d Hal, as he seized what he supposed to be the largest
and his favorite ball.

"What are you doing with Mimir's head?" roared forth the monster.

"I beg your pardon, most humbly," began Hal, as he let the bloody head
fall; "I did not mean any harm."

"Rumble, bang-whang!" bellowed the thunder.

Hal fell on his knees and recited most devoutly, "Now I lay me down,"
etc.

"Roll on! roll on! I say," and the giant seized poor Hal by the collar
and set him on his feet.

He now selected a large ball, and poising it carefully in his hand, ran
a few steps, and sent it whirling right in among the nine-pins; but what
was his astonishment to behold them jump lightly aside, and permit the
ball to pass in an avenue directly through the middle of the alley. Hal
shuddered. The second and third ball met with no better success.
Odin--for Hal said it was certainly he, as he had Mimir's head
along--now grasped a ball and rolled it with all his might; but long
before it reached the nine-pins, they had, every one of them, tumbled
down, and lay sprawling on the alley.

"Two spares!" said the giant, as he grinned most gleefully at poor Hal.
"Get up!" and up the pins all stood instantly. Taking another ball, he
hurled it down the alley, and the same result followed. "Two more
spares!" and Odin shook his gigantic sides with laughter.

"I give up the game," whined out Hal.

"Then you lose double," rejoined Odin.

Hal readily consented to pay two ounces, for he imagined, by yielding at
once, he would so much the sooner get rid of his grim companion. As he
said so, Odin pulled a pair of scales out of his coat pocket, made
proportionably to his own size. He poised them upon a beam in the alley,
and drew forth what he denominated two ounces, and put them in one
scale. Each ounce was about the size of a twenty-eight pound weight, and
was quite as heavy.

"Ha! ha! ha!! Ha! ha! ha!!! Ha! ha! ha!!!!" shouted the giant, as he
grasped the gasping and terrified gambler. He soon rolled up his
sleeves, and bound his arm with a pocket handkerchief. Next he drew
forth a lancet as long as a sword, and drove the point into the biggest
vein he could discover. Hal screamed and fainted. When he returned to
consciousness, the sun was shining brightly in at the window, and the
sweet rumbling of the balls assured him that he still lay where the
giant left him. On rising to his feet he perceived that a large coagulum
of blood had collected where his head r