the most disagreeable person," said Lowboy. "I nominate
Hortense. Are there any questions? If not, the ayes have it and
Hortense is elected."

Hortense was so angry that she walked away and would hear no more. Nor
did she even wait to see that Alligator returned to the parlor.

In the morning as she lay in bed, she wondered if he had and, dressing
herself quickly, ran outdoors to see. As she ran around the barn, she
came upon Grandfather and Fergus looking at the sofa. Grandfather was
stroking his chin.

"How could it possibly have got here?" said he. "All the doors and
windows were locked as usual this morning."

"Well, who would carry it out and leave it in such a place, anyhow?"
said Fergus.

A slight movement which stirred the seat of the sofa caused them all to
gaze at it wonderingly. Then a sound came from within.

"The second time!" exclaimed Grandfather. "If it's the cat again, I'll
know he's the cause of all these odd doings."

"It didn't sound like a cat to me," said Fergus.

Grandfather, without a word, opened his penknife. Fergus and he turned
the sofa over, and Grandfather slit the under covering where it had
been sewed up after Jeremiah had been rescued. Through the hole
appeared the head of a pig. Grandfather and Fergus stood back while the
pig struggled to free himself. Finally succeeding, it trotted away to
its pen.

Grandfather and Fergus looked at one another, at first too surprised to
speak.

"Do you suppose," said Grandfather at last, "that the pig got into the
sofa and carried it off, or the sofa came out and swallowed the pig?"

"I give up," said Fergus, scratching his head.

Grandfather pondered a while and then looked at Hortense.

"It's a curious thing, Fergus, but all these things began to happen
when Hortense came. Do you suppose she is responsible?"

He looked so grave that Hortense couldn't tell whether or not he was
joking. Fergus, too, looked very grave.

"Still," said Fergus, "she's a pretty small girl to carry a sofa from
the parlor to the barn and put a pig inside and sew him up."

"That's true," said Grandfather, nodding gravely. "We'll have to think
of some one else. Perhaps it's Uncle Jonah," he added as Uncle Jonah at
that moment came slowly around the corner of the barn.

Uncle Jonah also seemed to have something on his mind.

"Dem hosses," he began, "is sho' hoodooed."

"Have they been out again?" Grandfather demanded sharply.

"Yas suh, dey looks like i