it seemed, had caused much amusement to the islanders. The very
idea of a mere foreigner daring to match himself against the
great Pepito de Malaga!--Serve him right if he got killed!

The Doctor had borrowed a bullfighter's suit from Don Enrique;
and very gay and wonderful he looked in it, though Bumpo and I
had hard work getting the waistcoat to close in front and even
then the buttons kept bursting off it in all directions.

When we set out from the harbor to walk to the bull-ring, crowds
of small boys ran after us making fun of the Doctor's fatness,
calling out, "Juan Hagapoco, el grueso matador!" which is the
Spanish for, "John Dolittle, the fat bullfighter." As soon as we
arrived the Doctor said he would like to take a look at the bulls
before the fight began; and we were at once led to the bull pen
where, behind a high railing, six enormous black bulls were
tramping around wildly.

In a few hurried words and signs the Doctor told the bulls what
he was going to do and gave them careful instructions for their
part of the show. The poor creatures were tremendously glad when
they heard that there was a chance of bullfighting being stopped;
and they promised to do exactly as they were told.

Of course the man who took us in there didn't understand what we
were doing. He merely thought the fat Englishman was crazy when
he saw the Doctor making signs and talking in ox tongue.

From there the Doctor went to the matadors' dressing-rooms while
Bumpo and I with Polynesia made our way into the bull-ring and