“What do you mean?” asked the conductor.
“I mean the goat butted the little girl off the tracks, just as the lady said goats do. She was standing on the tracks, picking up her doll, when my car came along. I wasn’t paying much attention, and I was almost on her when the goat saw what the trouble was and pushed her off the tracks with his head. He didn’t really butt her, but he got her out of the way just in time.”
“He’s a smart goat,” said one of the men who had been riding in the trolley car.
“He is that!” exclaimed the motorman. “And now that I look at him I remember him. He’s the goat we knocked off the track about two months ago. Don’t you remember?” he asked, turning to the conductor.
“Sure enough he is,” agreed the conductor, and he explained to the passengers the accident, or adventure, that had happened to Lightfoot, as I told it to you before.
“He must have remembered how the car hurt him,” said the lady with the little boy, “and he didn’t want the child to be hurt. He is a smart goat!
“Does any one know where the little girl lives?” asked the lady. “She ought not be allowed to stay here near the tracks.”
None of the passengers knew the child, nor did the motorman or conductor. As they were wondering what to do along came Mike Malony.
“Hello, Lightfoot!” called Mike as he saw his goat. And then, as he noticed the crowd, the stopped trolley car and the little girl, he asked:
“What’s the matter? Is Tessie hurt?”