I turned round and sez to Josiah, “How interestin’ the works of Nater are, Josiah Allen.  How it puts woman in her proper spear, and men, too!”

He looked real meachin’ for most a minute, and then a look of madness and dark revenge come over his liniment.  A tall, humbly male bird stood nigh him, as tall agin most as he wuz.

And as I looked at Josiah he muttered, “I’ll learn him—­I’ll learn the cussed fool to keep in his own spear.”

I laid holt of his vest, and sez I, “What, do you mean, Josiah Allen, by them dark threats?  Tell me instantly,” sez I, for I feared the worst.

“Seein’ this dum fool is so willin’ to take work on him that don’t belong for males to do, I’ll give him a job at it.  I’ll see if I can’t ride some of the consarned foolishness out of him.”

Sez I, “Be calm, Josiah; don’t throw away your own precious life through madness and revenge.  The ostrich hain’t to blame, he’s only actin’ out Nater.”

“Nater!” sez Josiah scornfully—­“Nater for males to stay to hum and set on eggs, and hatch ’em, and brood young ones?  Don’t talk to me!”

He wuz almost by the side of himself.

And in spite of my almost frenzied appeals to restrain him, he lanched upon him.

You could ride ’em by payin’ so much, and money seemed to Josiah like so much water then, so wild with wrath and revenge wuz he.

I see he would go, and I reached my hand up, and sez I, “Dear Josiah, farewell!”

But he only nodded to me, and I hearn him murmurin’ darkly—­

“Seein’ he’s so dum accommodatin’ that he’s took wimmen’s work on him that they ort to do themselves, I’ll give him a pull that will be apt to teach him his own place.”

[Illustration:  “I’ll give him a pull that will be apt to teach him his own place.”]

And he started off at a fearful rate; round and round that inclosure they went, Josiah layin’ his cane over the sides of the bird, and the keeper a-yellin’ at him that he’d be killed.

And when they come round by us the first time I heard him a-aposthrofizin’ the bird—­

“Don’t you want to set on some more eggs? don’t you want to brood a spell?” and then he would kick him, and the ostrich would jump, and leap, and rare round.  But the third time he come round I see a change—­I see deadly fear depictered in his mean, and sez he wildly—­

“Samantha, save me! save me!  I am lost!” sez he.

I wuz now in tears, and I sez wildly—­

“I will save that dear man, or perish!” and I wuz jest a-rushin’ into the inclosure when they come a-tearin’ round for the fourth time, and jest a little ways from us the ostrich give a wild yell and leap, and Josiah wuz thrown almost onto our feet.

As the keeper rushed in to pick him up, we see he held a feather in his hand.

He thought it wuz tore out by excitement, and Josiah clinched the feathers to save himself.