What does Tennessee’s Partner mean when he says “What should a man know of his pardner”?  Why did the judge think that humor would be dangerous?  Why are the people angry when Tennessee’s Partner offers his seventeen hundred dollars for Tennessee’s release?  Why does Tennessee’s Partner take its rejection so calmly?  What effect does his offer have on the jury?  What does the author mean by “the weak and foolish deed”?  Does he approve the hanging?  Why does Tennessee’s Partner not show any grief?  What do you think of Jack Folinsbee?  What is gained by the long passage of description?  What does Tennessee’s Partner’s speech show about the friendship of the two men?  About friendship in general?  Do men often care so much for each other?  Is it possible that Tennessee’s Partner died of grief?  Is the conclusion good?  Comment on the kind of men who figure in the story.  Are there any such men now?  Why is this called a very good story?

Some time after you have read the story, run through it and see how many different sections or scenes there are in it.  How are these sections linked together?  Look carefully at the beginning of each paragraph and see how the connection is made with the paragraph before.

THEME SUBJECTS

Two Friends
A Miner’s Cabin
The Thief
The Road through the Woods
The Trial
A Scene in the Court Room
Early Days in our County
Bret Harte’s Best Stories
The Escaped Convict
The Highwayman
A Lumber Camp
Roughing It
The Judge
The Robbers’ Rendezvous
An Odd Character
Early Days in the West
A Mining Town
Underground with the Miners
Capturing the Thieves
The Sheriff

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING

=Two Friends=:—­Tell where these two friends lived and how long they had known each other.  Describe each one, explaining his peculiarities; perhaps you can make his character clear by telling some incident concerning him.  What seemed to be the attraction between the two friends?  Were they much together?  What did people say of them?  What did they do for each other?  Did they talk to others about their friendship?  Did either make a sacrifice for the other?  If so, tell about it rather fully.  Was there any talk about it?  What was the result of the sacrifice?  Was the friendship ever broken?

=Early Days in our County=:—­Perhaps you can get material for this from some old settlers, or from a county history.  Tell of the first settlement:  Who was first on the ground, and why did he choose this particular region?  What kind of shelter was erected?  How fast did the settlement grow?  Tell some incidents of the early days.  You might speak also of the processes of clearing the land and of building; of primitive methods of living, and the difficulty of getting supplies.  Were there any dangers?  Speak of several prominent persons, and