tes he
regarded his companion with a pair of glassy eyes under whose hypnotic
spell the Wildcat began to shrivel.

"Don' look dat way. You's got de graveyard eye. You took too much hoof
oil," he said weakly. "Lemme put 'at blanket 'roun' you." He took one
step towards the centre of the compartment, and on the instant the Mud
Turtle leaped at him.

The Wildcat had been in many a ruckus abroad and at home, but home was
never like this, and the worst he saw in France was a busy time at
Chateau Thierry. This was different trouble and worse. The Wildcat
abandoned his tactics of fair fighting. He kicked and struck wildly at
the Mud Turtle without effect. He despaired of conquering the tornado
which writhed on the floor beside him. Then he succeeded in obtaining
the blanket in which the Mud Turtle had been wrapped. He manoeuvered
for three seconds and threw a hitch around the Mud Turtle's neck and
another one around his leg. An instant later the whirlwind was trussed
up and confined with a hard square knot.

The Mud Turtle's yells gave place to a series of snarling grunts,
punctuated now and then with the yowling scream invented some years
back by the female panther. The Wildcat secured a folded towel from the
rack above his head, and in a moment the panther was muffled. The
victor stood panting for a little while, gazing at the conquest which
still writhed and rolled on the floor.

The Wildcat reached for the empty bottle and inspected five or six
drops of liquid which remained in it. "Hoof oil, you sho' is double
dynamite. Rabbi juice, I saves you. Mebbe sometime I meets up wid a
army whut starts a ruckus wid me. Den I'll 'sorb two drops an' win de
battle."

He replaced the cork in the bottle and stowed it carefully in his
pocket. "Does I need to I figger dat wid fo' drops ob dis hoof oil I
kin conquer de worl'."

He turned again to the Mud Turtle. The Pullman blanket lashed around
the Mud Turtle cramped his style to a considerable degree, but for all
of his impedimenta he was still active enough to threaten the
peace-on-earth theory. The Wildcat spoke to him, "Boy, I sequesters you
till de debbil leaves you. Mebbe by de time us gits to San F'mcisco
you'll be human again."

He stepped into the passage way, and at the end of the open section of
the car he opened the door of the linen closet. He returned to the
smoking room and dragged the Mud Turtle out of the room wherein the
ruckus had been staged. At the door of