That's what you call progress!
"That night, in the circus, before we went on, Perez and I listened to
the comments of the public. 'What? Are these Spaniards going to
perform at such an altitude?' the people were asking each other.
'They'll kill themselves.' And we listened calmly, all the time
smiling.
"We were about to enter the ring, when along comes a fellow with
sailor's chinwhiskers wearing a flat-brimmed high hat and a carrick,
and in a twanging voice he tells us that we're in danger of having a
terrible accident performing 'way up there, and that, if we wish, we
can take out life insurance. All we'd have to do is to sign a few
papers that he had in his hand. Lord! I nearly died. I felt like
choking the fellow.
"Trembling and screwing up our courage, Perez and I entered the ring.
We had to put on a little rouge. We wore a blue costume decorated with
silver stars,--a reference to the United States flag; we saluted and
then, up the rope.
"At first I thought that I was going to slip; my head was going
'round, my ears were humming; but with the first applause I forgot
everything, and Perez and I performed the most difficult feats with
most admirable precision. The public applauded wildly. What days those
were!"
And the old gymnast smiled; then he made a bitter grimace; his eyes
grew moist; he blinked so as to dry a tear that at last escaped and
coursed down his earth-coloured cheek.
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