The first and wisest impulse of the automobilist is to pay whatever fine is imposed and go on, but frightening a lawyer is not an every-day occurrence.  I once frightened a pair of army mules; but a lawyer,—­the experience was too novel to let pass lightly.  The game promised to be worth the candle.

The scene shifts to a dingy little room in the basement of the court-house; present, Straw Hat and Sandy Beard, with populace.

To corroborate—­wise precaution on the part of a lawyer in his own court—­their story, they bring along a volunteer witness in over-alls,—­the three making a trio hard to beat.

Straw Hat takes the stand and testifies he is an unusually timid man, and was most frightened to death.

Sandy Beard’s testimony is both graphic and corroborative.

The witness in over-alls, with some embellishments of his own, supports Sandy Beard.

The row of bricks is complete.

The court removes a prop by remarking that the ordinance speed has not been exceeded.

The bricks totter.

Whereupon, Sandy Beard now takes the matter into his own hands, and, ignoring the professional acquirements of his principal, addresses the court and urges the imposition of a fine,—­a fine being the only satisfaction, and source of immediate revenue, conceivable to Sandy Beard.

Meanwhile Straw Hat is silent; the witness in over-alls is perturbed.

The court considers the matter, and says “the embarrassing feature of the case is that it has yet to be shown that the defendant was going at a rate exceeding ten miles an hour, and upon this point the witnesses did not agree.  There was evidence tending to prove the machine was going ten miles an hour, but that would not lead to conviction under the first clause of the ordinance; but there is another clause which says that a machine must not be run in such a manner as to endanger or inconvenience public travel.  What is detrimental to public travel?  Does it mean to run it so as not to frighten a man of nerve like the chief of police, or some timid person?  It is urged that not one man in a thousand would have been frightened like Mr.—­ ; but a man is bound to run his machine in the streets so as to frighten no one, therefore the defendant is fined five dollars and costs.”

The fine is duly paid, and Messrs. Straw Hat, Sandy Beard, and Over-alls, come forward, receive and receipt for sixty cents each.

Their wrath was appeased, their wounded feelings soothed, their valor satisfied,—­one dollar and eighty cents for the bunch.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS IN LENOX

There are several roads out of Pittsfield to Springfield, and if one asks a half-dozen citizens, who pretend to know, which is the best, a half-dozen violently conflicting opinions will be forthcoming.