The record-union., 1898-08-15

swarm about him. It is then his turn
70 take passage in the bamboo spoon
Ine early days of the baby Plakad
are severe tax upon Mai Vim. With
muslln net he scours the pools for the
larvae Of mosquitoes to dole out among
ms sWarming jars; for the little war
riors must not be stinted if they are to
90 MIN credit in the jar of battle. And
as they grow in girth and fin from
caraWay to almond size it needs a
practiced eye to sift the future heroes
from the ruck of bullies and decide on
which a costly education shall be law
lshed, to the end that he may uphold
the honor of the Vim breed through
another season. No Roman gladiator
was more carefully trained for the
arena. Pluck avails nothing unless the
teeth be strong and sharp; and it is
therefore upon the teeth of his young
hsh that Mai Yim's chief care is spent.
Every few days a cloud of fine, sharp
sand is discharged into the water, and
the Plakad, which from infancy has ac
quired habit of grinding his teeth,
puts fine edge upon his weapons
automatically as he swims lazily about
his jar. When he has reached his full
lighting weight his natural pugnacity
and his self-confidence are fostered by
series of victories over a succession
Of immature Plakad fish with fight
enough to goad him to fury, and not
enough gristle in their fins to spoil his
grinders. This part of his training
costs the lives of ten or twelve young
sters, which might find some consola
ton for their suffering if they knew
that they were sacrificed for the honor
Of their breed Then the health of
the champion in training is the subject
of most tender solicitude. An over
generous fare of mosquitoes, without
the exercise Of capturing them, is apt
to make him bilious; but at the earliest
symptoms of this disorder a brown
| finger, bedaubed with a potent laxa-
| tive, is intruded into the jar. His
nerves are by this time so tense that
he would resent such an insult from
| a creature four times his size; and he
dashes open-mouthed at the finger and
! expels it valiantly from his domain.
| The medicine that clogs his jaw is the
| spoil Of war, and he gulps it down as
| he would the fin or the eye of a per-
sonal enemy.
At this stage the Plakad of a noted
4
Mai Vim knows better than to sell this
| creation of his, and so put into rival
hands a champion dangerous as any
of his own. The fruit of his patient in
dustry is to be garnered in nobler fash
ion; for Mai KEN has sent him a chal-
lenge, and the battle is to be fought
a week hence in the little Proprietary
Club near the old tramway stables Maj
Walab, the proprietor, himself a fancier
of no mean repute, has set his house
in order, and. that the attendance of
sporting men may not depend upon a
single encounter, has issued challenges
on his own account. The clubhouse is
| a roof without walls, and in the earthen
floor are planted four thick pedestals
TWO feet high, each supporting a quad
| rilateral glass jar, narrowing at the
foot so as to allow no space for a beat
en- fish to Sulk in. Mai KEN is the first
TO arrive. Clad in a clean cotton jack
ct and new parnung, and carrying his
1sh in a little jar enveloped in a cloth
he heads body of supporters prepared
to back his champion for all, or more
than all, they are worth. But the mum.
ber of Mai Yim's following shows which
breed IS the favOrite. Until this fight
be decided it is useless to start on the
other pedestals; for, besides the two
owners and a dozen of their followers
who squat around the jar with thei,
noses glued to it's transparent sides
there are four rows of bystanders bet.
ting recklessly The stakes and the
bets being duly recorded, and Mai Wa
lab having made a mental calculation
Of his percentage as proprietor of the
club. Mai KEN tits his fish into the jar
With firt Of his potent tail, he ex
plores the larger limits of his new quar-.
ters, and then eyes the human faces
through the glass with contemptuous
unconcern. He is a portly little greer
fish, a thought too thick in the barre
for dexterous evolution, but armed Will
an array of teeth that would put a bull
terrier to shame. The flop of Mai Vim!
fish is very disturbing to his nerves
and for moment the two fly abou-
the bowl concealed from each other by
n cloud of bubbles If fish had tn,
sense of hearing more keenly developed
they would be still more perturbed By
the shouts of their hackers, incitins
them to the fray. Mai Yims warrior
is dressed in red; lean, wiry little fish
with mighty spread of fin upon hi:
back and vast undulating keel alons
his belly. The water clears. and tn,
gladiators are suddenly tooth to tootf
in the middle. Their whole demeano
changes in a flash, and they sheer off
putting out their gills, and erectins
every fin bone with wrath. Then tn,
red fish shoots up alongside his big an
tagonist and asks him what the devi
| he means. The green fish Is grossly
affronted, but will have no vulgar quar-
rel with an ill-bred bully in a publi,
place. But he cannot shake the ruffiar
off; and, as they circle the bowl sid,
and throws him out of his stroke. I
is a terrible provocation, but his dignit,
will not permit him to resent it, and h,
simply quickens his pace. The red fsl
has the inside of the turn, and quicken
too, till he leads by half a head. Thi
big green coward, he thinks, shall b.
made to fight; so he deliberately foul
him, znd drives him against the wall o
the bowl. Ten tikals on the red fishl'
shrek Mai Yim's supporters. But tn
fat fellow is reused at last, and make
a side snap at his eneny's eye, and an
! other at his open gill; fixing his teetl
in the edge Of the gillshield. There /
a struggle, and, as the red fish shake
himself free, two silver scales settl
gently to- the bottom.
They are now at it hammer and tongs
flying round the bowl fin to fin, an,
swapping fiercely at each others eyes
Then the red fish drops an inch behind
: and makes grab at his opponents fin
, r., a III.