y
longer."

Marshal Crow held up his hand as if stopping traffic in Main Street.

"You are in the presence of the law, Mr. Wolf," he began. The young
woman giggled. He glared at her.

"My name is Fox," said the young man, curtly.

"That don't make any difference," retorted the Marshal. "Mine's Crow,
and I represent the law. You--"

"How delicious!" said Mrs. Fox. "So like that cunning poem of Guy
Wetmore Carryl's. You know it, of course, Mr. Crow?"

She declaimed:

"'I blush to add that when the bird
Took in the situation
He said one brief, emphatic word,
Unfit for publication.
The fox was greatly startled, but
He only sighed and answered "tut"'"

"Don't be silly, Bess," said her husband. "This is no time to recite
poetry."

"I don't see any sense in it, anyhow," said Marshal Crow.

Mr. Fryback emerged from behind the cutlery counter, whither he had
repaired in some haste when it became evident that Mrs. Fox was likely
to remain for some time. He was wiping his lips with the back of his
hand, and what very recently might have been mistaken for a prodigious
swelling in his cheek had strangely subsided.

"Why shouldn't I fit a key to that lock, Andy?" he demanded, rather
hotly. "What right have you got to interfere with my business?"

The Marshal's lips parted to utter a sharp retort, but the words failed
to issue. Young Mrs. Fox suddenly stooped over and peered intently at
several heretofore unnoticed holes at one end of the black box. These
holes, about an inch in diameter, formed a horizontal row. Much to Mr.
Crow's alarm, the young lady pulled off her glove and stuck a finger
into one of the little apertures and apparently wriggled it without fear
or trepidation. Almost instantly there was an ominous rustling inside
the box. Withdrawing her finger, she called out:

"Please look!"

The invitation was unnecessary. Mr. Crow was looking for all he was
worth.

"Good gracious, ma'am!" he gasped. "Don't stir 'em up like that. Next
thing they'll crawl out of them holes and--"

"Why, you poor old goose!" she said, but not disrespectfully. "They're
much too large to crawl through these holes. I wish I could catch hold
of one of their tails and--Look!" She held her finger close to the hole
and a long, thin black tongue darted through and began to writhe about
in a most malevolent manner.

"For gosh sake!" exclaimed the Marshal, retreating a couple of steps.
This sudden action