"Thank you," said Glawen. From the corner of his eye he felt Fader's observation fixed upon him. He told the old man: "At Yipton nothing is free. I will pay you this coin for the carving. Is that agreeable?"

"Yes, just as you like."

Glawen paid over the coin and took the wooden half-fish. He noticed that Fader had turned away.

The Laddakees' tour guide called out: "Time for the spectacle! On your feet, old man! You must pump and blow hard if you wish to enjoy the evening supper."

Fader, with Kirdy, Uther, Shugart and Glawen, waited in the gallery. The others entered a room where a peculiar contrivance had been arranged: a pair of glass cylinders three feet in diameter and seven feet tall stood side by side, joined to each other by pipes. Into each of the cylinders an ancient gladiator was lowered, until he stood on the bottom; then lids were clamped over the top.

Into the bottom of each cylinder water began to gush, rising ever higher. By working a lever arm, each old man could pump water from his own cylinder into that of his adversary. At first both men seemed apathetic, but as the water rose up around their waists, each essayed a few strokes of the pump and at last both began to pump in earnest. The old gladiator in one tube displayed more desperation and more stamina; at last he succeeded in pumping water over the head of the old man who had carved the fish, who thereupon ceased his exertions, clawed and kicked at the glass for a moment or two, then drowned, and the spectacle came to an end.

The Bold Lions who had been on hand returned to the gallery.

Kirdy said: "Well?"

Jardine spoke in a hollow voice: "If that is catharsis, I have had enough."

Fader said briskly: "Come, now; time is short. To the bazaar. Prices, incidentally, are fixed; do not haggle.

Please stay together; it is easy to become lost."

By way of trestles, galleries, passages and bridges, past many a;j glimpse of men at work: scraping sea grass, shelling and pounding! molluscs, processing bamboo, weaving mats and panels of fronds, the| Bold Lions arrived at the bazaar: a low-ceilinged area of innumerable | small booths, where Yips of both genders and all ages produced and J sold articles of wood, metal, shell, glass, earthenware and knotted | cord. Other booths displayed rugs, fabrics, dolls, grotesques of a ;

hundred variants. | The Bold Lions lacked interest in making purchases. Sensing their mood, Fader said: "We will now visit the Hall of Music, where you ^ are at liberty to bestow gifts as you so wish, at no extra charge." , In the Hall of Music elderly men and women sitting in booths played ;

instruments and sang melancholy songs, each with a small bamboo pot in front of him, containing coins presumably contributed by ;

persons who had been affected by their music. Shugart Veder changed ;

a sol into small coins, which he distributed into each pot without | regard for the excellence of the music. Kirdy asked one of the ;

musicians: "How do you spend all the money you collect?" | "There's not much to spend. Tax takes more than half; the rest | goes for gruel. I haven't known the taste of fish in five years." "Pity." j "Yes. They'll have me in the Gladiators' Gallery before long. That's :

when the music stops."

"Come along," said Fader.

"Time is up, unless you care for overtime charges."

"Not at all likely."

Once back at the hotel, Fader said: "Now, in the matter of my gratuity, ten percent is considered paltry and mean."

Shugart said: "What is nothing at all considered, after you refused to take us to the rotunda and threw me in the canal?"

"Nothing at all is considered careless, and it involves wondering what you are eating when you take your meals."

"You make a persuasive point. Very well. You shall have ten percent and think of us however you like. To be candid, I am as unconcerned with your good opinion as you are with mine."

Fader could not be bothered with a comment. The gratuity was paid over; Fader accepted it with a cool nod.

"You are going to Pussycat Palace?"

"Yes; later this evening."

"You will need a guide."

"Why? The way is clearly marked."

"Let me warn you; footpads are rife! They spring at you from side corridors; you are hurled to the ground, and an instant later your money is gone. You are given a kick or two in the face for good measure, and they are gone, all inside half a minute. But they dare not attack if you are protected by a guide. My charges are nominal, and you will go to Pussycat Palace in dignity and assurance."

"What, then, are the charges?"

"Nine persons: nine sols."

"I will consult with my fellows at dinner."

As Syrene sank low, the Bold Lions, who had gathered on the terrace, settled at a table overlooking the harbor, directly above the Faraz, where it lay alongside the dock.

For a period the Bold Lions refreshed themselves with rum punches and ling-lang toddies, and congratulated themselves upon the romantic ambience of the situation.

"Naturally, we exclude the Big Chife when we discuss the local delectations," said Dauncy Diffin whimsically.

Kiper spoke bravely: "The Big Chife, bah! I've almost forgotten it. What's a bit of sunk, after all?"

"Speak for yourself," said Uther.

"I am not so tolerant."

Kiper told him: "It's all in your head! A person must have a brain well-stocked with all manner of vileness before he can identify a bad smell. My mind is noble and pure; hence I am unaffected."

"We can learn much from Kiper," said Shugart.

"When I fell in that filthy canal, he advised me to take a dispassionate view of the situation, and enjoy it along with everyone else."

Jardine grinned.

"As I recall, this was also Fader's opinion."

"I'm lucky he did not charge me for a bath," growled Shugart.

"He thought of everything else, and now he wants another nine sols for taking us to Pussycat Palace. He claims it's the only way to avoid attack by footpads, presumably led by himself."

Uther, ordinarily casual, now became incensed.

"That is extortion, plain and simple! I'm of a mind to report him to the Oomps!"

Kiper, grinning like a fox, pointed.