"Oh! Jones," said the greenhorn, "you don't expect I'll swallow all
that yarn?"

But Mr. Jones and all of the other trappers present preserved an
imperturbable dignity of mien, as if the very reference to the animal
mentioned demanded from them all due reverence.

"Well, but that was not doing as a human being would do. I never seen
a man carry an old shoe around till he died from starvin'."

"That is neither here nor there," continued Mr. Jones. "It was when
the trapper first made the beaver's acquaintance that he showed he
knew as much as a human critter. At that time he had one wife and
lived with her all alone in a hole, side o' the dam. They had two sons
and a darter. The darter the old beaver had married to a fine lookin'
young beaver who lived t'other side the dam."

The whistle which the neophyte here gave seemed to give great
dissatisfaction to all of the trappers present. One of them quietly
asked him--

"Is that the way, youngster, you'se bin eddicated in perliteniss of
manners? If it is, I know a beaver who kin larn you sumthin'. In the
fust place, if a young beaver ever kums inter the presence of the ole
uns, especially if she's, that is the ole uns, a female beaver, the
young un 'mediately fetches his right fore paw up to his forehead,
jest 'hind the right eyebrow, an' makes a reverintial bow of cerimony
in salute. I'se seen that ar' oftener than you've put one leg ahead of
t'other yit, young un."