's wait at the station, and thus to spread the fame of his
railroad eating-house. But misfortune came, through the applause of
the passengers. Several young men of the town embraced the opportunity
to show off. One of these, a brawny young six-foot Irishman named Jim,
used to punch old Thumper pretty roughly, when he had a large audience.
Jim was neither a bad-hearted nor cruel fellow; he simply had a body
too large for his disposition. In the phrase of the West, he was
"staggering with strength," and in Thumper he found a chance to work
off his superfluous nervous energy--also to occupy the centre of our
local stage for the brief time of train-stop. If it is love that makes
the world go round, certainly vanity first put it into motion. "All is
vanity," said the Preacher. From the devoted astronomer's austere
lifework to the twinkle of a fairy's glittering tinsel; from the
glories of the first man up the battle-swept hill to the infamous
assassin, all is vanity. Such a universal attribute must necessarily
be good, except in abnormal growth. Jim showed his overdevelopment of
the faculty, while the abused Thumper modestly sat still and grew. And
still he grew, and still he grew--with a quiet energy that made the
fact that he had passed from a large bear to a very large bear go by
unnoticed.

Several times, when Jim was showing more skill than Thumper, the memory
of a mauled cat came to my mind. The ursine look shot at Jim now and
then recalled it. I even went to the length of remonstrating, but it
was without effect. It was on a Sunday morning that Nemesis attended
to Jim's case. Circumstances were propitious. An excursion train,
crowded with passengers, pulled up at the station. Jim had a new suit
of black broadcloth, due to a temporary aberration of our local Solomon
who ran the clothing store. Because of this victory, Jim was in an
extraordinarily expansive mood as he swaggered down the platform.

"I guess I'll try a fall out of the bear," he announced to his
companions, in a tone that informed all of his intention. Gaily he
swung his long legs over the fence and advanced upon Thumper, who, by a
strange coincidence, was poised on the end of his spine, with his feet
in the air and his tongue lolling humorously out of his mouth, as when
I first made his acquaintance. The bear noted the approach from the
corner of his eye, stretched out his paws, examined them critically,
seemed satisfied with the insp