and on his shoulder, his own
eyes dropped before the piercing dark eyes and kindly smile above him,
and, a moment later, he was shyly making his way with Richard Hunt
toward Margaret.

It was on Thursday of the following week that Dan told him the two rams
were once more tied in his father's stable. On Saturday, then, they
would have the tournament. To get Mammy's help, Margaret had to tell
the plan to her, and Mammy stormed against the little girl taking part
in any such undignified proceedings, but imperious Margaret forced her
to keep silent and help make sashes and a tent for each of the two
knights. Chad would be the "Knight of the Cumberland" and Dan the
"Knight of the Bluegrass." Snowball was to be Dan's squire and black
Rufus, Harry's body-servant, would be squire to Chad. Harry was King
John, the other pickaninnies would be varlets and vassals, and outraged
Uncle Tom, so Dan told him, would, "by the beard of Abraham," have to
be a "Dog of an Unbeliever." Margaret was undecided whether she would
play Rebecca, or the "Queen of Love and Beauty," until Chad told her
she ought to be both, so both she decided to be. So all was done--the
spears fashioned of ash, the helmets battered from tin buckets, colors
knotted for the spears, and shields made of sheepskins. On the stiles
sat Harry and Margaret in royal state under a canopy of calico, with
indignant Mammy behind them. At each end of the stable-lot was a tent
of cotton, and before one stood Snowball and before the other black
Rufus, each with his master's spear and shield. Near Harry stood Sam,
the trumpeter, with a fox-horn to sound the charge, and four black
vassals stood at the stable-door to lead the chargers forth.

Near the stiles were the neighbors' children, and around the barn was
gathered every darky on the place, while behind the hedge and peeping
through it were the Major and the General, the one chuckling, the other
smiling indulgently.

The stable-doors opened, the four vassals disappeared and came forth,
each pair leading a ram, one covered with red calico, the other with
blue cotton, and each with a bandanna handkerchief around his neck.
Each knight stepped forth from his tent, as his charger was
dragged--ba-a-ing and butting--toward it, and, grasping his spear and
shield and setting his helmet on more firmly, got astride gravely--each
squire and vassal solemn, for the King had given command that no varlet
must show unseemly mirth. Behind the hed