“Oh, a scorpion!” screamed the girl. “That’s worse! Oh, daddy, get a poker, or something, and kill the horrid thing. I saw one once, all covered with long hairs—a big spider—Ugh!”
“You are thinking of a tarantula, my dear young lady,” said the professor calmly. “This is a scorpion, which is entirely different. But this species is harmless, I do assure you. It wouldn’t bite a fly. I am very fortunate to have captured it. I saw it on the bananas as soon as I took off the cover, and I knew I must get it at once, or it would escape. There, I have it safe,” and he slid a glass cover on the box, and held out to view some sort of an insect, like a crayfish, with an extra long tail, which was squirming about under the glass.
“There is the little beauty!” cried the professor with enthusiasm. “It is worth at least ten dollars, and I am willing to pay that much to whoever owns it,” and he glanced at the girl.
“Ugh! Take the horrid thing away!” she cried. “Are you sure there are no more?”
“Not a one. I wish there were,” said the professor, looking carefully among the bananas.
“Then I’ll come down,” went on the lunch girl, as she blushingly descended. “I’m sorry I made a scene, but I thought it was a mouse.”
“That’s all right,” spoke Jerry gallantly. “It was our fault for wanting lunch at this unearthly hour.”
“Oh, I always serve lunch at this time,” spoke the girl. “There’s quite a crowd comes in from the Denver Express, and they’re ’most always hungry. They’ll be here in about an hour, won’t they, father? Is the train on time?”
“About,” replied the agent. “But I don’t exactly understand. Is everything all right now?”