him a hall and a date, besides announcing his coming through the
papers.

"Well, he was billed to deliver his lecture last night. Those old long
horns, McNulta and Lovell, got us in with the crowd, and while they
didn't know exactly what was coming, they assured us that we couldn't
afford to miss it. Well, at the appointed hour in the evening, the
hall was packed, not over half being able to find seats. It is safe to
say there were over five hundred men present, as it was announced for
'men only.' Every gambler in town was there, with a fair sprinkling of
cowmen and our tribe. At the appointed hour, Masterson, as chairman,
rapped for order, and in a neat little speech announced the object of
the meeting. Bat mentioned the lack of interest in the West in the
higher arts and sciences, and bespoke our careful attention to the
subject under consideration for the evening. He said he felt it hardly
necessary to urge the importance of good order, but if any one had
come out of idle curiosity or bent on mischief, as chairman of the
meeting and a peace officer of the city, he would certainly brook no
interruption. After a few other appropriate remarks, he introduced the
speaker as Dr. J. Graves-Brown, the noted scientist.

"The professor was an oily-tongued fellow, and led off on the prelude
to his lecture, while the audience was as quiet as mice and as grave
as owls. After he had spoken about five minutes and was getting warmed
up to his subject, he made an assertion which sounded a little fishy,
and some one back in the audience blurted out, 'That's a damned lie.'
The speaker halted in his discourse and looked at Masterson, who
arose, and, drawing two six-shooters, looked the audience over as if
trying to locate the offender. Laying the guns down on the table, he
informed the meeting that another interruption would cost the offender
his life, if he had to follow him to the Rio Grande or the British
possessions. He then asked the professor, as there would be no further
interruptions, to proceed with his lecture. The professor hesitated
about going on, when Masterson assured him that it was evident that
his audience, with the exception of one skulking coyote, was deeply
interested in the subject, but that no one man could interfere with
the freedom of speech in Dodge as long as it was a free country and he
was city marshal. After this little talk, the speaker braced up and
launched out again on his lecture. When he was once m