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Rh mugger ate fish, the whole fish, and nothing but fish, anyhow. He was a strict vegetarian, in the sense that he never ate butcher's meat—so I maintain that he was a Vegetarian Crocodile and, to that extent, a conscientious, and therefore a Virtuous Crocodile. Also he was instrumental in avenging poor Lucy Gray."

"Did he think the Traveller looked fishy and eat him?" asked Boodle.

"No—he did much better than just eat him. He made him look an ass!" was the reply.

The children settled down firmly to hear the thrilling true tale of How the Vegetarian Mugger of Soni made the Travelling M. P. look an Ass.

"Well, it was like this, dear old Things," began Buster. "The headman of Soni, to whom Lucy Gray was worth such a lot, simply loathed the Travelling M.P. He hated him for trying to shoot Virtuous Lucy like you'd hate anybody who came along and shot Venus, and then wagged his tale as though he'd done something you oughter be very pleased about. But of course he dared not show the Traveller that he hated him, and that made him hate him all the