PERSECUTED GENIUS. 235 



He never finished the word. The Professor seized 

 a rifle, and brought it to a level with the artist's paint 

 pot. "Comedown, you rascal !" he cried. "How 

 dare you deface one of nature's castles with a patent 

 name ? " Would he have fired ? I think he would. 

 But the man of genius caught his eye, and compre- 

 hending the situation, cried, w^ith face whiter than 

 the chalk before him, " 0, don't ! " 



"Add the 'odont', you villain," screamed the Pro- 

 fessor, " and I '11— I '11 fire ! " 



With our first returning wagon, the artist went 

 back to Hays, but his work, alas ! remains, and per- 

 haps — who knows ? — some future generation may yet 

 point to that wall and tell how SOZ, king of an ex- 

 tinct people, once held dominion over the beautiful 

 valley. 



