HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 143 



they did was to scatter to the four winds over 

 a perpendicular hillside. We started off right 

 and left to round them up, the mule plunged 

 and kicked and trumpeted his melancholy re- 

 monstrance and that finished the scattera- 

 tion. It was noon before we had them gath- 

 ered. A couple of the kids were quite tired 

 out, and we had to lift them and tie them in 

 front of our saddles. While we were at that, 

 the band redistributed itself. We've never 

 seen them all together from that day to this. 



We spent a week in getting our goats to 

 Happy Hollow, and turned into our sprout 

 patch. That was when the glad, sweet song 

 part began. We had fenced in the patch ac- 

 cording to the ranchman's directions, with 

 sixty-inch woven wire and a string of barbed 

 wire atop. That would hold 'em, he had said. 

 So it did, for a while just while we were get- 

 ting the gate shut behind them. By the time 

 the latch clicked, every mother's son was stand- 

 ing on top of a fence post, getting ready to 

 jump. They've been jumping ever since. Oh, 

 yes, we still have 'em; but I do certainly wish 

 that somebody would come along and offer me 

 something for them. If he ever does, he'll own 

 some goats. 



