u wanted to be took to Joshua
Hall's house in East Wellmouth."

"Joshua? Oh, no, I'm sure I never could have said Joshua. That isn't his
name."

"Then when I said 'Josh Hall' why didn't you say so?"

"Oh, good gracious! Did you say 'Josh?' Oh, dear, that explains it; I
thought you said 'George.' My friend's name is George Hall. He is an
entomologist at the New York Museum of Natural History. I--"

"Say," broke in Raish, again, "is he a tall, bald-headed man with
whiskers; red whiskers?"

"Yes--yes, he is."

"Humph! Goes gallopin' round the fields chasin' bugs and grasshoppers
like a young one?"

"Why--why, entomology is his profession, so naturally he--"

"Humph! So THAT'S the feller! Tut, tut, tut! Well, if you'd only said
you meant him 'twould have been all right. I forgot there was a Hall
livin' in the Parker place. If you'd said you meant 'Old Bughouse' I'd
have understood."

"Bughouse?"

"Oh, that's what the Wellmouth post-office gang call him. Kind of a joke
'tis. And say, this is kind of a joke, too, my luggin' you 'way over
here, ain't it, eh? Haw, haw!"

Mr. Bangs' attempt at a laugh was feeble.

"But what shall I do now?" he asked, anxiously.

"Well, that's the question, ain't it? Hum... hum... let's see. Sorry I
can't take you back to the Centre myself. Any other night I'd be glad
to, but there's a beans and brown-bread supper and sociable up to the
meetin' house this evenin' and I promised the old woman--Mrs. Pulcifer,
I mean--that I'd be on hand. I'm a little late as 'tis. Hum... let's
see... Why, I tell you. See that store over on the corner there? That's
Erastus Beebe's store and Ras is a good friend of mine. He's got an
extry horse and team and he lets 'em out sometimes. You step into the
store and ask Ras to hitch up and drive you back to the Centre. Tell
him I sent you. Say you're a friend of Raish Pulcifer's and that I said
treat you right. Don't forget: 'Raish says treat me right.' You say that
to Ras and you'll be TREATED right. Yes, SIR! If Ras ain't in the store
he'll be in his house right back of it. Might as well get out here, Mr.
Bangs, because there's a hill just ahead and I kind of like to get a
runnin' start for it. Shall I help you with the suitcase? No, well, all
right... Sorry you made the mistake, but we're all liable to make 'em
some time or another. Eh? haw, haw!"

Poor Mr. Bangs clambered from the automobile almost as wearily and
stiffly as he had climbed into it. T