The Incorrigible

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"... and therefore, by the authority vested in my, I confer upon you, honoris causa, the degree of Doctor of Science, and all rights, privileges, and prerogatives pertaining thereto." The president of the university extended the scroll. The politician accepted it, bowed, and smiled. The president bowed and smiled back. Flynn, the politician, stepped to the front of the stage and began his speech on "Science and the People."

In the audience, Mrs. Alonso, who had come to see her son graduate, squirmed, for she was fleshy and June days in New York are apt to be sultry. Then she became aware of something peculiar about one of the wearers of academic caps who occupied the front rows. The normal human ear is pink and hairless, and lies more or less flat against the skull. The ears of the cap-wearer were covered with black fur, and stuck out at an altogether unhuman angle. The ears' owner turned his head slightly, and Mrs. Alonso gasped. The cap was that of a receiver of a degree at Columbia University, but the yellowish muzzle was that of a bear!

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