Three
__4 __ THREE JOJO AND I went to the barn, caught up the mules, and made a sack of hay to use as a saddle. We led them up to an old tree stump to climb on their backs. Mr. Ford called for us to come by the house. He handed two sacks with the ends tied together up to JoJo and told him to drop them off at his home. Each sack was about half full of food-a big country ham in each sack, shucky beans, dried apples, and several jarswell wrapped-of huckleberries, jellies, and jams. He knew JoJo's family could use these things. Them living in town, they seldom got hold of good country food. . He then handed a loaded sack up to me. The bottom of the sack was filled part way with beans and potatoes just beginning to have sprouts on them. Snuggled between the potatoes, resting on top of the beans, he had placed a gallon jug of liquor. He told me to be careful and not let the mule trot, and to take the sack to his good friend, the sheriff. He gave me a second sack and said to tell the sheriff one of the sacks was for him and the other for his other good friend, the visiting revenuer. The sheriff was out back of his house, raking and piling last year's weeds and leaves, getting his garden ready to be plowed. He saw me riding up and came over and asked me how the trip over the mountain was. I skipped around some parts that I didn't want to talk about and tried to tell him of things that he would not be interested in. I was just plain nervous, sitting there explaining to him. I told him I had brought him a sack of stuff from Mr. Ford's. He reached up and helped me slide it from the mule's back. He thanked me and said maybe he could do something for me someday. He didn't know it right then, but it wasn't to be too long until he got the chance. I thanked him and said I'd better be heading for home. We crossed the river going over to JoJo's home. His Mom and 20 all his younger brothers and sisters ran out to meet us. We rode our mules up to the house and he handed the sacks of food down, then he slid off the mule's back. His mother grabbed him up and hugged him and kissed his cheek, and the smaller children were clinging to him, asking a thousand questions at one time. JoJo handed me the bridle reins of the mule he had ridden, and I headed for home. When I got within sight of home, I could see Mom and the girls coming from the milk gap. They saw me coming and set their milk pails down and came running down to meet me. Artie wanted to lead the other mule. I gave her the bridle reins and we walked the mules up to the front yard. Dad and Jim were in the house eating supper. They heard all the kids jabbering and the big mules snorting and came out to see what was going on. I asked Jim to help me make room for the mules down at the cow barn and I would explain everything when we got through. Mom told Artie to fix me a plate of food. As I sat there eating my supper, I started in telling the family about Mr. Ford's offer to let me buy the big blacks and a nearly new set of harness and how I was to pay him as I worked. Dad looked across the table at me and said, "You would have to go to school in the fall." We were not going to do much planting, as there was plenty of work for him and his teams to do in town. He thought I might be able to do a lot of hauling and pay Mr. Ford a goodly part of the $300. We sat there and discussed it for a while and Dad said, "We'll go in the morning to talk with Mr. Ford." The next morning Dad told Jim to go ahead with the planned work they were to do. Dad kept his teams at the big livery barn in the edge of town and used...
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