"But I don't like to look at Gaugin," I remonstrated.

Whinney foolishly tried to compete with Swank by means of his
camera--foolishly, I say, though the result was one of the finest
spectacles I have ever witnessed.

For days Whinney had been stalking Swank, photographing everything he
painted. In a darkroom of closely woven _panjandrus_ leaves the
films were developed and a proof rushed off to Baahaabaa long before
the artist had finished his picture.

This naturally irritated Swank and he finally challenged the scientist
to mortal combat, an artistic duel, camera against brush, lens against
eye.

When the details were explained to Baahaabaa, he was in a frenzy of
excitement. As judge, his decision was to be final, which should have
warned Whinney, who, as the challenged party, had the right to select
the subject. His choice was distinctly artful.

"I think I've got him!" he confided. "We're to do the 'lagoon at dawn.'
You know what that means? Everything's gray and I can beat him a mile
on gray; secondly, there won't be a gang of people around, and, thirdly,
Swank simply loathes getting up early. They're all alike, these artists;
any effort before noon is torture!"

"All right," said Swank, when I explained the conditions, "I won't go
to bed at all."

[Illustration: The Lagoon at Dawn (Whinney's Version)]