"Want to keep me here, eh?" murmured the Professor thoughtfully. "Well, I'm agreeable, only you'll have to feed and bed me. If I'm live stock, I demand live-stock privileges, see?" The express agent looked worried. "What am I to do?" he asked, in a quandary, of Bart. "Oh," smiled Bart, "I guess you had better trust him to find his friend and come back with the money." "I'll hold the trunk, anyway," observed Pope. "What have you got in it? Some old worthless togs, I suppose." "Mistake--about a thousand dollars in value," coolly retorted the Professor. "Yes, you have! I thought so. Some old burlap." "Careful, my friend!" spoke the deadhead sharply. "There's nothing there that you will care to see." "Isn't there? I'll investigate, just the same," declared Pope, throwing back the trunk cover and delving in the heap of burlap. "Murder! Help!" Peter Pope uttered a fearful yell. He backed from the trunk suddenly, A sinuous, hissing form had risen up before his face. This was an enormous cobra, and, under the circumstances, very frightful to see. The Cardysville express agent made a headlong bolt for the door. He slid clear outside across the platform, and landed in the mud of the road. "Prt! prt! Caesar, so--so!" spoke Professor Rigoletto in a peculiar, purring tone, approaching the serpent. He coaxed and forced the big snake back into its warm coverings, and shut down the trunk cover and clasped it. Bart, highly edified at the unique incident, followed him outside. "I'm the Cingalese snake-charmer," explained Professor Rigoletto. "Sorry, my friend," he observed to the wry-faced Pope, who was busy scraping the mud from his clothing, "but I told you so." "Ugh!" shuddered the agent. "You get that trunk out of here double-quick, or I'll have you arrested." "Sure, I will," answered the Professor with alacrity, "and I promise you that I will bring or send you the express charges by the time the show is over." Professor Rigoletto dragged the trunk to the platform. It was not a heavy burden, now. Bart good-humoredly assisted him in getting it balanced properly on his shoulder. The professor courteously thanked him and asked him to come and see the show free, and marched off quite contented with the result of his daring deadhead experiment. The Cardysville express agent was greatly worked up over the incident of the hour. It was some time before he could get his mind sufficiently calmed down to discuss business affairs coherently. Bart, however, handled the man in a pleasant, politic manner, and soon had results working. He let Peter Pope imagine that he was the originator of every idea that he, Bart himself, suggested. He very deftly introduced the system in vogue at the Pleasantville express office. In fact, at the end of two hours Bart had accomplished all he had been sent to do. He had got Pope's records into sensible shape, had opened a small set of books for him, and knew that the inspector must be pleased with the results.