NEIGHBORHOOD NUISANCE 219 



to the house, laughing over the ridiculously dec- 

 orated animal. 



After milking the Jersey, I led her out and 

 tethered her in the sun in full view of old Cy- 

 rus's premises, and finished my breakfast. On 

 my return to lunch I was informed by my wife 

 that the old man had been looking at the cow 

 from over his fence, in company with several men, 

 to whom he was talking with excited gestures. 



This amused me so much that I laughed 

 loudly. But I did not for a moment anticipate 

 the far-reaching results of my joke. I only 

 thought it an excellent joke on the old man, as 

 it had been on my wife and my daughter and 

 Dick. 



That night I was to give a lecture in a neigh- 

 boring town, and departed on the afternoon train, 

 intending to return in the morning. I had an ex- 

 cellent audience, an enthusiastic reception, and 

 a very flattering introduction. Just as I had made 

 my bow and was about to begin, a man whom 

 I knew to be a deputy sheriff stepped on the 

 platform, placed his hand on my shoulder, and 

 informed me that I was under arrest. 



I am sure I was never so astonished in my 

 life. If the audience had suddenly risen in the 

 air like the card people in "Alice in Wonder- 

 land," I should not have been more surprised; 

 nor do I believe the audience would have been, 



