Part 12 (1/2)

”What are they all so jolly about?” he asked Mr. Morton, as they walked through the field, the bushes of which were now almost stripped of their white tufts.

”Oh, they expect to finish work to-night and they're going to have a jubilee dance later on,” was the answer. ”You must come to it, for it will be great fun for the children.”

”Oh, yes, they must see that,” said Mother Brown.

Indeed the darkies were much more musical than on the occasion of the first visit of Bunny and Sue. Several banjos were playing and also a mouth organ here and there, while s.n.a.t.c.hes of songs could be heard all about the field.

Suddenly, over in the place where a number of pickers had gathered to empty their baskets into the big bin, whence the cotton was carted to the gin, there arose a great shouting.

”Whoa now! Whoa dere, Sambo! Steady now!” called a man's voice.

Then there was the shrill shrieking of women and girls, and a moment later a big mule hitched to a cart rushed toward Bunny, Sue and their friends, and on the mule's back, clinging for dear life, was a little colored boy, frightened almost out of his wits.

”Oh, look out, Bunny! Sue! Look out for the runaway!” cried Mrs. Brown.

CHAPTER X

ON TO FLORIDA

The clatter of the mule's hoofs, the rattle of the cart, and the yells of the little colored boy on the animal's back made plenty of excitement in the roadway of the cotton field. But besides all this there were the calls of Mrs. Brown, the shouts and yells of the frightened colored men, women and children, and the screams of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue.

”Good lan' ob ma.s.sy!” exclaimed one big, fat, colored woman, as she dropped her basket of cotton and rushed for a place of safety. ”Dat frisky li'l n.i.g.g.e.r suah will be splatter-dashed ef he fall offen dat mule's back!”

And indeed it did look bad for the small colored boy.

”Over here, Sue! Come to me, Bunny!” cried Mrs. Brown. ”Walter,” she called to her husband, ”look out for Sam and Grace,” for the Morton children were with their friends from the North.

Mr. Brown, with a quick motion, pulled Sam and Grace out of danger as the runaway mule, hauling the load of cotton, came nearer.

”Maybe Sam and I can stop him, Mother!” cried Bunny.

”Indeed and you'll do nothing of the sort!” exclaimed Mrs. Brown, hurrying the children behind a row of cotton plants.

”Hi! Hi! Hi!” was all the little colored boy on the back of the runaway mule could shout. ”Hi! Hi!”

”Oh, can't some one save him?” cried Mrs. Brown.

”I'll try,” answered her husband, who, having seen to it that Sam and Grace were safe with Bunny and Sue, started out to try to head off the mule. At the same time the shrieks of the colored women had called from a distant part of the field several strong colored men, and one of these ran toward the mule about the same time that Mr. Brown did.

But there was no need of any one getting worried. Before the mule could be caught he stopped, and stopped so suddenly that the colored boy was pitched off the animal's back. Down to the ground the dusky-skinned child slipped, but, luckily enough, there was a pile of cotton here, and it was on top of the fluffy stuff that he landed.

There he sat, a splotch of black in a heap of white, and he presented such a funny picture that Sue and her brother burst out laughing. So did Sam and Grace. And then Jim, the colored boy, finding that he was not hurt, opened his mouth and shrieked in delight.

Some of the colored men came up and took charge of the mule, which they led back to the shed whence he had run away. And one of the fat black women waddled toward Jim on the heap of cotton.

”Look yeah, yo' li'l hunk ob sticky black 'la.s.ses!” she cried. ”Whut fo'

you want to git on dat mule's back an' scare yo' po' mammy 'most into a conniption fit? Whut fo' you do dat, Jim St. Clair Breckinridge? Whut fo', huh?”