"Moo-o-o-o-o-o!"

It was a second or two before we could laugh.

"Well, you miserable old cow!" exclaimed Mr. Daddles, "you nearly
scared a crowd of burglars to death!"

And he walked up to her, where she had already begun to feed
again, and slapped her fat side. She paid no attention to him, but
kept on cropping the grass.

"Come on, now, boys. I thought we were attacked by a hippopotamus,
at least."

"I thought it was a man without any legs," said Jimmy.

"I thought it was a real burglar," said I.

"I dunno what I thought it was," said Ed Mason, "and that was the
worst of it."

And if any of you who read this think we were a silly lot to be
frightened by an old cow, it is because you have never met one at
night, in a thick fog. You try it some time, and see.

We went down a little slope, and came up behind the house and
barn. We crossed a vegetable patch, and then a flower-garden.

Jimmy stopped Mr. Daddles.