armor. This time there were no caterwaulings or groans.
Even the upper gallery had recognized Almo or been told
who he was, even the populace had remembered or had
been informed of the relation between Almo and Brinnaria.
Everybody had recalled or been reminded of her rescue
of the retiarius.

The audience collectively comprehended that Aurelius meant
Almo to be defeated and put at an adversary's mercy before
Brinnaria, that he was testing her.

The habitual hubbub, hum, and buzz of undertones was
checked to a very unusual degree, the Amphitheatre became
almost still.

But when Almo fairly duplicated his first bout and neatly,
almost without effort, cut his victim's throat, the audience
cheered him vociferously.

Louder, if possible did they acclaim his calm and adequate
strategy against his eighth antagonist.

A ninth and a tenth were promptly put beyond power to
hurt him by wounds ingeniously disabling, but far from deadly.

The eleventh bout was more tedious than the sixth.

Almo divined some greater strength or skill in this
adversary and played him warily. When the audience
was bored to the point of being almost ready to call