Persons attempting to find a motive in the Belfast Maskers play “Twain by the Tale” will be prosecuted. Persons attempting to find a moral will be banned. And, if you’re really smart, you won’t go looking for a plot either, because then you’ll be shot.

So it goes with stories about Mark Twain, that booming American figure who gave us Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher and enough quips to fill five pages of Bartlett’s famous book of quotations. That’s essentially what “Twain by the Tale” is: a revue of quotable and clever Twainisms lifted from the author’s stories, skits and monologues.

The script, adapted by Dennis Snee, shows off Twain as a spirited American writer who proudly uses his practical nature to chronicle and criticize the absurdities of life. So whether Tom Sawyer is asking Becky Thatcher to get engaged, or Samuel Clemens is taunting a young reporter trying to write a profile, the language is tinged with Twain’s quick wit and proudly slanted views.

An episodic whirlwind, the play rolls out 17 scenes set in Twain’s literary landscape. Early on, the show seems more like the type of script that might appear in a high school gym theater. But just when it seems as if the action might get stuck in presentation rather than theatricality, director Gardner Howes gives the action a jolt of humor or poignancy.

Twain is a master of characterization through strange regionalisms, so the cast of “Twain by the Tale” could certainly take a few more risks in their depictions of Twain’s quirky folks. On the other hand, much of the acting — and all of the actors play a variety of roles — relies on that dependable Belfast Maskers’ simplicity and naturalness, which is both remarkable and almost always successful.

Young Amon Purinton as Tom, Rosie Hughes as Becky, and Galen Cunning as Huck present their scenes with an honesty and fluidity that is preciously funny and sweetly intelligent. Ben Kushner, an older actor, has some of the same grace onstage. He doesn’t always get his lines out easily, but he grabs hold of the scene and fills the stage — especially when he’s braying like a donkey.

Peter Paton has a brilliantly hilarious scene in which he tells a story about a buffalo climbing a tree. He’s a no-frills performer, and it works like honey for bees.

The show wouldn’t have a certain commanding presence if it weren’t for Michael Fletcher. As Twain, Fletcher is always in the background leading his characters around and inviting them into his writing room so they can shine in print. Fletcher doesn’t go for the easy out with his presentation of Twain. He gives the old patriarch depth and warmth and sensitivity and never overwhelms the action. It’s a tour de force for Fletcher, who ages into the big-haired, big-mustached, white-suited icon of Twain.

A fake nose that Fletcher wears is surprisingly believable — thanks to makeup artist Diane Coller Wilson. Costume designer Sharon Teel and stage designer Peter Stewart also add to the authenticity of Twain’s time and milieu.

The pace of “Twain by the Tale” could happily pick up a bit but the brightness of the cast — which also includes Edie Palmer, Chip Lagerbom, Alex Rogals, Kate Grossman, Daniel Colby, Nathan Gaul and Datvik Deirkrikorian — never wavers, and that goes a long way in making this show enjoyable.

The Belfast Maskers will present “Twain by the Tale” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday through June 30 at the Railroad Theater in Belfast. For information, call 338-9668.