CHAPTER VIII. LITTLE ANT RED AND BIG ANT BLACK.
A breath's delay must have been fatal. Robert had no whip, butdoubling the lines and shouting at the top of his voice, he bracedhimself and lashed the gray. The respectable beast leaped withastonishment, dragging its fellow along. The fore wheels cleared thetrack, and Bobaday's head was filled with the prolonged cry of thelocomotive. Zene sprang up, and the hind part of the wagon received acrash which threw the boy out at the side, and Zene quite across thegray's back.
The train came to a stop after running a few yards further. Butfinding that no lives were lost, it put on steam and disappeared onits course, and Zene and his trembling assistant were trying to propup one corner of the wagon when Grandma Padgett brought herspectacles to bear upon the scene.
One hind wheel had been splintered by the train, the leap of thegray turning the wagon from the road. Grandma Padgett preserved hercomposure and asked few questions. Her lips moved at frequentintervals for a long time after this accident. But aunt Corinne flewout of the carriage, and felt her nephew's arms and wailed over thebump his cheek received, and was sure his legs were broken, and thatZene limped more than ever, and that the train had run straightacross their prostrate forms.
Zene busied himself with shamefaced eagerness in getting the wagonoff the road and preparing to hunt a shop. He made piteous grimacesover every strap he unfastened.
"We cannot leave the goods standing here in the wagon with nobody towatch 'em," said the head of the caravan. "It's nigh dinner-time, andwe'll camp in sight, and wait till we can all go on together. Amerciful Providence has brought us along safe so far. We mustn't gitseparated and run ourselves into any more dangers than we can help."
Zene lingered only to pitch the camp and find water at a springrunning down into a small creek. Then he bestrode one of the wagonhorses, and, carrying the broken wheel-hubs, trotted away.
Grandma Padgett tucked up her dress, took provisions from the wagon,and got dinner. Aunt Corinne and her nephew made use of this occasionto lay in a supply of nuts for winter. The nuts were old ones, lyingunder last autumn's leaves, and before a large heap had beengathered, aunt Corinne bethought her to examine if they were fit toeat. They were not; for besides an ancient flavor, the first kernelbetrayed the fact that these were pig-nuts instead of hickory.
BOBADAY'S NARROW ESCAPE.]
"You would have 'em," said Bobaday, kicking the pile. "I didn'tthink they's good, anyhow."
"They looked just like our little hickories," said aunt Corinne,twisting her mouth at the acrid kernel, "that used to lay under thattree in the pasture. And their shells are as sound."
But there was compensation in two saplings which submitted to berode as teeters part of the idle afternoon.
Grandma Padgett had put away the tea things before Zene returned. Hebrought with him a wagon-maker from one of the villages on the 'pike.The wagon-maker, after examining the disabled vehicle, and gettingthe dimensions of the other hind wheel which Zene had forgotten totake to him, assured the party he would set them up all right in aday or two.
Grandma Padgett was sitting on a log knitting.
"We'd better have kept to the 'pike," she remarked.
"Yes, marm," responded Zene.
"The toll-gates would be a small expense compared to this."
"Yes, indeed, marm," responded Zene, grimacing piteously.
"Still," said Grandma Padgett, "we have much to be thankful for, inthat our lives and health have been spared."
"Oh, yes, marm! yes, marm!" responded Zene.
The wagon-maker hung by one careless leg to his horse beforecantering off, and inquired with neighborly interest:
"How far West you folks goin'?"
"We're goin' to Illinois," replied Grandma Padgett.
"Oh, pshaw, now!" said the wagon-maker. "Goin' to the Eeleenoy!that's a good ways. Ain't you 'fraid you'll never git back?"
"We ain't expectin' to come back," said Grandma Padgett. "My son'ssettled there."
"He has!" said the wagon-maker with an accent of surprise. "Well,well! they say that's an awful country."
"My son writes back it's as fine land as he ever saw," said GrandmaPadgett with dignity and proper local pride.
"But the chills is so bad," urged the wagon-maker, who looked as ifhe had experienced them at their worst. "And the milk-sick, they saythe milk-sick is all over the Eeleenoy."
"We're not borrowing any trouble about such things," said GrandmaPadgett.
"Some of our townsfolks went out there," continued the wagon-maker,"but what was left of 'em come back. They had to buy their drinkin'water, and the winters on them perrares froze the children in theirbeds! Oh, I wouldn't go to the Eeleenoy," said the wagon-makercoaxingly. "You're better off here, if you only knew it."
As Grandma Padgett heard this remonstrance with silent dignity, thewagon-maker took himself off with a few additional remarks.
Then they began to make themselves snug for the night. The wagon-coverwas taken off and made into a tent for Grandma Padgett and aunt Corinne.Robert Day was to sleep in the carriage, and Zene insisted on sleepingwith blankets on the wagon where he could watch the goods. He would bewithin calling distance of the camp.
"We're full as comfortable as we were last night, anyhow," observedthe head of the caravan.
Zene said it made no difference about his supper. He took thankfullywhat was kept for him, and Robert Day felt certain Zene was trying tobestow on him some conscience-stricken glances.
It was an occasion on which Zene could be made to tell a story. Hewas not lavish with such curious ones as he knew. Robert sometimessuspected him to be a mine of richness, but it took such hard miningto get a nugget out that the results hardly compensated for theeffort.
But when the boy climbed upon the wagon in starlight, and made a fewleading remarks, Zene really plunged into a story. He therebyrelieved his own feelings and turned the talk from late occurrences.
"I told you about Little Ant Red and Big Ant Black?"
"No, you never!" exclaimed Bobaday.
"Well, once there was Little Ant Red and Big Ant Black livedneighbors."
"Whose aunts were they--each other's?" inquired the boy.
"They wasn't your father's or mother's sisters; they was_antymires_," explained Zene.
"Oh," said Robert Day.
"Ant Red, she was a little bit of a thing; you could just see her.But Ant Black, she was a great big critter that went like a train ofcars when she was a mind to."
"I don't like either kind," said Robert. "The little ones got intoour sugar once, and Grandma had to fight 'em out with camphor, and abig black got into my mouth and I bit him in two. He pinched mytongue awful, and he tasted sour."
"Big Ant Black," continued Zene, "she lived in a hill by a stump,but Little Ant Red she lived on a leaf up a tree."
"I thought they always crept into houses," urged Bobaday.
"This one didn't. She lived on a leaf up a tree. And these two antsrun against each other in everything. When they met in the grassthey'd stand up on their hind feet and shake hands as friendly as youplease, but as soon as their backs was turned they'd talk! Big AntBlack said Little Ant Red was always a meddling, and everybody knowedher son was drowned in under the orchard cider-press where his mothersent him to snuff round. And Little Ant Red she used to tell how AntBlack was so graspin' she tried to carry that cider-press off andhide it in her hole.
"They had all the neighbors takin' sides. There was a yellow-backspider. He took up for Ant Red; he hoped to get a taste of her, andAnt Black he knowed was big enough to bite him unless he was mightysoople in wrappin' the web around her. Every mornin' when the dewstood in beads on his net he told Ant Red they was tears he shedabout her troubles, and she run up and down and all around, talkin'like a sawmill, but keepin' just off the web. And there was OldGrasshopper, he sided with Ant Red, and so did Miss Green Katydid.But all the beetles, and them bugs that lived under the bark of theold stump, they took up for Ant Black, 'ca
use she was handy. And thesnake-feeder was on her side.
"Well, it run along, feelin's gittin' harder and harder, till AntBlack she jumped up and kitched Ant Red fussin' round her cow pastureone night, and then the cows began to give bloody milk, and then AntBlack she give out that Ant Red was a witch.
"Now, these kind of critters, they're as smart as human bein's ifyou only knowed it. And that was enough. The katydid, she said shefelt pins and needles in her back whenever Ant Red looked at her; andthe snake-feeders said she shot arries at 'em when they was flyin'over a craw-fish hole. All the beetles and wood-bugs complained ofbein' hit with witch-bells, and the more Ant Red acted careful themore they had ag'in her.
"Well, the spider he told her to come into his den and live, andshe'd be safe from hangin', but she wasn't sure in her mind aboutthat. Even the grasshopper jumped out of her way, and bunged his eyesout at her; as if she could harm such a great big gray lubber as him!She was gittin' pretty lonesome when she concluded to try a projic."
"What's a projic?" inquired Robert Day.
"Why, it's a--p'epperation, or--a plan of some kind," explained Zene.
"So she invites Big Ant Black and all her family, and the spider andall his family, and the beetles and bugs and all their families, andthe snake-feeders and Miss Katydid for young folks, and don't leaveout a neighbor, to an apple-bee right inside the orchard fence.
"So it was pleasant weather, and they all come and brung the babies,the old grasshopper skippin' along as nimble and steppin' on theshawl that was wrapped round his young one. And the snake-feedersthey helped Miss Katydid over the lowest fence-rail, and here comeBig Ant Black with such a string behind her it looked like a funeralinstead of a family percession and she twisted her neck from side toside as soon as she see the great big apple, kind of wonderin' ifthey couldn't carry it off.
"Little Ant Red had all her children's heads combed and the bestcheers set out, and she had on her good dress and white apron, andshe says right and left, 'Hoddy-do, sir? hoddy-do, marm? Come rightin and take cheers. And they all shook hands with her as if they'dnever dreamt of callin' her a witch, and fell right on to the appleand begun to eat. And they all e't and e't, till they'd made holes inthe rind and hollered it out. And Big Ant Black she gits her familystarted, and they carries off chunk after chunk of that apple tillthe road was black and white speckled between her house and theapple-tree.
"Little Ant Red she walks around urgin' them all to helptheirselves, and that made them all feel pleasant to her. But Big AntBlack she got so graspin' and eager, that what does she do but try tohelp her young ones carry off the whole apple-shell. It did lookjub'ous to see such a big thing movin' off with such little critterstuggin' it. And then Ant Red got on to a clover-head and showed therest of the company what Ant Black was a-doin'. Says Ant Red: 'Youain't e't more'n a mouthful, Mr. Grasshopper.'
"'No, marm,' says he.
"'I s'ze to myself,' says Ant Red, 'here is this polite company, andthe snake-feeders don't touch nothin,' and everybedy knows MissKatydid lives on nothin' but rose-leaf butter, and the bugs andbeetles will hardly take enough, to keep 'em alive.' 'And I s'ze tomyself,' says Ant Red, 'here's this big apple walkin' off with nobodybut Ant Black to move it. This great big sound apple. And it looks tome like witchcraft. That's what it looks like,' says Ant Red.
"They all declared it looked just like witchcraft. Ant Black triedto show them how holler the apple was, and they declared if she'dhollered it that way so quick, it was witchcraft certain.
"So what does they do but pen her and her young ones in the apple-shelland stop it up with mud. Even the mud-wasps and tumble-bugs that hadn'tbeen bid come and took part when they see the dirt a-flyin'. Ant Redset on the clover-head and teetered.
"Now, down to this present minute," concluded Zene, "you never pickup an apple and find a red ant walkin' out of it. If ants is there,it's one of them poor black fellers that was shut up at the apple-bee,and they walk out brisk; as if they's glad to find daylight once more."
Old Caravan Days Page 8