with the hotel-keeper to take a yearlin' steer to pay for our
two boards.

And I sez, "What duz he want of a yearlin' steer here in the midst of
a genteel fashion resort?"

And he snapped me up and said he didn't know as there wuz anything
onfashionable or ongenteel about a likely yearlin'. Sez he, "I'll bet
they'd take it at Coney Island."

"Well, what would he do with it here?" sez I.

"Why, do as I do with it; let it grow up and make clear gain on its
growth."

"Oh shaw!" sez I, "he couldn't have it bellerin' round amongst the gay
and fashionable throng."

"It wouldn't beller," sez he, "if he fed it enough."

I broke it up after a long talk, for I wouldn't let him demean himself
by askin' the question and bein' refused, and then he said he wuz
goin' to ask him if he would take white beans for his pay, or part of
it, or mebby, sez he, "he would like to take a few geese."

"Geese!" sez I, "what would they want with geese squawkin' round
here?"

"Why," sez he, "you know they would look handsome swimmin' round in
the water in front of the hotel. And he might gin out, if he wuz a
mind to, that they wuz a new kind of swans; they do such things at
Coney Island."

Sez I, "Are you a deacon or are you not? Are you a pillow in the
meetin' house or hain't you a pillow?"

"I didn't say he had _got_ to do thus and so, I said he might if he
wanted to."

Sez I, "You keep your geese and pray to not be led into temptation."
And then the truth come out, he hated the geese and wanted to git rid
of 'em. Men always hate to keep geese, it is one of their ways, though
they love soft pillows and cushions as well as wimmen do, or better,
it is one of their curious ways to love the effects of geese dearly
and hate the cause and demean it.

Well, by givin' up the best part of the forenoon to the job I ground
him down onto not tryin' to dicker with any barter, but to walk up
like a man and pay for our two boards. Faith is real well off and
kinder independent sperited, and I knew she wouldn't let us pay for
hern, and at last we got a good comfortable room for ourselves and one
for Faith, not fur from ourn. Both on 'em looked out onto the
beautiful river, and I had lots of emotions as I looked out on it,
although they didn't rise up so fur as they would, if I hadn't had
such a tussel with my pardner, so true it is that chains of cumberin'
cares and Josiahs drag down the aspirin' soul-wings for the time
bein'. But I laid out to