Sani's thoughts swung to the present when the whistle blew. The moment had come. Sani led Aral to he edge of the arena towards the sunrise where Jali had tethered Aral earlier. Aral had to be pulled but nevertheless he moved along obedient Sani was happy to see that Aral seemed quite at home in the arena. He was not afraid at all of the cheering specta tors. In fact, Aral was calm except, that as expected, he started to snort and twist and to paw the ground at the sight of his opponent. Sani patted Aral's back. Aral moved round restlessly, his eyes bright with eagerness. Sani made ready to remove the horn caps as soon as the referee gave the starting signal. The seconds ticked away most slowly. Time was really dragging its feet. Suddenly, the signal came. Sani let go of