Jim said, “I’ll raise me my own mule.”

Luty said, “Jack-asses is always the daddies, ain’t they?”

Jim wheeled around, but Luty was scuffling the sand as innocent as a kitten. Jim watched him, and I could see him catch a-holt of an idea.

“Looky here, Luty,” he said. “You got you a fine stand of cane, and frost due on it, and no horse nor mule to grind it. Now my crops is all spring crops. You and me friends, the way we always been, what say we buy this mule together?”

“Well,” said Luty, “the way we always been friends, I don’t know as buying no mule together has got too much sense to it.”

I said, “You mighty right. A mule’s something you can’t pitch in the Creek when you get put out at each other.”

“Quincey,” said Jim, “if you don’t shut your mouth——”

“And put out you’ll get,” I said.

About that time the mule hoisted up his ears and wrinkled his nose. He pulled loose from old man Perry and walked over to Luty. Luty had him a plug of tobacco and had just shaved hisself off a nice thin sliver. The mule reached out his tongue and wropped it around the sliver. He stepped back and closed his eyes and went to chewing.

“Well, I’ll be dogged,” Luty said. “I’ll just be dogged.”

Old man Perry begun to jump up and down.

“That don’t mean nothing,” he said. “He’s normal.”

“He ain’t normal,” I said. “I’ll bet he’s a stump-sucker.”

“He’s a May-mule and he’ll waller in the water,” old man Perry said, “but if he’s a stump-sucker, all I got to say is, I ain’t never seed him suck no stumps nor postes.”

“I’ll bet you’re obliged to turn your back in mighty big of a hurry,” I said.

Luty walked on over to the mule and pared him off another shaving of tobacco. The mule takened it and nuzzled him and went to chewing again.

“I’ll be dogged,” Luty said. “Ain’t that something?”

“I’ll take thirty dollars,” old man Perry said, whimpering.

“Don’t you trade, fellers,” I said to Jim and Luty. It come to me like a rift in the rain, that mule was on-natural, and them buying it together was more so. “The mule’s peculiar and you-all are peculiar. Don’t go adding no fat to no bonfire.”

They paid me no more mind than the wind a-blowing.