each word which falls from the lips of the supposed sage orator with
eager earnestness, while curiosity never becomes satisfied.

"Ah! Jones, that is a whopper."

"Sure as I live, but the beaver slept every night with the trapper,
and in the day time, if he left the tent, the beaver would fall to
work and make a dam across the floor of the tent, using the chist,
skins, arms and everything."

"Oh! Jones!"

"But, I tell you it is true. Tame a beaver once, and you'll find I'se
tellin' a plain statement as true as ever a Padre made."

"Padre! who'd believe a Mexican priest? Mr. Jones, that tame beaver
of your'n must have been born in the States, where he hadn't trees and
mud to build dams with, and had to resort to furnitur."

"That beaver," responded Jones, "was as near like a human bein' as any
man present."

"How do you make that out, Mr. Jones?"

"Why, one day his master died. Well, they tried all they could to
console the beaver, but it 'twant no use. He wouldn't be consoled.
All he did was to git an ole shoe belonging to his master, an' if he
didn't haul that ere shoe around day after day wherever he went. Well,
the beaver 'gan to grow thin, and one night they found he was a dyin',
jest from starvin' himself to death and a huggin' the ole shoe."