perfect. They fly very carelessly,
and often, in swooping about the sky, drop your clubs out of the bag
and smash 'em; and they all look so infernally alike that you can
never tell your own caddy from the other fellow's, which is sometimes
very confusing."

"Still," I put in, "a caddie with no pockets is a very safe person to
intrust with golf balls."

"That's very true," said Adonis, "and I suppose the cherubs make as
good caddies as we can expect. Caddies will be caddies, and that's the
end of it. You can't expect a caddie to do just right any more than
you can expect water to flow uphill. There are certain immutable laws
of the universe which are as unchangeable in Olympus as on earth or
in Hades. Ice is cold, fire is hot, water is wet, and caddies are
caddies."

[Illustration: THE OLYMPIAN LINKS]

"Very true," said I, reflecting upon the ways of "Some Caddies I have
Met." "What do you pay them a round?"

"One hundred and twenty-five dollars," said Adonis.

"Cheap enough," said I. "But tell me, Adonis," I continued, "who is
your amateur champion?"

"Jupiter, of course," said Adonis, with an impatient shake of his
head. "He's champion of everything. It's one of his prerogatives. We
don't any of us dare win a cup from him for fear he'll use his power
to destroy us. That is one of the features of this Olympian life that
is not pleasant--though, for goodness' sake, don't say I told you!
He'd send me into perpetual exile if he knew I'd spoken that way.
He's threatened to make me Governor-General of the Dipper half a
dozen times already for things I've said, and I have to be very
careful, or he'll do it."

"An unpleasant post, that?"

"Well," he said, "I don't exactly know how to compare it so that you
would understand precisely. I should say, however, it would be about
as agreeable as being United States ambassador to Borneo."

"I'll never tell, Adonis," said I, "and I'm very much obliged to you
for our pleasant chat. Your description of the links has interested me
hugely. If I could afford a game at your prices, I think I'd play."

"Oh, as for that," said Adonis, laughing, "don't let that bother you.
Whenever you want to pay a bill here all you have to do is to press
the cash button on the teleseme over there, and they'll send the money
up from the office."

"But how shall I ever repay the office?" I cried.

"Press the button to the left of it, and they'll send you up a receipt
in full," he replied.