“It doesn’t matter which railroad,” said Herb, glaring at his friend. “It was a railroad, anyway, and a slow one, too. Well, this man was in a hurry, it seems, and kept fidgeting around and looking at his watch. Finally the train stopped altogether, and a moment later the conductor came through the car.
“‘What’s the matter, Conductor?’ asked the traveler.
“‘There’s a cow on the track,’ answered the conductor.
“Well, pretty soon the train started on again, but it hadn’t gone very far before it stopped once more. ‘Say, Conductor, why in blazes have we stopped again?’ asked the traveler. ‘Seems to me this is the slowest train I ever rode on.’
“‘It can’t be helped, sir,’ answered the conductor. ‘We’ve caught up with that pesky cow again.’”
They all laughed at this anecdote, which pleased Herb immensely. 60
“I know lots more, any time you want to hear them,” he ventured, hopefully.
“Better not take a chance on spoiling that one, Herb,” advised Joe. “That was unusually good for you, I must admit.”
“Herb’s jokes wouldn’t be so bad if he’d stick to regular ones,” said Bob. “It’s only when he starts making them up himself that they get so terrible.”
“Yes, and just think of his poor sisters,” sighed Agnes. “In the summer it isn’t quite so bad, because he’s out of the house most of the time, but in winter it’s simply terrible.”