“Your cow,” translated the principal.
“Oh, you mean this critter. Sure, yes, she’ll follow me. Come on, Bess,” and he held out a handful of salt, which the cow began to lick up greedily. Then the farmer retreated down the stairs, the animal slowly following.
“Sorry you couldn’t do that experiment,” Mr. Craft called out as he gave the cow more salt. “I’d liked to have heard that there phonograph machine. You see my critter’s real tame. She often comes up to the back door, and once, when she was a calf she came into the kitchen. So I said, when that there young feller, Mr. Bo Vine, asked if the cow could walk up a short flight of stairs, that she could. And she done it too,” he added proudly. “Well I’ll bid you good day,” and the farmer, who by this time had gotten the animal into the lower court placed a rope about the horns and led her away.
“So that’s Ned’s trick,” said Bart softly to his chums. “Wouldn’t wonder but what he’d be expelled for it.”
“If he gets found out,” put in Frank.
It was some time before the school quieted down. Jennie, under the ministrations of Alice, recovered from her fainting fit, and the prospective nurse began looking around for others whom she might practice on. But there were no more. The women teachers, and those girls who had hidden under desks returned to their seats.
“Young ladies and gentlemen,” began Professor McCloud, “this has been an unexpected—”
Then he happened to think of Mr. Kenton’s mistake, and he had to turn aside to cover a laugh.
“I think, under the circumstances, we will omit the rest of the program,” he added. “I will say nothing further about—about the cow. I think I understand how it happened, and, in view of the fact that it is the close of the term, we will overlook what otherwise we could not. The seniors will now come forward and receive their diplomas and the exercises will be at an end.”