He assisted the Thread Man out of his and tossed it behind
him. The coat alighted in the fire, and was badly scorched before
it was rescued. But the Thread Man was game. Fifty times that
night it had been said that he was to have the first coon, of
course he should work for it. So with the ax with which Casey
chopped ice for his refrigerator, the Boston man banged against
the hickory, and swore to himself because he could not make the
chips fly as Jimmy did.
"Iverybody clear out!" cried Jimmy. "Number one is coming down.
Get the coffee sack ready. Baste cooney over the head and shove
him in before the dogs tear the skin. We want a dandy big pelt
out of this!"
There was a crack, and the tree fell with a crash. All the Boston
man could see was that from a tumbled pile of branches, dogs, and
men, some one at last stepped back, gripping a sack, and cried:
"Got it all right, and it's a buster."
"Now for the other forty-nine!" shouted Jimmy, straining into his
coat.
"Come on, boys, we must secure a coon for every one," cried the
Thread Man, heartily as any member of the party might have said
it. But the rest of the boys suddenly grew tired. They did not
want any coons, and after some persuasion the party agreed to go
back to Casey's to warm up.
Pages:
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117