ances at one another. Felix hastily
swallowed his toddy, with the evident intention of airing his emphatic
views, when Wade Ruggles interposed:

"Pards, you're gettin' off the track; we hain't got to the religious
racket yit; that'll come later. What I want to 'rive at is as to using
cuss words and unproper language where the angel hears it. It ain't
'nough for us to agree that we won't do it; it must be fixed so we
don't take no chances."

This was not exactly clear and Wade was asked to be more explicit.

"I mean that there must be a penalty, such as will stop a galoot that
has once offended from doing the same thing again."

This clearly intimated that the punishment which the chairman had in
mind was of a frightful nature. The landlord begged Wade to come down
to particulars.

"My idee is that whoever offends this little one by unproper language
shall be filled full of bullet holes: how does _that_ strike you?"

"It hits me just right!" responded the landlord, with several nods of
his head; "but there's one thing in the way."

"What's that?" demanded Wade, showing some temper at this attack upon
his scheme.

"It 'lows a man to say the unproper words in the hearin' of the angel,
_afore_ he's shot; so it won't prevent her ears from being 'fended.
Can't we fix it some way, so that she shan't hear 'em at all?"

"There's no trouble about that," solemnly remarked Budge Isham from
his seat at the further end of the room; "You have only to find out
when a fellow has made up his mind to use improper language in the
presence of the child, and then shoot him before he can say the
words."

"But how shall we know he's going to say 'em?" inquired the chairman,
who in the earnestness of his feelings felt no suspicion of the
honesty of his friend.

"You will have to judge that by the expression of his countenance. I
think when a fellow has made up his mind to swear his looks give
notice of what is coming. The rest of us must be on the alert and pick
him off before the words get out of his mouth. And yet I am sorry to
say," added Budge gravely rising to his feet, "that there is one
serious drawback to my proposition."

"The chairman is anxious to hear it."

"There might be mistakes made. A man's expression is not always an
index of his thoughts. He might be suffering from some inward pain,
and be in the act of uttering some expression, but his face could have
so mean a look that if our law was in force, he would be