“'When was that?' “'When I lassoed him.' “'Him?' remonstrated Coke. “'Yes,' said the witness. 'I only caught one of him, and then the other two took a hand.' “'Ah, the other two,' said Coke. 'You know dogs when you see them?' “'I do, and he was all of 'em in a bunch,' replied the witness. “'Your witness,' said Coke. “'My friend,' said Catiline, rising quietly. 'How many men are you?' “'One, sir,' was the answer. “'Have you ever been in two places at once?' “'Yes, sir.' “'When was that?' “'When I was in jail and in London all at the same time.' “'Very good; but were you in two places on the day of this attack upon you by Cerberus?' “'No, sir. I wish I had been. I'd have stayed in the other place.' “'Then if you were in but one place yourself, how do you know that Cerberus was in more than one place?' “'Well, I guess if you--' “'Answer the question,' said Catiline. “'Oh, well--of course--' “'Of course,' echoed Catiline. 'That's it, your honor; it is only “of course,”--and I rest my case. We have no witnesses to call. We have proven by their own witnesses that there is no evidence of Cerberus being more than one dog.' “You ought to have heard the cheers as Catiline sat down,” continued Boswell. “As for poor Coke, he was regularly knocked out, but he rose up to sum up his case as best he could. Blackstone, however, stopped him right at the beginning. “'The counsel for the plaintiff might as well sit down,' he said, 'and save his breath. I've decided this case in favor of the defendant long ago. It is plain to every one that Cerberus is only one dog, in spite of his many talents and manifest ability to be in several places at once, and inasmuch as the tax which is sued for is merely a dog-tax and not a poll-tax, I must render judgment for the defendants, with costs. Next case.' “And the city of Cimmeria was thrown out of court,” concluded Boswell. “Interesting, eh?” “Very,” said I. “But how will this affect Blackstone? Isn't he a City Judge?” “No,” replied Boswell; “he was, but his term expired this morning, and this afternoon Apollyon appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hades.” VIII. A HAND-BOOK TO HADES “Boswell,” said I, the other night, as the machine began to click nervously. “I have just received a letter from an unknown friend in Hawaii who wants to know how the prize-fight between Samson and Goliath came out that time when Kidd and his pirate crew stole the House-Boat on the Styx.” “Just wait a minute, please,” the machine responded. “I am very busy just now mapping out the itinerary of the first series of the Boswell Personally Conducted Tours you suggested some time ago. I laid that whole proposition before the Entertainment Committee of the Associated Shades, and they have resolved unanimously to charter the Ex-Great Eastern from the Styx Navigation Company, and return to the scenes of their former glory, devoting a year to it.” “Going to take their wives?” I asked.