“Well, times had been getting rougher and rougher for prophets—­that is, prophets of Isaac’s denomination.  There was four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in the community, and only one Presbyterian; that is, if Isaac was a Presbyterian, which I reckon he was, but it don’t say.  Naturally, the prophets of Baal took all the trade.  Isaac was pretty low-spirited, I reckon, but he was a good deal of a man, and no doubt he went a-prophesying around, letting on to be doing a land-office business, but ’twa’n’t any use; he couldn’t run any opposition to amount to anything.  By and by things got desperate with him; he sets his head to work and thinks it all out, and then what does he do?  Why, he begins to throw out hints that the other parties are this and that and t’other —­nothing very definite, maybe, but just kind of undermining their reputation in a quiet way.  This made talk, of course, and finally got to the king.  The king asked Isaac what he meant by his talk.  Says Isaac, ’Oh, nothing particular; only, can they pray-down fire from heaven on an altar?  It ain’t much, maybe, your majesty, only can they do it?  That’s the idea.’  So the king was a good deal disturbed, and he went to the prophets of Baal, and they said, pretty airy, that if he had an altar ready, they were ready; and they intimated he better get it insured, too.

“So next morning all the children of Israel and their parents and the other people gathered themselves together.  Well, here was that great crowd of prophets of Baal packed together on one side, and Isaac walking up and down all alone on the other, putting up his job.  When time was called, Isaac let on to be comfortable and indifferent; told the other team to take the first innings.  So they went at it, the whole four hundred and fifty, praying around the altar, very hopeful, and doing their level best.  They prayed an hour—­two hours—­three hours—­and so on, plumb till noon.  It wa’n’t any use; they hadn’t took a trick.  Of course they felt kind of ashamed before all those people, and well they might.  Now, what would a magnanimous man do?  Keep still, wouldn’t he?  Of course.  What did Isaac do?  He graveled the prophets of Baal every way he could think of.  Says he, ’You don’t speak up loud enough; your god’s asleep, like enough, or maybe he’s taking a walk; you want to holler, you know’—­or words to that effect; I don’t recollect the exact language.  Mind, I don’t apologize for Isaac; he had his faults.

“Well, the prophets of Baal prayed along the best they knew how all the afternoon, and never raised, a spark.  At last, about sundown, they were all tuckered out, and they owned up and quit.