Page:Paine--J Archibauld McKaney collector of whiskers.djvu/133

  so delicate and even insulting that I could only writhe in baffled helplessness.

At length the train halted at a wayside station and there seemed to be some trouble on the tracks ahead. I summoned the guard to unlock my door, and stepped on the platform to stretch my legs. A minute or so later I saw the illustrious potentate impatiently throw up his window and poke his head out to glare to and fro as if seeking the cause of our detention. His noble beard fell outside in a torrent and waggled in an imposing manner. While I was staring at it with envious eyes, the guard signaled the order to go ahead. I was about to hurry into my compartment when a startling outcry arose from the adjoining carriage. I turned and beheld a truly amazing spectacle. While his majesty was withdrawing his head from the open window the sash had dropped with great force. The end of his beard was caught and held as in a vise and almost a foot of it hung over the window-sill outside.

The helpless prisoner was roaring for [115