“Stop! stop! I beg of you, don’t kill those mice!” came suddenly from a tall, thin young man who had been sleeping in a berth at the end of the car. Dave had noticed him during the day and had put him down as a preacher or actor.
“Why not?” asked our hero.
“They are mine, that’s why,” said the man. “I would not have them killed for a thousand dollars!”
“Say, wot yo’-all talkin’ about?” demanded the porter. “Dem mice yours?”
“Yes! yes! Oh, please do not kill them!” pleaded the tall, thin man. “They won’t hurt anybody, really they won’t.”
“Say, are them white mice educated?” demanded the fat man.
“Indeed they are—I educated them myself,” answered the other man. “I spent months in doing it, too. They are the best-educated white mice in the United States,” he added, proudly.
CHAPTER XVI—PICKING UP THE TRAIL
The announcement that the mice that had been caught in the car were educated filled the boys with interest, but it did not lessen their indignation nor that of the other passengers.
“The idea of mice on the train, even if they are educated!” shrilled the elderly lady.