Ferrero looked around the room to
make sure the others had heard. 'He asks me'--or so Cogan guessed he
said, for now he was speaking Spanish--'he asks me who is Torellas!' at
which they all craned their necks to get another peek at Cogan, and
there was a lot of sputtering talk among them. Cogan guessed that they
were saying many very funny things about the man who did not know who
Torellas was. Ferrero turned to Cogan, now in English, 'Sir, a
stranger?' And Cogan said, 'Si, senor, a stranger--from the United
States.'
"And Ferrero said, 'Ah-h--Americano--cer-tain-ly,' in the most
charitable tone. 'Senor, I speak your language a leetla bit. It is true
I lived one time in your contry--a fine contry is U-ni-ted Stat-es--two
years--yes, sir, surely. Listen, please. Torellas, sir, he ees born
here, in thees very city, a Peruvian. We are proud of him. The
prodeegious skill, the strength, the light foot, the stroke of the
espada, the sword of Torellas--a descending thunderbolt it ees--but oh,
he ees not to be descripsheeoned. Some day you shall see--you shall not
depart until you have seen. Even now he ees in Peru--yes, sir--in all
South America the supreme matador. Soon--we have the assurance of it,
senor--he shall go to Spain, to Madrid, and in the great bull-ring there
he shall kill his bulls before the king and queen, and, have no fear,
senor, Spain shall also proclaim his superiority.
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