that a cat may get by looking at a king." "That's about it," said a man in the back end of the hall, addressing his remarks to those immediately about him. "There was a time when the boys could go a fishing in the river and get a nice mess of Bull-heads for Fourth of July dinner. But now he owns the river and all that's in it. He had Ben Hawley arrested last Fourth for fishing in _his_ river. Humph! It won't be long before he will own us as well as the river. He thinks he has more right to us now than the Lord Almighty." "Keoo!" shouted an overgrown lad. "The river is his and all that's in it. Let's dump some more of his traps in the river. I'll help, by gar, I will!" At that moment Father Ferrill came in and took the noisy boy in charge. CHAPTER XI. APPEAL INSTEAD OF PROHIBITION. The matter of responsibility for the increase or rather surplus of Independence Day accidents in the town of Killsbury, being settled the question was, what should be done about it? Alderman Spofford proposed that "a paper--a smooth kind of paper such as Lawyer Rattlinger could write should be gotten up and sent to Mr. Schwarmer asking him to desist from distributing fireworks among the boys of the town. He said he would like to hear Rattlinger's views on the subject." "As I understand it," replied Rattlinger, "the main object of this meeting is to save our town from this year's slaughter--a slaughter that will surely take place if free fireworks are distributed here as usual. The day is at hand. The peril is imminent. The question is what would we do if we had word that the king of Spain had sent arms and munitions of war to this place and that he would be here to-morrow to distribute them or arm the irresponsible classes?" "We would say he was the devil in disguise and we would have none of his works," said a white-haired man rising slowly in his seat. It was Philip Daycoy, the oldest man in town. He had the reputation of being one of the thirteen men who (painted and disguised as Indians) boarded the steamer, Sir Robert Peel; and yelling their war cry--"Remember the Caroline," put the passengers to flight, plundered it and sent it ablaze down the river. "My proposition is that we do just about as our forefathers and the Emperor of China did with the tea and opium that England tried to force upon them." There was a round of applause from the crowd that had gathered in the back part of the hall and cries of "how! how! Tell us just how, Patriot Daycoy, and by gorra, we'll do it!" Was the brutal instinct being stirred up? Philip Daycoy, who was sitting by the Reverend Dr. Normander, looked at him appealingly. Many a year had elapsed since he had thought of himself as a patriot or of the burning of the Sir Robert Peel as a truly patriotic transaction.