was all these yarns about her dancin' up at the
pass?"

"It was the Sacramento Pet who did all the dancin'; Polly only LENT
the goat. Ye see, the Pet kinder took a shine to Billy arter he bowled
Starbottle over thet day at the hotel, and she thought she might teach
him tricks. So she DID, doing all her teachin' and stage-rehearsin' up
there at the pass, so's to be outer sight, and keep this thing dark. She
bribed Polly to lend her the goat and keep her secret, and Polly never
let on a word to anybody but me."

"Then it was the Pet that Yuba Bill saw dancin' from the coach?"

"Yes."

"And that yer artist from New York painted as an 'Imp and Satire'?"

"Yes."

"Then that's how Polly didn't show up in them tablows at Skinnerstown?
It was Withholder who kinder smelt a rat, eh? and found out it was only
a theayter gal all along that did the dancin'?"

"Well, you see," said Jack, with affected hesitation, "thet's another
yarn. I don't know mebbe ez I oughter tell it. Et ain't got anything
to do with this advertisement o' the Pet, and might be rough on old man
Withholder! Ye mustn't ask me, boys."

But there was that in his eye, and above all in this lazy
procrastination of the true humorist when he is approaching his climax,
which rendered the crowd clamorous and unappeasable. They WOULD have the
story!

Seeing which, Jack leaned back against a rock with great gravity, put
his hands in his pockets, looked discontentedly at the ground, and
began: "You see, boys, old Parson Withholder had heard all these yarns
about Polly and thet trick-goat, and he kinder reckoned that she might
do for some one of his tablows. So he axed her if she'd mind standin'
with the goat and a tambourine for Jephthah's Daughter, at about the
time when old Jeph comes home, sailin' in and vowin' he'll kill the
first thing he sees,--jest as it is in the Bible story. Well, Polly
didn't like to say it wasn't HER that performed with the goat, but the
Pet, for thet would give the Pet dead away; so Polly agrees to come thar
with the goat and rehearse the tablow. Well, Polly's thar, a little
shy; and Billy,--you bet HE'S all there, and ready for the fun; but the
darned fool who plays Jephthah ain't worth shucks, and when HE comes
in he does nothin' but grin at Polly and seem skeert at the goat. This
makes old Withholder jest wild, and at last he goes on the platform
hisself to show them how the thing oughter be done. So he comes bustlin'
and prancin