The Coolidge examiner., 1935-09-06

hcartier looking snail which | con
veyed 90 the bowl But be mus;
have been the wrong kind OF snail.
for after q few gasps he sank 90 the
bottom. turned up bis heels and
-the subsequent proceedings inter.
csted him no more"
! looked at mr. watch. was al.
ready over due at the oftice. So
ielephoned tha, was ~. and con
hned 10 the house. but would prob.
ably be down early In the afternoon.
Then | returned 10 my siudies
Going deeper into the volume be.
fore me | found that no guppy Is
really healthy and happy in bis
"home from home" unless he can en-.
Joy the umbrage of waving ferns
and mokseg The ferns and NOSES
that the remaining guppies were
playing about were n little detected.
Instead OF waving about. Hs they
were supposed to DO. they dragged
supIne on the bottom OF the aqua.
rum. from which | deduced ihst
there was probably something the
matter with them. There seemed
TO be no time 10 lose
once more I rushed into the gar
den. and finding no spade handy dug
with my fingers into the soil which
supprounded three tall sword ferns.
These I swiftly excayaied ON the
tiny water garden nearby was a
carpet Of moss. a part OF which
removed. and then. there being no
time 90 be lost. ! hurried with my
saving herbs back 10 the house.
For a time II was impossible to
see how their supposedly tonic
properties were reacilng. Then the
murk In the water gradually sub
sided. and 20 my horror I dlscov-
cred that four more gupples had
quietly breathed their last. The 9th.
ers were painting acuieiy. but when
all the silt was settled they seemed
10 feel more lively. aud began their
slow circle OF their prison house.
Then | went TO the Office. On my
return. 10 my intense relief and de-
light. all the fish | had enumerated
before my departure were present.
and they seemed TO be having a fair
ly good time.
spent the evening studying the
book, and rose refreshed and en-
couraged. After all. In these days
one only needs 20 know how TO read
the literature OF any branch OF
learning. and II is his. TO employ or
TO forget as he sees fit.
This mood did not remain with
me long. As came down the stairs
a black figure darted past me. and
when / entered the dining room !
heard a tiny sound OF gasping. At
my feet lay most OF the remaining
gupples. II took no esoterIc power
OF deduction 10 understand that
the cat from the minute the cook
had let her into the house. had been
busy dipping those gupples out OF
the aquarium. The remains OF sew
eral OF them told me what had been
her purpose. / needed no micro
scope or dark lantern TO find that
out.
Humbled and ashamed, promptly
went TO work really to learn some
thing about gupples. consulted a
young lady in a guppy store.
talked with the curator OF the aqua
rum. read all the literature that
had ever been written about them
since first the guppy mania began
10 worry the makers Of JIgsaw puz-
zles. Then I went back 10 the Cup
DIV store and bought FIVE more than
the exact number OF guppies which
had been placed In my care, allow
Ing for a few casualties, with q
stroke OF foresight.
All the plants that were required
were put into the bowl. the tempera-
ture OF the water was exactly right,
and the guppies were obviously
having the time OF their lives when
my wife arrived.
She gasped a little as she looked
at them.
Il didn't suppose you could ever
do TT she cried. Il thought they
wuld be all dead, poor things! How
in the world -.
"Oh. I have a way with fish and
things Ike that" said.
q Bell syudIeate.-wNU Service.