BALDY GIVES IN
The two darkeys had their blood up now, and were resolved to get that
mule harnessed or die in the attempt. Mose had the big padded collar,
and his companion had the bridle. They crept up warily toward old Baldy,
who, with the wisdom born of many such encounters, refused to be
cornered, dashing out with surprising speed every time things began to
look bad for him. But at last the negroes maneuvered him into a corner
from which there was no escape, and then, with a sudden rush, threw
themselves at him. Mose caught him round the neck, while the other
leaped to his back and clung there with hands and knees. They were wise
in the ways of mules, also, and enjoyed a tussle like this, although
their enjoyment was tempered by a wholesome respect for the kicking and
biting ability of the animal.
But before they could get the collar over his head, Baldy rushed across
the yard kicking and rearing, dragging the two negroes after him as
though their weight amounted to nothing at all. The negroes held on
gamely, though, and at last the mule, despairing of shaking them off,
suddenly threw himself down and rolled completely over. The darkeys
however had anticipated some such action, and let go just in the nick of
time to save themselves.
“That was a narrow escape,” said Bobby, somewhat anxiously. “Aren’t you
afraid they’ll get hurt, Lee?”
“I don’t think so,” he answered. “It takes a lot to hurt them, and
they’ve done this many times before. Just leave it to them.”
The mule struggled to his feet with his tormentors clinging to him.
Suddenly he gave a lightning-like whirl that shook Mose loose in spite
of all he could do, and before he could recover himself Baldy had lashed
out and caught the darkey fair and square. Fortunately for Mose, he
still had hold of the big padded collar, and the mule’s hoofs landed on
this with a smart whack. Mose was propelled along several feet, and
then, losing his balance, rolled over and over in the dust.
The three boys thought he was badly hurt, and rushed out to his rescue,
but before they had gone ten feet the negro had bounded to his feet,
just in time to avoid the mule, who was rushing toward him with mouth
wide open and wicked teeth gleaming. Temporarily the fight had been
knocked out of Mose, and he fled ignominiously for the fence, with old
Baldy in hot pursuit. With the other negro clinging desperately around
his neck, it was a ludicrous spectacle, and as Mose cleared the fence in
a wild scramble with the mule not ten feet behind him, the boys shouted
with laughter.
“That was a close shave!” gasped Fred at last. “Old Baldy is out after
dark meat to-day, I can see that.”
“Looks to me as though the mule had won the decision,” said Bobby. “How
about it, Lee?”
“Oh, they can’t give up now,” said Lee. “That mule would never be worth
a cent to us again if they let him win. But I’m going to see if a little
strategy won’t help them out.”
“You two wait a minute,” he called to the negroes, who were by now both
on the safe side of the fence, mopping at their streaming faces, and
started on a run for the barn. He soon emerged, carrying a heaped
measure with oats. Baldy was at the other end of the yard, watching
proceedings with deep suspicion. Lee emptied the oats on the ground
within two feet of the fence, and then rejoined his friends.
“You two wait until he starts to eat the oats, and then jump on him,” he
shouted to the negroes.
“Yessah,” responded Mose, with a grin. “’Clare to goodness, Ah’d clean
forgot dat you can ketch more flies wid honey dan yuh can wid vinegar.”
When Baldy saw the tempting heap of oats, it occurred to him that a
little something to eat wouldn’t be so bad, and he sidled over to them
and began eating. The darkeys secured the harness that they had been
forced to drop, and crept cautiously up on the mule, who was now
thinking only of how delicious oats could taste to a hungry mule. Mose
mounted the fence just back of old Baldy, while his companion crept
close to the mule’s other side. Suddenly Mose leaped squarely on his
back. With a frightened snort the mule jerked his head up, and at that
second Mose slipped the heavy collar over his neck. At the same moment
the other negro slipped the bridle over his head, forced the bit into
his mouth, and before he could flick his tail old Baldy found himself
arrayed in harness. The suddenness of the attack seemed to take all the
spirit out of the mule, and when he found himself actually harnessed he
submitted with only a few feeble kicks and bucks as protest against the
trick that had been played on him. He was soon hitched to the wagon, and
it rattled out of the yard with the two colored men on the seat laughing
and throwing insults at the subdued Baldy.
“That was some inspiration you had, Lee,” said Bobby. “I thought at one
time you’d have to call in the police if you wanted to get him
harnessed.”
“Oh, that’s an old trick,” said the Southern lad. “I’ve seen those same
darkeys do the same thing, but I guess this time they were so rattled
they didn’t think of it.”
“Well, I’m glad they didn’t do that at the beginning,” said Fred. “We’d
have missed a lot of fun if they had. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how
funny Mose looked streaking for the fence with that mule snapping his
teeth right behind him.”
“Yes, old Mose was a scared darkey, all right,” laughed Lee. “But now, I
don’t know about you fellows, but I for one am beginning to feel as
though I could appreciate some of Aunt Dinah’s cooking.”
“Well, suppose you lead us to it and let us show you how we feel about
it,” said Bobby. “As they often remind us in school, it’s deeds that
count, not words.”
“All right, then, just follow me and I’ll give you a chance to
demonstrate,” said Lee.
“Lead on,” said Fred, “and remember that we’re with you to the last
doughnut.”
“Oh, I know I can count on you,” returned Lee, as he and his friends
headed for the house. “But I know you can’t eat too much to suit Aunt
Dinah. The more you pack away, the more she thinks you like her cooking.
She is sure an artist when, it comes to performing on a cook stove.”
Arrived at the house, the boys found that Lee’s praise of Aunt Dinah’s
abilities had been well founded. Creamy, luscious biscuits, tender,
juicy fried chicken, with various tempting side dishes, were topped off
by an apple pie that Fred later referred to as “a dream,” and when they
finally adjourned to the spacious veranda they felt at peace with all
the world.
“Why, I feel so good I think I could even forgive Ap Plunkit for soaking
me with a baseball, the way he did last season,” said Fred.
“Well, Lee, if you ever had a grudge against Fred, now’s the time to hit
him,” said Bobby. “He wouldn’t even try to hit you back. He’d just shake
hands with you and forgive you.”
“I’d advise _you_ to try it,” said Lee, scornfully. “I know it always
takes an awful lot to make Fred mad, but still, I’m not going to chance
it.”
Mrs. Cartier, who was an interested listener, laughed. “That’s all that
boys seem to think of—eating and fighting,” she said. “Sometimes I
wonder how they ever get time to study.”
“Well,” said Bobby, “at school, especially, there always seems to be
some one who’ll bully everybody else, if he gets the chance, and so once
in a while we just have to show him that he can’t.”
“I suppose so,” she said. “The world always seems to have plenty of
trouble makers.”