THIS BADMINTON.

HAT'S this thing called Badminton?" | asked my friend Jane.

"One sees su much about it, what is it?" Jane admitted
her ignorance by reaching for a dictionary. Fumbling among the B's,
she finally arrested a page with triumphant thumb and read: "Bad’minton
—1bad’min-ton, 2bad’min-ton—noun—(B or b)—A game played with
shuttlecocks over a narrow net.".. "Oh,'' | answered, "but what's a shuttle-
cock?" Once more Jane referred to the dictionary... "Shuttlecock—a
round piece of cork with a crown of feathers, used in the game of battle-
dore and shuttlecock."

"I suppose that's the correct definition, but I'm certainly not enlight-
ened."

"Sounds more like another name for cock-fighting," sniffed Jane.

Now, | abhor people who sniff, especially when they don't know anything
about a thing. Suddenly | had an idea, so, glaring at poor Jane, | said
in an imperative voice: "We will go and find out. Come!"

After informing our landlady that we were going out to see badminton,
she gazed at us stupidly, and then said: 'Landsakes, that's the fifth one
you've had on the string this week. Must be a dook—with that name."
We were as much in the dark as she, but we were determined to find out
definitely about this duke or whatever it was... On making enquiries we
were directed to a large, well-lighted building, which emitted loud shrieks
and a peculiar "tck" sound.

"| told you it was a cock-fight,"" triumphed Jane, ''l can hear the hens
clucking."’ | was beginning to know doubts myself, but still intent on
having first-hand information, | drew Jane along after me. Gingerly
opening a door we peered in—I do not know what | had expected to
see, but it certainly was not a cock-fight we witnessed. Instead, a bril-
liantly lighted hall, and several young people clothed in white leaping
about hitting something back and forth across a net. Each time this
something was hit it gave forth Jane's "'clucking" sound. And how in-
tensely those people seemed to enjoy it—even the rushing around!

ELSES
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