XV
SOME MODERN GLADIATORS
"AFTER conveniencing the Englishman and his sweet lady, Tib and I mapped out a little scamper over Europe, I wagering a Broadway supper I could take him to some spot on the Continent he was not familiar with. If allowed to make the experiment, I reckon I would have lost, as I'd picked out a cosey corner in Bulgaria, which I subsequently learned he had once summered in. But when we reached Bombay we were met by further orders from the main-spring, asking that we undertake a little African tour, something with leopards in it. This was old work for Tib and me, and although all our plans for dodging the guide-book in Europe were smashed, he displayed no disappointment as he prepared for the sail across the Sea of Arabia to the hunched-up shoulder of Africa, where we shifted to a south-bound boat.
"Once arrived, Tib promptly obtained permission to net anything on four legs in the Congo State, we paying a handsome premium on all victims shipped.
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