“No; you’ve got to have the elephant,” contended Kennedy.
“Well, perhaps that’s so. But I’ll wire our man ahead, just the same, and let him use the fact in his press notices.”
“But how could they get him in the jail?” questioned Phil.
“Jail? You see, they couldn’t. They wanted to, but the jail wouldn’t fit, or the elephant wouldn’t fit the jail, either way you please. When they discovered that they didn’t know what to do with him. Somebody suggested that they might lock him up in the blacksmith shop.”
“The blacksmith shop?” exploded the owner.
“I hope they don’t try to fit him with shoes,” he added, with a grim smile.
“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they did. We’d have our elephant right quick. Yes, they tried the blacksmith shop on, and it worked, but it was a close fit. If Emperor had had a bump on his back as big as an egg he wouldn’t have gone in.”
“And he’s there now?”
“Yes. I reckon I’d better stay here and camp at the hotel, hadn’t I, so’s to be handy when your lawyer comes on? Emperor might tear up the town if he got loose.”
Mr. Sparling reflected for a moment.