I take it that Mr. Halperin is referring to Howard Baetzhold's _Mark Twain and John Bull_. The original poster might also check Baetzhold, Howard, "The Course of Composition of _A Connecticut Yankee_: A Reinterpretation." _American Literature_ 33 (May 1961): 195-214. Note, too, that Twain wrote a letter to "Mother" Fairbanks in which he solemnly promised that the characters of the Arthurian legend would emerge from the pages of his novel as noble and pure. I have never read anything concerning her response to the book, but presumably she could not have been very happy. Concerning the "Injun Joe" question. Injun Joe is a half-breed. This makes a certain amount of sense, given Twain's conscious recreation of the Theseus/ Ariadne myth in on. (The Minotaur, too, has a double nature.) I particular version. (The Mintaur, of course, also has a double nature.) iness. I suspect it doesn't matter much. Bob Champ