to-morrow."

Sure enough they had heard some one talking. It was Tim Rooney and his chum, Mike O'Hara, whom he was bringing to show his goat. As they unfastened the door, Billy heard Mike say:

"I tell you, Tim, what I will do if he turns out as fine a goat as you say he is. I'll give you a dollar and a half for him."

"So ye'll give me a dollar and a half, will ye? Well I like that—a dollar and a half for the finest goat ye ever laid your two eyes on! Not much—what do ye take me for, an idjet? I don't want er sell but if ye'll offer injucements enough I may think about it, for we have no cart or harness fine enough for so handsome a goat as this one."

"Well, open the door and let's see him," said Mike.

Tim opened the door and there stood Billy Whiskers in all his glory with his most dignified expression mixed with a little disgust, for had he not heard himself valued at a dollar and a half,—he that had brought twenty dollars in his day!

Tim tied a rope around Billy's neck and led him out of the shed and then the bargaining began again.

"Well, since I have seen him," says Mike, "and find he is pretty large, I'll raise my bid to two dollars cash."

"Not on your life will I sell him for that," said Tim.

"Then how does three strike you, or you keep your goat for I won't pay another cent. It costs too much to keep a big goat like that; they eat up everything on the place."

This Tim well knew and as he was short of money and a circus was coming to town the next week, he decided to let him go. But not without one last effort to get a little more out of Mike. Now Mike had a hunting knife Tim had long coveted, though it had a rusty blade and a wobbly handle, so he said:

"I'll tell you what I'll do, Mike. I'll let you have him for three dollars cash and your hunting knife with a package of cigarettes thrown in."

"All right, it's a go!" said Mike. So Mike took hold of Billy's rope and led him into his yard and thus Billy changed hands once more and became the property of Mike O'Hara.