thes-pin."

But at last he found a brindled animal in the corner which
allowed him to sit down and begin. He was getting on well when,
without the least warning, the cow kicked, and sent the pail
spinning across the yard, while Jack went over backwards, and his
new hat fell off. There was one calf in the yard which had been
complaining ever since we came, because it had not yet had its
supper. The pail stopped rolling right side up, and this calf ran
over and put his head in it, thinking that his food had come at
last. Jack picked himself up and ran to rescue the pail. The calf
raised his head suddenly, the pail caught on one of his little
horns, and he started off around the yard, unable to see, and
jumping wildly over imaginary objects. Jack followed. A cow,
which was perhaps the mother of the calf, started after Jack. The
family dog, hearing the commotion, came running down from the
house and began to pursue the cow. This wild procession went
around the yard several times, till at last the pail came off the
calf's head, and Jack secured it. Then he picked up his hat, the
brim of which another calf had been chewing, rinsed out the pail
at the pump, and tried another cow.

This time he selected the worst-looking one of the lot, but
to the surprise of all of us she stood perfectly still, only
switching him a few times with her tail. As soon as he got a
couple of quarts of milk he stopped and came out of the yard.
Ollie and I had, of course, been laughing at him a good deal, but
Jack paid no attention to it. As we walked towards the house he
said:

"Well, there's one consolation: after all of that work and
trouble, the woman can't put on the face to charge us for the
milk." A moment later he said to her: "I've got about two quarts;
how much is it?"

"Ten cents," answered the woman. "Didn't them cows seem to
take kindly to you?"

"Well, they didn't exactly crowd around me and moo with
delight," replied Jack, as he handed over a dime with rather bad
grace.

That evening a neighbor called on us as we sat about our
camp-fire, and we told him the experience with the cows.

[Illustration: Milking the Heifer that Wore a Sleigh-Robe]

"Puts me in mind of the time a fellow had over at the Santee
Agency a year or so ago," said our visitor. "There's a man there
named Hawkins that's got a tame buffalo cow. Of course you might
as well try to milk an earthquake as a buffalo. Well, one day a
man came alon