their monotonous foods they find a constant variety of pleasure; in
their simple games of muscle-tapping, throwing of carved ivories, and
fighting of dogs they experience the exultant and exuberant fun of our
schoolboys. Constant experience with jeopardous tasks has eliminated
the human fear of danger, and even death, in its most tragic shapes, by
long association has lost its terrors. When the long night falls, and
an ominous depression makes heavy the heart of the lover or fills with
anxiety the heart of the father, they turn, with a delightful
spontaneity, to play.

Now great interest was aroused by the news that Papik was to fight his
king dog with the magnificent brute owned by Attalaq. Both Papik and
Attalaq were paying evident attentions to Ahningnetty, the chubby and
ever smiling maiden, who, while she showed a certain leaning toward
Papik, had misgivings as to his eligibility as a husband because of his
long fingers.

Born of noted fighters, a dog attains the position of "king" or chief
dog of a team by whipping all the dogs in the team of his particular
master. When he has asserted his supremacy over the dogs of his own
team, he is successively set before the rulers of other teams. And by
a process of elimination of those which lose, the two final victors in
a village are finally aligned against one another.

In the series of fights held between the king dogs of the various
teams, both Papik's and Attalaq's had come off with final honors. The
immediate contest between the two most distinguished canines in the
village was an event of exciting importance, and to the women there was
a romantic zest in it, for all believed that victory would determine
Ahningnetty's favor.