r."

"What's that?" asked Breed, suspiciously. "And what is the department,
anyway?"

"The museum of natural history in the fish-and-game rooms. We're going
to make it complete--mounted specimens of all our animals. You'll be
curator--you see, you will get a title that sounds well!"

"I'm of a restless and inquiring disposition, and my special forty is
politics," stated Breed, sulking. "I don't believe I'm going to relish
being ringmaster of a lot of stuffed animals, no matter what kind of a
title I get. How much pay goes with the job?"

"Fifteen hundred," said the governor.

"Well," sighed Breed, "it will give me a chance to be around the State
House during the session, and I'll take it. Then if I don't like it I
can resign after the legislature adjourns."

The Big Ones understood his frame of mind and overlooked his
ingratitude.

"And so I'll bid you good day, gents," he said, and straddled out with
his hands under his coat-tails.

"So we've got _him_ side-tracked and out of mischief," averred the
governor. "That takes care of all of 'em, and I'm relieved. It isn't
stylish any more to come to town with a lot of old hounds trotting under
the tail of the political cart."

But before the end of that week the governor was obliged to call Uncle
Dan to a private conference in the Executive Chamber.

"You must remember that you're a state officer," warned his Excellency.
"You're a part of the administration. But you are out talking politics
all the time. I want you to stay in your department. Just remember that
you're curator of our museum."

"I don't like that blamed job," complained Breed. "I don't care what my
title is, it only means that I have to dust off that old stuffed loon,
keep moths out of that loosivee, and fleas or some kind of insecks off'n
that bull moose. It ain't no job for a politician. And there's a steady
stream through there asking me all kinds of questions about animals. I
don't know nothing about animals. I don't know whether a live moose eats
hay or chopped liver. Those questions keep me all hestered up. It puts
me in a wrong position before the public. I can't tell 'em which or
what, and they think I'm losing my mind."

"Post up! It will keep you busy. Get books out of the library and read.
Inform yourself and have a story for the folks!"

A few days later the chairman of the state committee had an indignant
report to make to the governor regarding Uncle Dan's natural-history
activit