s gun and seating himself) Nope, but I made de
feathers fly.

HAMBO: I don't see no birds.

JOE: Oh, the feathers flew off on de birds.

LIGE: I don't see nothin' but dat bone. Look lak you done kilt a cow
and et 'im raw out in de woods.

JOE: Don't y'all know dat hock-bone?

WALTER: How you reckon we gointer know every hock-bone in Orange
County sight unseen?

JOE: (Standing the bone up on the floor of the porch) Dis is a
hock-bone of Brazzle's ole yaller mule.

(General pleased interest. Everybody wants to touch it.)

BRAZZLE: (Coming forward) Well, sir! (Takes bone in both hands and
looks up and down the length of it) If 'tain't my ole mule! This sho
was one hell of a mule, too. He'd fight every inch in front of de
plow ... he'd turn over de mowing machine ... run away wid de
wagon ... and you better not look like you wanter _ride_ 'im!

LINDSAY: (Laughing) Yeah, I 'member seein' you comin' down de road
just so ... (He limps wid one hand on his buttocks) one day.

BRAZZLE: Dis mule was so evil he used to try to bite and kick when I'd
go in de stable to feed 'im.

WALTER: He was too mean to git fat. He was so skinny you could do a
week's washing on his ribs for a washboard and hang 'em up on his
hip-bones to dry.

LIGE: I 'member one day, Brazzle, you sent yo' boy to Winter Park
after some groceries wid a basket. So here he went down de road ridin'
dis mule wid dis basket on his arm.... Whut you reckon dat ole
contrary mule done when he got to dat crooked place in de road going
round Park Lake? He turnt right round and went through de handle of
dat basket ... wid de boy still up on his back. (General laughter)

BRAZZLE: Yeah, he up and died one Sat'day just for spite ... but he
was too contrary to lay down on his side like a mule orter and die
decent. Naw, he made out to lay down on his narrer contracted back and
die wid his feets sticking straight up in de air just so. (He gets
down on his back and illustrates.) We drug him out to de swamp wid 'im
dat way, didn't we, Hambo?

JOE CLARK: I God, Brazzle, we all seen it. Didn't we all go to de
draggin' out? More folks went to yo' mule's draggin' out than went to
last school closing.... Bet there ain't been a thing right in
mule-hell for four years.

HAMBO: Been dat long since he been dead?

CLARK: I God, yes. He died de week after I started to cutting' dat new
ground.

(The bone is passing from hand to hand. At last a boy about twelve
takes it. He