one of the interesting old streets of the town,
he said he would come down and hear the matter at two o'clock, so
I could get away that afternoon.

The first and wisest impulse of the automobilist is to pay
whatever fine is imposed and go on, but frightening a lawyer is
not an every-day occurrence. I once frightened a pair of army
mules; but a lawyer,--the experience was too novel to let pass
lightly. The game promised to be worth the candle.

The scene shifts to a dingy little room in the basement of the
court-house; present, Straw Hat and Sandy Beard, with populace.

To corroborate--wise precaution on the part of a lawyer in his own
court--their story, they bring along a volunteer witness in
over-alls,--the three making a trio hard to beat.

Straw Hat takes the stand and testifies he is an unusually timid
man, and was most frightened to death.

Sandy Beard's testimony is both graphic and corroborative.

The witness in over-alls, with some embellishments of his own,
supports Sandy Beard.

The row of bricks is complete.

The court removes a prop by remarking that the ordinance speed has
not been exceeded.

The bricks totter.

Whereupon, Sandy Beard now takes the matter into his own hands,
and, ignoring the professional acquirements of his principal,
addresses the court and urges the imposition of a fine,--a fine
being the only satisfaction, and source of immediate revenue,
conceivable to Sandy Beard.

Meanwhile Straw Hat is silent; the witness in over-alls is
perturbed.

The court considers the matter, and says "the embarrassing feature
of the case is that it has yet to be shown that the defendant was
going at a rate exceeding ten miles an hour, and upon this point
the witnesses did not agree. There was evidence tending to prove
the machine was going ten miles an hour, but that would not lead
to conviction under the first clause of the ordinance; but there
is another clause which says that a machine must not be run in
such a manner as to endanger or inconvenience public travel. What
is detrimental to public travel? Does it mean to run it so as not
to frighten a man of nerve like the chief of police, or some timid
person? It is urged that not one man in a thousand would have been
frightened like Mr.-- ; but a man is bound to run his machine in
the streets so as to frighten no one, therefore the defendant is
fined five dollars and costs."

The fine is duly paid, and Messrs. Straw Hat, Sandy Beard, and