48 OLD BLACK BASS 



mouse. He circled the smaller fish ; rushed 

 at him open-mouthed, only to stop short; 

 flapped him with his tail and turned him 

 over. With a final dash he struck mid-side 

 and sent him careening. Then, boredly, he 

 turned and continued along the fence. 



Old Black Bass cast an affrighted glance 

 after him, then made to return to his school, 

 only to find that in his efforts to escape he 

 had drawn very near to it. A scant yard 

 away Leaper and Gloria hugged a sharp 

 rock. They had been frightened observers 

 of the struggle. 



Knowledge that they had seen all occa- 

 sioned the most bitter moment of Old Black 

 Bass's life. A poor loser by disposition, he 

 recked not that either Gloria or Leaper 

 would have fared worse in the encounter 

 than he. To him was only the bitter realiza- 

 tion that they had witnessed his discom- 

 fiture. When Gloria advanced gracefully 

 to meet him, and even Leaper swam gener- 

 ously over, he wheeled moodily and dis- 

 appeared. 



That evening he was viciously irritable. 

 For a fancied insult he struck in succession 

 two of his companions, and with such force 



