that
bull and Miss Diego's horse was the
best thing life had offered him. The
heels. He broke every rule Of the
game. He knew nothing except that
he hated that bull. and that somehow
he intended to get him. Before his
eyes the world was q dancing kalei-
doscope of scarlet and gold. q dizzy
twinkling legs. Every time he side
stepped the enemy he heard family
that satisfied howl from GoneIlfs ma
tionalists. They could forget the
Yankee in the picador. the enemy in
the good sport. Pug's heart warmed
" AhCLh. OhCc HC 1uOuhICu tuc Dull 3
back and rode for a hundred yards,
clinging to the outraged beasts horns
and shouting like a maniac.
This isn't building railways" he
thought; but it's making friends for
me. Oh. that wonderful girl! TIL bet
she knew"
OF course she knew. She watched
the Americana with shining eyes.
You made a mistake" she cried,
laughing at Gonellrs chagrin. 'The
Magellans like your signor Pug
listen to them!'
Pug had tired out the bun, Just as
he had tired New York in those dim
days Of Broadway hoop-jumping.- The
bull stood. swaying drunkenly, his feet
planted wide apart. his head dropping
Little streams Of blood trickled down
his sides and spattered in the dust
Pug swung his arms. took a deep
breath, and held out his hand to
Gonellfs imported matador "Giye me
the sword he painted. This is my
BULL
co It was. A few thousand MaEel-
Ian sombreros spun slxyward at the
death. Pug turned. raised his hand. and
grinned. Then he mounted Miss Dieeo's
horse, galloped to the gate and through
into the dusty piazza outside the Arena
Goldoni. mob Of men and boys racing
at his heels until he had crossed the
piazza and had disappeared down the
narrow Via Nazionale toward the heart
Of the city. Something told him that it
was best not to wait for Miss Diego's
smile. He rode straight to the consul
late. led the big gray through the front
door and tethered him in the courtyard
where he could lip peacefully at the
consul's flower beds Then Pug bathed
himself. and while he was waiting for
the consul taught the green and gold
parrot to say "Abasso GonelN!'' in a
horrible falsetto squeak.
When the consul came he threw his
hat up In the air and danced a few
ecstatic steps GLORY be to God" he
whispered, II have shouted myself
hoarse. ! have cheered like a maniac
Why. boy. that crowd was eating out of
your hand! The name Sgnor Pug ran
like wildfre around the Arena Goldoni
this afternoon. Gonelli's followers think
that you are possessed OF the devil.
You are in danger of becoming popular
So popular. in fact, that 1 advise your
coming into the house Gonelli's Jealous
hero worshipers might try q shot or two
from the roof"
They went into tho cool sala. a big