Grace Harlowes Overland Riders Among the Kentucky Mountaineers | Page 3

as satisfactory one. The pebble hit Washington's pack mule on the tender part of its hind leg, galvanizing that member into instant and vigorous action.
The eyes of the Overlanders were not quick enough to see the movement that followed. What they did see, however, was Washington Washington lifted from the ground and pitched head first into a clump of laurel, where the light foot of an outraged mule had landed him.
"He's killed!" cried Anne, voicing the thought that was in the mind of each of her companions, and a concerted rush was made for the clump of laurel.
They found the colored boy somewhat dazed when they dragged him from the bushes.
"Wha--whar dat 'monica?" he gasped, referring to the harmonica that he was playing when the mule kicked him.
"Maybe he swallowed it," suggested Emma. "I hope not, for he surely would have musical indigestion. Wouldn't that be terrible--for us?"
"No great loss if it has landed over in the Cumberlands," observed Tom Gray. "Wash, where did the mule hit you?"
"Ah reckons all ovah, 'cept on de bean. Why dat fool mule kick me? Hain't nevah done nothin' laik that befo'. Ah ask yuh why he do dat?" insisted Washington.
They glanced at Emma, whose face reddened.
"I threw a stone at you and hit the mule, if you must know," she said. "The mule passed it on, hitting you with his foot. That mule must have played tag when he was a child. I'm sorry, Wash--but if you had been attending to your business you would not have been hit."
Washington's first thought upon recovering from his daze had been for the harmonica, and his first act, after getting to his feet, was to go in search of it. He found it after considerable effort, and ran the scales on it.
"Glory be!" cried the boy. "Dat fool mule ain't done kicked de music out ob it."
"Listen to me, Washington," demanded Grace, stepping over and laying a firm hand on the lad's shoulder. "You will put that instrument away--"
"'Tain't no inst'ment. Hit's a 'monica," he interrupted.
"I am speaking. Put it away, and do not let me see you touch it again until you have finished your work. Do you understand?"
"Uh-huh."
"See that you do not forget. Unpack both mule packs, but look out for the mules' heels, and remember that we did not hire you for an ornament. Emma Dean, let this be a warning to you," admonished Grace, turning to her companion. "Never trifle with a mule. They are all notoriously devoid of a sense of humor."
Washington, in the meantime, had shuffled away and had leisurely begun removing the packs.
"Speaking of ornaments, I suppose I am the only real ornament in this outfit," observed Hippy.
"You mean the kind that they pack away in the garret with broken chairs and old chromos," suggested Emma.
Hippy shrugged his shoulders and walked away, followed by the laughter of his companions. Emma had scored again, as she frequently did, and Hippy, instead of being ruffled, took keen delight, as usual, in her repartee.
"I fear that boy is not going to do at all," said Grace's husband with a shake of the head. "As I have remarked before, you should have a man for a guide, a man who knows these mountains and who is able to protect and look out for you girls in the event of your getting into trouble."
"But, Tom dear, don't you think the Overland girls by this time should be quite able to look out for themselves?" begged Grace.
"Ordinarily, yes. You are, however, going into territory that is rather wild, going among people that do not value human life or liberty according to our standards. My friend, Colonel Spotsworth, of Louisville, strongly advised against you folks crossing the eastern end of the range, which would take you through mountains where moonshiners and feudists hold forth. I agree with him."
"We have Hippy," suggested Elfreda. "In an emergency he is worth half a dozen of the ordinary kind."
"Yes, but Hippy is not a woodsman. He knows nothing at all about woodcraft, a necessary accomplishment in one who is going to pilot a party of girls across such mountain territory as you propose to travel."
"What's that you say, Tom Gray?" called Lieutenant Wingate from the campfire where he was observing Washington fan it into life.
Grace laughingly repeated what Tom had said.
"Humph! I know all I need to know about woodcraft," declared Hippy with emphasis. "When I smell wood burning in the kitchen stove I know it is time to eat. What more knowledge of woodcraft does a fellow need?"
"Amply sufficient for you, Hippy. But what about the rest of the party?" grinned Tom Gray.
"As I was about to say," resumed Grace, "we shall be up with you in a few weeks. How long do you reckon it will take you