A very stout old lady, bustling through the park on a sweltering hot day, became aware that she was being closely followed by a rough-looking tramp.
"What do you mean by following me in this manner?" she indignantly demanded. The tramp slunk back a little. But when the stout lady resumed her walk he again took up his position directly behind her.
"See here," she exclaimed, wheeling angrily, "if you don't go away at once I shall call a policeman!"
The unfortunate man looked up at her appealingly.
"For Heaven's sake, kind lady, have mercy an' don't call a policeman; ye're the only shady spot in the whole park."
A jolly steamboat captain with more girth than height was asked if he had ever had any very narrow escapes.
"Yes," he replied, his eyes twinkling; "once I fell off my boat at the mouth of Bear Creek, and, although I'm an expert swimmer, I guess I'd be there now if it hadn't been for my crew. You see the water was just deep enough so's to be over my head when I tried to wade out, and just shallow enough"—he gave his body an explanatory pat—"so that whenever I tried to swim out I dragged bottom."