Billy Whiskers | Page 5

on it was nice, sweet turnips, fresh from the fields.
He had gone some distance, and no patch or garden appearing that was not enclosed by a high, barbed-wire fence, he commenced to get discouraged. Feeling hungry and thirsty he was about wishing he had behaved himself at Mr. Biggses so he could go back, when he came to a turn in the road and there before him stood a frame building, with the door open and over the door a large picture of a white Polar bear sitting on a cake of ice, drinking a foaming glass of soda-water, while in a circle round him sat little bears, each with a glass of something cool to drink.
"This is just the place I have been looking for," thought Billy, "where thirsty animals can get a drink." So in he walked, much to the fright of a party of picnickers, who were sitting around a little table drinking soda-water and lemonade, and eating ice-cream.
The man at the soda fountain on seeing Billy was so surprised that he forgot to turn off the fizz he was putting into a glass of soda he was mixing, and it foamed up and ran up his sleeve and all over everything.
This caused the young people to laugh, which made the young man behind the counter mad. He picked up a bottle of ginger-ale and pretended to throw it at Billy, but alas for his intentions! He raised it too high; it hit a large bottle of syrup that stood on a shelf behind him, breaking both bottles at the same time, and instead of hurting Billy, he got a sticky bath of syrup and a shower of ginger in his own eyes. This was adding insult to injury, he thought, and this last mishap turned the laughter of the crowd into a scream of merriment which did not lessen his anger in the least. He grabbed a broom that stood near by and jumping over the counter went for Billy, who all this time had been standing still, doing nothing but looking at the man and waiting for him to give him a drink of some kind.
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When Billy saw the man jump over the counter with the broom, he knew he was after him but at the same time he made up his mind that he would not leave that store until he had had a drink of something,--man or no man.
So when the man made a lunge at him with the broom, Billy made a quick rush at the man and planted his head in the middle of the fellow's stomach sending him sprawling on the floor where he landed in the midst of a shower of tooth-brushes he had upset as he flew by the show cases.
This catastrophe frightened the girls and boys who had been sitting sipping soda and laughing at the man, and there was a mad scramble to get out but Billy was too quick for them. He wheeled round and butted the tail end of one fellow's coat so hard that it sent him flying clear through the open door and out into the road where he landed in a mud-puddle.
Then he turned and went for the girls who were all huddled together against the wall, screaming and crying with fright. He walked up to them. As they saw him coming, they thought their time had come and threw up their hands to cover their eyes and screamed harder than ever. But he only took a bunch of green wax grapes off the hat of one of the girls and commenced to chew it, and he would have left them alone but one of the boys who was with them came to their rescue and tried to drive Billy away by giving him a hard blow with a chair he had picked up. This infuriated Billy and he gave the whole bunch of girls a butt and then turned and went for the boy, who was holding the chair high over his head ready to strike. Billy stuck his long horns into the boy's chest and laid him flat on the floor in an instant. Then he walked up on him and planted his two feet on his breast while he lowered his head, licking the boy's face all over with his tongue. This made the boy furious but he could do nothing as the goat was heavy, and with his weight on his chest he thought he would smother.
By that time the soda-fountain man had recovered his breath and came at Billy again with his broom raised ready to strike. Billy saw him coming and left the boy he was standing on, and ran behind one of the tables. Then the chase began; round and round the tables and