r, there was another man that had a kind of fancy for Bella
Dougherty, although in my opinion he isn't fit to wipe her feet on, and
his name is William Jones.

"This yer William Jones used to come intruding around there in Mr.
Muffitt's kitchen when he wasn't wanted and when he seen that me and
Bella would rather be a-setting there by ourselves. And so, sir, one
night, just to kill the time till he'd quit and go, I begun to tell them
what George Watkins said to me about the Huxley Institute and frictional
electricity being a sure cure for pain.

"And William Jones, a-winking at Bella Dougherty, as much as to say,
sir, that he'd be having the laugh on me, said he had a pain that minute
in his head from neuralgia and he'd bet me a quarter no frictional
electricity would drive it out. I know now what was the matter with the
head of William Jones. Not neuralgia, nor nothing of the sort, sir. It
was vacuum. My mate, George Watkins, tells me that at the Institute they
say that vacuum always produces pain, and that was the only thing the
matter with this William Jones I'm a-telling you about.

"I never take no dare, not from no man of that kind, anyways, sir, so
I bet him a quarter I'd cure him, and cure him with frictional
electricity, too. So he set down on the chair a-laughing and a-winking
at Bella Dougherty, who set over by the range holding the quarters;
and I begun to rub William Jones's eye-brows with my two thumbs;
just gently, but right along just like stroking a cat; keeping it up,
a-rubbing and a-rubbing, until at last I asked him how he felt now; and,
you can imagine my supprise, sir, when I seen that William Jones was
fast asleep! I was skeered at first; but in a minute I seen that I had
hypnertized him unbeknown to myself, and there set William Jones 's if
he was froze stiff.

"I wa'n't so very sorry, sir, when I found out how things was a-going,
although if I could have seen what was the consequences of this strange
occurrence I'd 'a' seized my hat and bid Bella Dougherty good-by and
started straight for home.

"But, sir, of course I acted like a fool, for I'd read in the papers how
a man who hypnertizes another man can make him believe anything and
do anything, and so I thought I'd have some fun with William Jones and
enjoy a lovely, quiet evening with Bella Dougherty.

"So I says to William Jones:

"'Now, William, you're a little school-scholar oncet again and you've
missed your lesson, and so you jus