The Spaniard and the Crowd

           CrowdsofpeoplecamedownthehillsidefromtheirsmallhousesabovetheMoroccantown.Theywereallgoingtowardthearena,hopingtoputalittleexcitementintotheirdifficultlives.

           Maximus’sarm,nowwithoutthelettersSPQR,wascoveredwithanarmguard.Hehadearnedtheextraprotectionofarmorbecauseofhisbravefighting.Hebentandpickedupsomedirtfromtheground,watcheditdisappearthroughhisfingers,andwalkedquicklytowardtheentrancetothearena.Proximowalkedwithhim.

           "Youjustkill,kill,kill!"ProximoshoutedatMaximus."Youmakeitlooktooeasy.Thecrowdwantsahero,notjustsomeonecuttingupmeat.Wewantthemtokeepcomingback.Don’tkillsoquickly-takemoretime!"Thecheersofthecrowdgrewlouderastheygotclosertothearena."Givethemanadventuretoremember!"Proximoshoutedabovethenoise."Falltooneknee-they’llthinkyou’refinished.Thenforceyourselftoyourfeet-ourhero!"HewasrushingalongtokeepupwithMaximus."Remember,you’reanentertainer!"

           WithoutawordtoProximo,Maximuswalkedoutintothearena.Therewasacheerimmediately.Hewasaknownfighternow,andtheMoroccansknewtheyweregoingtoseesomerealaction.

           Outinthebrightsunlight,sixfighterswaited.Maximuslookedatthemanddecidedimmediatelyonhismethodofattack.Hechosethestrongestandmostconfidentmanfirst.Whenthatmanwentdown,theotherswouldknowtheyhadnochance.Hecutthemdown,onebyone,hisswordstrikingthroughtheirbodieswithgreatspeed.