An Alligator Story

The owl car was bowling merrily toward Carondelet at au earJy hour the othei morning. A party of belated citizecs was gathered in one corner swapping yams Avhich wonld have made the pale cheek of Baron MunChausen mantle with the blush of envy. A portly man with rubicnnd face liad just finished telling a thrilling story of an adventure with alligators in the everglades of Florida. An unassuming little man with gray whiskers, who had been an interested listener, moved over toward the group, and after apologizing for the intrusión remarkcd that he had had some little esperience with alligators himsalf, He was hailed with delight by the little coterie, and being pressed for a story stroked his whiskers thoughtfully for a moment and then began : "In the sammer of 1889 I was fishing with a party of friends on the Tallahassee river, in the northern part of Florida. All morning we tramped up and down the banks in a vain attempt to entice the illusive black bass from his lair. About noon I separated from the party and went about a mile and a half farther down stream to a point where. I thought fishing would be better. I selected a favorable spot and stepped out npon what I took to be a log which flcated near the bank. For two mortal hours I stood upon Üiat snpposed log and nover got as much as a nibble. Along about 3 o'clock I gave it np in disgust, packed up my tackle and started for the shore. Just as I was stepping on the bank what I had all along taken for a log moved under me, and, gentlemen, what do you think I had been standing on for more than two hours?" "An alligator! Iknew it! An alligator !" f airly shrieked the man with the rubicund face. "An alligator," reechoed the three congenial spirits. "No, gentlemen," said the little man as he made for the door. ' ' It was a log. ' ' He vanished in the darkness, and the