if he would care to buy it. I told him he could have it cheap.

"'I don't want it myself,' he answered. 'I've got three in the house
already. Perhaps one of these gentlemen would like to make an offer.'

"He turned to a couple of chaps who were sitting drinking gin. They
didn't look to me worth the price of a chicken between them. The
seediest said he'd like to look at it, however, and I undid the parcel.
He mauled the thing pretty considerably, and cross-examined me as to how
I come by it, ending by upsetting half a tumbler of gin and water over
it. Then he offered me half a crown for it. It made me so angry that I
took the brown paper and the string in one hand and the goose in the
other, and walked straight out without saying a word.

"I carried it in this way for some distance, because I was excited and
didn't care how I carried it; but as I cooled, I began to reflect how
ridiculous I must look. One or two small boys evidently noticed the same
thing. I stopped under a lamp-post and tried to tie it up again. I had
a bag and an umbrella with me at the same time, and the first thing I did
was to drop the goose into the gutter, which is just what I might have
expected to do, attempting to handle four separate articles and three
yards of string with one pair of hands. I picked up about a quart of mud
with that goose, and got the greater part of it over my hands and clothes
and a fair quantity over the brown paper; and then it began to rain.

"I bundled everything up into my arm and made for the nearest pub, where
I thought I would ask for a piece more string and make a neat job of it.

"The bar was crowded. I pushed my way to the counter and flung the goose
down in front of me. The men nearest stopped talking to look at it; and
a young fellow standing next to me said--

"'Well, you've killed it.' I daresay I did seem a bit excited.

"I had intended making another effort to sell it here, but they were
clearly not the right sort. I had a pint of ale--for I was feeling
somewhat tired and hot--scraped as much of the mud off the bird as I
could, made a fresh parcel of it, and came out.

"Crossing the road a happy idea occurred to me. I thought I would raffle
it. At once I set to work to find a house where there might seem to be a
likely lot. It cost me three or four whiskies--for I felt I didn't want
any more beer, which is a thing that easily upsets me--but at length I
found just the crowd I wanted--a