The loathsome vultures swooped among The shadows hungrily, As though awaiting for the dung That swayed there horribly. Then as a distant church bell rung Slowly, peacefully, Out through the night a mad cry flung Red echoes suddenly. A mad cry, then the silence clung O'er sky and shore and sea; He dead below, and she that hung High on the gallows' tree. Chapter XXXVIII "Oh, listen to the mocking bird!" cried the crustacean. "Ha, ha!" laughed the crinoid, "that is only a mock turtle." "Oh H_{2}O!" snorted the good red herring, "you talk like a fish out of water." "She has a necklace of shark's teeth," whispered the jealous water baby. "And a pearl without a price," piped the sea lady. "But why do mermaids have fish tales to tell?" demanded Gud. "I don't know," answered the deep sea diver, who was looking for the treasure. "But they call 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' prophetic fiction, but you can't shoot a rifle under water without blowing your head off." Just then the Underdog barked at the copycat and Gud woke up and realized that all this marine stuff was just the subconscious yearning of a writer born in the short grass country to imitate Conrad, and that he, Gud, was still lying in the pasture, and that the snow had changed to rain and his feet were wet. Chapter XXXIX And old Giasticuticus Stood on a mountain side, His right legs shorter than his left, And scratched his tough, thick hide. "I live upon a bias, true, With legs I'd like to hide, But that arose from dwelling here Upon the mountain side." Chapter XL And Gud came upon a paradise, its streets of hammered gold. Iridescent fountains played beneath o'er-hanging palms, and gentle breezes, wafting through the glistening latticery of ornate edifice, made music soft and low that lulled of peace and quiet and eternal joy. Here was a paradise prepared for most exacting saints. Gud strolled its million leagues about and wondered why there was no sign of occupants. These heavenly mansions were not newly built but rather spoke of use. While all the major structures were intact, the minor furnishings gave evidence of chaos and disorder. This paradise, it seemed to Gud, had once o'erflown with life, but now was empty and abandoned. All this puzzled Gud and worried him. He was familiar with the ruins of many a paradise that had been smashed and broken by rebellion or by war, but his mind could find no reason why a heaven so fine as this should be deserted, and yet remain in such fair state of preservation.