"Thanks, I'll take the chance."
"Are you sure you'll have enough command of yourself to make a speech?"
"—Certain ... I've committed to memory almost all the Encyclopedia Britannica article on lions ... I'm going to give them that...."
"Gregory! Gregory!" the crowd was calling, half in derisive jocularity, half in uneasy admiration....
The trainer shunted me into the cage, after seating his lions in a half-moon on their tubs.
"Quick! Step in! We'll be on the outside ready with hot irons in case anything goes wrong!"
I didn't know whether the trainer was jesting or serious.
"Don't think of them at all. They'll sit still ... you can turn your back to them and face the audience. It will be safe. Only don't make any unexpected, quick motions."
I was in among them. The door clanged behind me.