"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 take sights of comfort in more tranquil and less dickerin' times, in lookin' out on the beauty and glory of the waters, and fur off, into the beautiful distance lit with the mornin's rosy light, and "sunset and evenin' star." We sot off on the afternoon boat for Clayton. Faith seemed real glad to see us and we visey versey. And it wuz a joy to me to see her admiration of the Islands as we swep' by 'em and round 'em on our way to the Park.