“In course,” responded Jim, “an’ I can take up with what ye haven’t got.”

“Our accommodations is very crowded,” said Mrs. Buffum.

“So is mine to home,” responded Jim.  “I allers sleep hangin’ on a gambrel, between two slabs.”

While Mr. Tom Buffum’s “women” were laughing, Jim lifted off his pack, placed his rifle in the corner of the room, and sat down in front of the fire, running on with his easygoing tongue through preposterous stories, and sundry flattering allusions to the beauty and attractiveness of the women to whose hospitalities he had committed himself.

After supper, to which he did full justice, the family drew around the evening fire, and while Mr. Buffum went, or seemed to go, to sleep, in his chair, his guest did his best to entertain the minor members of the group.

“This hollerin’ ye have here reminds me,” said Jim, “of Number Nine.  Ther’s some pretty tall hollerin’ thar nights.  Do ye see how my ha’r sticks up?  I can’t keep it down.  It riz one night jest about where you see it now, and it’s mostly been thar ever sence.  Combin’ don’t do no good Taller don’t do no good.  Nothin’ don’t do no good.  I s’pose if Mr. Buffum, a-snorin’ jest as hard as he does now, should set on it for a fortnight, it would spring right up like a staddle, with a b’ar ketched at the eend of it, jest as quick as he let up on me.”  At this there was a slight rumble in Mr. Buffum’s throat.

“Why, what made it rise so?” inquired the most interested and eldest Miss Buffum.

“Now, ain’t your purty eyes wide open?” said Jim.

“You’re jest fooling; you know you are,” responded Miss Buffum, blushing.

“Do ye see the ha’r on the back of my hand?” said Jim, patting one of those ample instruments with the other.  “That stands up jest as it does on my head.  I’m a regular hedgehog.  It all happened then.”

“Now, Jim Fenton, you shall go along and tell your story, and not keep us on tenter-hooks all night,” said Miss Buffum sharply.

“I don’t want to scare the dear little heart out o’ ye,” said Jim, with a killing look of his eyes, “but if ye will hear it, I s’pose I must tell ye.  Ye see I’m alone purty much all the time up thar.  I don’t have no such times as I’m havin’ here to-night, with purty gals ’round me.  Well, one night I hearn a loon, or thought I hearn one.  It sounded ’way off on the lake, and bimeby it come nigher, and then I thought it was a painter, but it didn’t sound ’zactly like a painter.  My dog Turk he don’t mind such things, but he knowed it wa’r’n’t a loon and wa’r’n’t a painter.  So he got up and went to the door, and then the yell come agin, and he set up the most un’arthly howl I ever hearn.  I flung one o’ my boots at ’im, but he didn’t mind any thing more about it than if it had been a feather.  Well, ye see, I couldn’t sleep, and the skeeters was purty busy, and I thought I’d git up.  So I went to my cabin door and flung