ght to open it? Is it mine by law? If I open it can he come back an'
sue me, or anything?'

"'Can he?' says I. 'That's the question. Can he?'

"'It's a large box,' says Miss Sally.

"'A large box, hey?' says I. 'Of course if it was a small box, Miss
Sally--but it is a large box! How large?'

"'Quite large,' she says. 'About medium large. Not too large. Besides
anything very large it would be small, but beside anything very small it
would be large.'

"I nodded my head to her, to let her see I knew what she was tryin' to
say. 'Medium large,' I says, 'yes, I know just about how big you mean,
but what I'd like to know is, is it heavy?'

"'Medium,' she says, 'just medium heavy.'

"Well, there she was! A medium heavy, medium-sized box. If it had been
a little bit of a light-weight box I'd 'a' told her to open it and keep
it, for there couldn't have been much in it; and if it had been a big
heavy box I'd have told her she'd better leave it alone; for there
wouldn't be any tellin' whether she had any right to open a box like
that one might have turned out to be. I didn't know how the law stood on
that kind of a box. But it was medium-sized, and I didn't know WHAT to
say.

"'Miss Sally,' I says, 'I'd like to help you out on this. Any time I can
give you any advice on anything, I'm glad to, but I don't know what to
say about a box that is medium size and medium heavy. You'd ought to get
the law on that subject before you touch that box. Don't you touch that
box. Don't you open it unless there's a law officer standin' by to see
you do it.'

"She seen that was good advice," continued the Colonel, "and I sat there
right in her parlor and thought it over. 'Miss Sally,' I says, after I
had thought all I could about it, 'I believe Attorney Toole would tell
you what to do about that box. There ain't nothin' a lawyer needs more
than to be popular, and there ain't no way to git popular quicker than
by doin' little favors, an' he ought to be glad to do a favor for you,
for you're almost an orphan. Your ma's dead, an' Pap Briggs ain't overly
strong, an' you're liable to be an orphan almost any minute. I can tell
by the looks of Attorney Toole,' I says, 'that he's got a good heart,
and if you say the word I'll ask him what he says to do about that box.'
She seemed sort of put out at what I'd said about orphans, but I seen
she was willing to have me ask you about that box, and I seen it would
be doin' you a favor, too, to tell you