They passed around to another entrance, where the crowd was dressed better and was not fighting so fiercely to get in, although there was considerable crowding.
Civil guards, with revolvers in their belts, were doing their best to maintain order. Soldiers were coming up in bodies, escorted by bands of music. Water venders and orange sellers filled the air with their cries. Ticket speculators were rushing here and there through the crowd, called by hundreds of voices and waving bunches of tickets, clasped between their fingers, over their heads. The grandees of Spain, the aristocrats, ministers, generals, all that was beautiful, splendid and powerful in the great city, could be seen arriving. The uproar was deafening.
“Gol dern my hide ef I ever see anything like this air!” gasped Ephraim. “It beats all natur, by gum!”
“It does take the biscuit,” admitted Frank. “I must confess it lays over the rush for a football game in the United States.”
“It is terrible!” gasped the professor, who was rather pale.
At length, they succeeded in entering the circus. And then they paused in profound amazement.
The interior of the circus was immense. As they had noticed it from the outside, it had not seemed so large, as it was a round building, painted yellow, very low, and having no windows. Once inside, it was seen that it could hold twenty thousand spectators without encroachment on the great space set aside for the performances.
The arena was large and circular. It was large enough for ten ordinary circuses such as are seen in the United States and called immense.
Around the ring was a solid barrier, almost as high as a man’s shoulders. On the inside was a small elevation, two feet from the ground, to enable the toreadors to easily vault over in running to escape from the bull.
The first barrier was followed by still another, which was higher yet, as the bull sometimes leaped the first. Between the two barriers there was a walk, where the toreadors promenaded before the fight, so that they might be seen by all the people. And the personages of note, who were allowed to break over the rules, walked about within the barriers also.