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THE BULLFIGHT 277
give him a new sword; again bull and bullfighter stand
posed, their weapons ready to strike.
This time it is the espada who makes the first thrust.
His motion is as short and fast as a stroke of lightning!
In fact, you cannot tell that he has moved at all. He
stands three yards away from the beast, right opposite
him; but his blade sits well planted between the ani-
mal’s shoulders. Only the hilt may be seen. He is a
light agile little page who has just paid his respects to
an obese, well-padded Queen and now waits respect-
fully, his eyes turned towards her. The bull also re-
gards him, long and intently, as if transmitting a last
sigh in the direction of his youthful outlines, in order
to impress them unforgettably on his memory. For a
few breathless seconds the bull stands thus, then falls
to the ground, dead, coloring the sand all around him.
And the young espada skips out gayly with but little
applause, not forgetting to collect on his journey the
cigars that have descended to the arena from every di-
rection.
A new bull comes in, and while the bull dutifully per-
forms his first two acts, we shall pay a little attention
to the young page.
Only eighteen years of age, he is already the hero
of the province. His father was a butcher; the boy
was studying theology when suddenly two years ago
he felt the irresistible call of the vocation. The nation
has given him a serious handicap. It has called him
the Tiny Little Lizard; and the Little Lizard, his
uncle, is one of the most famous bullfighters of the
present day. The Lizard himself was one of the
greatest of all, crowned among the immortals like
Frascuelo and Pepe Illo.
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