THE RED CROSS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1914, Page 12

THE RED CROSS

IN THE BULL RING (By Bart Kennedy.) The bull was raging in the dark narrow place, and suddenly he felt himself prodded, and the door in front o£ him opened, letting in a great blinding flood of light. For a second or so he stood astonished, and then there came again the -prodding. He tried to turn, but the space was too narrow, and he moved slowly forward. His eyes had become used now to the hard glare of the sun, and he caw stretching before him a vast yellow space of sand. Shoutings ocmit to him from thousands upon thousands of people- who were sitting up high around the space of sand. Again rage came to him, and he galbped forward a little ?nd elopped, puzzled. The desire to gore and kill was flaming in him— but to kill what? Ho did 'not know. The shoutings were going on all around him. Who?— .where?— how was ho to kill? And then it wa» that he noticed a white object in the middle of the arena. Ho went towards it, and he saw that it was a man standing upon something, and ueeing this he broke into a swift charging gallop. Ho would gore and kill this man in white. Ho was a, black, hurtling, beautiful thing of destruction. The fight of the sun glihted sharply ftom the, points of his horns. He wa3 force itself— force and courage and power. No tiger or lion could have faced him. He would have swept them out of his way with ease. A bellowing, black, rageful thing. Now he was up to the man who was standing on a low peristyle. But the man kept utterly and absolutely motionkes. The bull was about to strike him to death, but he- caught himself in the middle of his lunge and sw&rvcd to one- side. Tho shouting of the thousands of people had stopped. There was utter silence, for death hung in the air. The bull looked at the white, stand" ing, motionless thing. He wtus puzzled. Here was fiomething that did not move —that kept still. ■ He put hi» muzzle against it. This white thing was alive ■ — but it did not move. He walked around it. But it did not move. And suddenly the bull left it and galloped off to another part of the arena. The motionles^ man in white had been to him a thing incomprehensible. Shouting rang around the arena. The tension had been lifted. The man in white— the tancrcdo— had stood in front of dreadful death and come forth unscathed. The spectators were pleased, and they stood uhoutinc; and waving their hats and waving their handkerchiefs. "Bravo! Bravo! Bravo, tancredo!" Tho man in white was bowing to the tumultuous applause— the man who had emerged from death, There appeared another figure in the arena. A man with a- waving cape. Ho stood right :n the lino of tbn bull's gallop, fronting it ns it came thunder* ing on. Nearer and nearer came the bull. Nowl The bull niade a tremendous bound. He Was on the man with tho cape! Nol The man slipped to the side a* a flafch of light. Again the bull was on him. but again he slipped aside^ And again. And again. This man with th© cape moved so quickly that the eye could hardly fol» low him. The bull bounded as a tiger would bound. It ecemed ' incredible thai* n thing of such bulk should bo *»o' 'active. But it could not get to the man with the cape. The deadly honiß all but touched him. But they did n6t get him. As the bull lunged find mimed ho bellowed terribly 1 - ' Up camo another man with a cape. And another. And another. The bull seemed now to be charging a circle of flashes of light. The men flapped their capefe in his face, and were gone. They were round him all the time," but he could not get thorn. Ah! Yes, he had one of them. The man .was a part of a second too late in getting to the side, and the bull got him and toßßed him in tho air. As the man went up hecircled clumsily in the air in the way thrown things ' circle. ' Down he came on the sand, and' the bull wont for him to finish him, But as he got to the prostrate man a capo flapped in his foes. He- followed it, and then another cape i&truck him between the eyes. That he followed, and as he was fol. lowing it two of the fallen bullfighter's comrades picked him up and carried linn quickly out of the arena. Tho bull stopped suddenly nnd looked around. Something seemed to bo dawning upon him. It might bo that ho felt that he was wasting his powci in charging these men who flashed elusive Jv before him. They annoyed him, but they would mot fetay t& fight him. He wanted something to stand before him, something that he could fight. He was all the time charging nothing. And he stood still and bellowed defiantly as he looked around. ' - The people Avho were sitting high up around ttte arena began to laugh. The bull understood the laughter. Even the dullest animals understand and resent mockery. And he- answered the laughter with further bellows of defiance. The men with the tapes had gone, and there came other men—banderilleros carrying banderillas — barbed darts. One of the b&ndetilleroa, with a dart in either hand, came towards the bull, wh* was still standing. Suddenly the bull charged him, and almost as hia horns touched him the man bent forward and planted the two darts in the back of his neck. And he was gone. The sting of the darts brought fresh rago to tho bull, and he galloped madly about. And then there stood in his path another banderillero, who also planted dafts in hits neck. And tho bull was now plunging around with four darts in his neck, which was now ishining with blood. Another banderillero came, but the bull got him and tossed him, and would have killed him but for the tactics of the other banderilleros. Into tho arena came the picadores. bull- fighters on horses. .They carried garrochas. lances, and their horses woreold and worn. Each horse had a bandage over one of its eyes so that tt could be urged -towards the bull on its blind side. A picadore came towards the bull, and the bull charged him. The man prodded him with his lance, but in a second ho was overthrown and lyrh{^ beneath his horse. And the tactics ol drawing the bull off were again resorted to. Another picadore came up, and he was overthrown. 'And after that two others came, who were also vanquished by the bull No longer he Felt the pain of the darts in his neck. This new phase of the fight stimulated him. Here was something to deal with that ho could understand. No longer was he charging elusive flashes of light. And after vanquishing tho fourth horseman he stood in the arena bellowing victoriously. The vast audience were shouting their approval of him. That he understood, too. They were telling him that he Was a brave bull—a fine and splendid blull! No longer did they mock him. "Bravo, toro ! Bravo, torO 1" they shouted. I There came the matador, a brave-look« ing figure, tie was the one who would end the fight, He would give the bull the death-thrust with his sword. In his left hand he held a red cloth to attract the bull so that ho could deliver the thrust in his neck. He stood sword in hand, waiting (or

the bull to come. But the bull had learned something since he had come into the arena. The stress of tho fight had developed his mind. He knew that he must not waste his power in useless rusher. He looked warily at the man. Suddenly he bounded upon him. but the matador flung the red cloth to tlm side and the bull followed the cloth. And the matador delivered his thrust. But it did not go homo. Tho bull had been too quick. And they were again standing, facing each other. Again the bull bounded forward, and again the matador flung his red cloth to the side. But the bull had become crafty. Instead of following the cloth, he headed straight on and caught the matador. Up h<j Hung him, and he had gored him again before the other bullfighters could get up to draw him off. There came anothet matador. But the same thing happened again. The bull had learned not to follow the red cloth, but to charge straight on. This time, however, he was drawn off before, ho could gorelhe bull-fighter a second time. The excitement and tho shouting was tremendous. He was indeed a fine, brave bull! "Bravo! Bravo! Bueno toro ! Bueno toro !" He galloped around, the blood from his wounds sinning upon his neck. There came a third matador. And again the bull followed not the wave of the red cloth, but caught him and throw him up. He wa* attracted away from this matador with difficulty. But he was now beginning to tire. His mighty strength was going, and he staggered as he stood in the centre of the arena, bellowing defiance. The air was being rent with the shouts of the peo}))e. It was a hard thing that this brave bull should be doomed to die ! He had fought bo well ! He had given such sport! This bravo bull! This bueno toio ! Here was another matador. He walked up to the bull, and as the bull turned to meet him there happened a Btrango thing. The sun caught full the blood along the back of the neck of the bull, and there was shining a cross— the Sign of the Cross! For the moment the blood had formed itself to this shape as it flowed, "La Cruz! La, Cruz!" shouted the people. "La Cruz! La Cruz!" rang around. And the shout was taken up by the thousands upon thousands ot spectators. "La Cruz! La Cruz !'• The the air was shaken with the shouting. The bravo bull to whom the Sign ot the Cross had come must not be killed ! The spectators would, not have it. He must be taken forth ! He must live ! Tim brave bull to whom had come the Sign ! Iwo tame bulls wero brought into the arena. They had bells round their necks, and after a, moment the black bull,' who had fought so well, joined them. And he passed with ( them through a door out of the arena in the midst of a frenzy of acclamation.— Westminster Gazette*