Evening star., 1909-08-21

he felt such dislike such hatred for a
foe He circled around the pair and jabbed
the big one ruthlessly with the point IF
his sword just enough to prick him and
incite i'll feeling Then he gave a great
sweep. swung around in great circle
and lay waiting. head on. for the fray
which the stranger now saw was forth
coming. The big fellow was annoyed at
and lost no time in preliminaries. He
was fighter. a savage fighter, and he
neither asked nor sought for a reason
for the affair 1t was sufficient for him
that he had been molested Willie IN
peaceful pursuit of happiness with ms
female companion. and the entire fierce
ness of his disposition now dared up st
the stranger who seemed to dispute his
right to live.
For an instant the monsters lay fac
ing each other upon the calm sea Then,
the fighters plunged forward full speed.
their swords aimed at each other and
every muscle and tendon strained to the
utmost to drive them ahead In the
mighty charge
The two swordsmen, or rather sword
fish. met point to point. but such was the
of fhoiy rha
rushing past each other. their weapons
striking each other fairly enough upon
their heads. the long tapering noses
turning the blows and causing the points
to glance off. But the sharp edges cut
deeply and each bore a nasty wound
Turning at once under full headway
they came again at each other and again
their pointed heads made the strokes
slide into ragged cuts. Then. before
they could gather way enough to get
clear. they jabbed and struck at close
amazing manner The sea was foaming
circle about them. dyed with their blood.
the whteness of the suds taking on that
deep purpling look which tells of the
quantity of red mixed with it. Their
struggle was SO rapid. SO vigorous and SO
sustained that the eye could not follow
their movements. Only a whirling of
broken water with here and there 4
flash of their bodies showing through,
told of the battle taking place in the sea.
Now and then sword rose in the air
Shoal flung himself clear of the sea to
fall sword downward toward the back of
his enemy, but the stranger was too quick
and sprang from under just in time to
prevent being transfxed. The female lay
upon the sea watching the outcome of the
affair and appeared little concerned IS
to which one was vanauished. To the
victor she belonged. and the survival Of
the fittest seemed to satisfy her choice
in natural selection. With him she would
go. go to the farthest point on the north
ern coast. and she waited. gazing out IF
her great eyes to see the subsistence of
the conflict. which meant the death of
the weaker or less agile of the two.
After a furious fight lasting a quarter
of hour the combatants withdrew to
points about fifty fathoms distant upon
the surface The knight was sore wound
ed for he had received cash five
inches deep upon his belly. lost the sight
of one eye and had his dorsal fin split in
two. His antagonist had received
frightful stab through the body. into
which the water ebbed and flowed
at each movement. leaving little
trckle of smoky stain in the sea like the
weak but his courage was high. and he
waited but short time before renewing
the contest. 1t was for him to conquer
before another round. for he would not
be able to stand the struggle or sustain
the tremendous exertion as his Iess-in-
jured foe. The knight of the Shoal in
stinctively knew this and waited waited
as long as possible. for the wounds Re
had already inflicted to do their work.
Then when lie saw his adversary advanc-
ing for the last desperate encounter he
gathered himself for a mighty charge.
With rush which lacked not bit of
the velocity of the first encounter they
came together. Their swords struck and
study carefully the effect before he
finally decides on it.
AS yet the pavement of the sanctuary
and the choir is still mass of pipes and
builders materials. but already {. few de-
tails strike the visitor by their beauty.
In inches on either side of the choir open
spiral staircases leading up 10 the organ
Satire of oliver Wendell Holmes.
From the Atlantic Monthly.
The peculiarites which DIR. Holmes
found most amusing were those which
he himself shared. There Is indeed All