annything gone wrong with thim, did ye say? Nawthin'! They be in good health, but they are not crazy t' be swimmin'. Th' way they do not hanker t' dash into th' water is marvellous, Mike. No water for thim!”      

       “Hist!” said Toole uneasily, glancing around to see that no one but Casey was in hearing. “Mebby ye have not started thim right, Tim.”      

       “Mebby not,” said Fagan angrily. “Mebby I do not know how t' start th'       water goat, Toole! Mebby there is one way unbeknownst t' me. If so, I have not tried it. But th' forty-sivin other ways I have tried, an' th' goats will not swim. I have started thim backwards an' I have started thim frontwards, an' I have took thim in by th' horns an' give thim lessons t'       swim, an' they will not swim! I have done me duty by thim, Mike, an' I have wrastled with thim, an' rolled in th' lake with thim. Was it t' be swimmin' teacher t' water goats ye got me this job for?”      

       “Hist!” said Toole again. “Not so loud, Tim! Ye haven't told Dugan have ye?”      

       “I have not!” said Tim, with anger. “I have not told annybody annything excipt thim goats an' what I told thim is not dacint hearin'. I have conversed with thim in strong language, an' it done no good. No swimmin'       for thim! Come on down an' have a chat with thim yersilf, Toole. Come on down an' argue with thim, an persuade thim with th' soft sound of yer voice t' swim. Come on down an' git thim water goats used t' th' water.”      

       “Ye don't understand th' water goat, Tim,” said Toole in gentle reproof.       “I will show ye how t' handle him,” and he went out, followed by the wet Keeper of the Water Goats.     

       The two water goats stood at the side of the lake, wet and mournful, tied to two strong stakes. They looked weary and meek, for they had had a hard morning, but as soon as they saw Tim Fagan they brightened up. They arose simultaneously on their hind legs and their eyes glittered with deadly hatred. They strained at their ropes, and then, suddenly, panic-stricken, they turned and ran, bringing up at the ends of their ropes with a shock that bent the stout stakes to which they were fastened. They stood still and cowered, trembling.     

       “Lay hold!” commanded Toole. “Lay hold of a horn of th' brute till I show ye how t' make him 

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