; through and through the ranks
of the regiments it charged furiously backward and forward.

Watching it fascinated, Owen noted that it was a point of honour for
no man to stir before its rush; there they stood, and if the bull gored
them, there they fell. At length, exhausted and terrified, the brute
headed back straight up the lane where the main body of the youths were
waiting for it. Now it was among them, and, reckless of wounds or death,
they swarmed about it like bees, seizing it by legs, nose, horns and
tail, till with desperate efforts they dragged it to the ground and beat
the life out of it with their sticks. This done, they formed up before
the king and saluted him.

"How many are killed?" he asked.

"Eight in all," was the answer, "and fifteen gored."

"A good bull," he said with a smile; "that of last year killed but five.
Well, the lads fought him bravely. Let the dead be buried, the hurt
tended, or, if their harms are hopeless, slain, and to the rest give a
double ration of beer. Ho, now, fall back, men, and make a space for the
Bees and the Wasps to fight in."

Some orders were given and a great ring was formed, leaving an arena
clear that may have measured a hundred and fifty yards in diameter. Then
suddenly, from opposite sides, the two regiments, known as the Bees
and the Wasps respectively, rushed upon each other, uttering their
war-cries.

"I put ten head of cattle on the Bees; who wagers on the Wasps?" cried
the king.

"I, Lord," answered the Prince Hafela, stepping forward.

"You, Prince!" said the king with a quick frown. "Well, you are right to
back them, they are your own regiment. Ah! they are at it."

By this time the scene was that of a hell broken loose upon the earth.
The two regiments, numbering some 5000 men in all, had come together,
and the roar of their meeting shields was like the roar of thunder. They
were armed with kerries only, and not with spears, for the fight was
supposed to be a mimic one; but these weapons they used with such effect
that soon hundreds of them were down dead or with shattered skulls and
bruised limbs. Fiercely they fought, while the whole army watched, for
their rivalry was keen and for many months they had known that they were
to be pitted one against the other on this day. Fiercely they fought,
while the captains cried their orders, and the dust rose up in clouds
as they swung to and fro, breast thrusting against breast. At length the
end came;