"Salomy Jane's Kiss" has all the trademarks of a tall tale as only Harte could spin one. A pretty girl's red lips transform a friendless horse thief on his worse day, about to be hanged, into a bold escapee with a new plan for success. "Uncle Jim and Uncle Billy" is a gold-camp yarn about two old partners ("at least 40," Harte writes -- mighty old for a miner's life in the hills) and the secrets they keep. Other stories among these seven reflect Harte's interest in places and high societies outside of the Gold Rush State. "Unser Karl" sets up a problem for "the American consul for Schlachtadt" -- and for Mark Twain, who accused his rival, Harte, of a tin ear for dialect. ("Dot's joost it," Karl seems to agree.) Readers can judge for themselves: Harte takes on every lingo from German, to Chinese to his signature frontier slang in these colorful accounts. Je whillikins