Stumps and Snake-fences 113 



who thouglit he could swing a cradle a little bet- 

 ter 'n most folks, an' about that time I was lug- 

 gin' around a purty hefty opinion o' myself in 

 the same line. 0' course us two had to get 

 together. 



** Fields were full o' cradle knolls then an' a 

 fair sprinklin' o' stumps an' to cradle all day 

 through heavy wheat was a job fer giants. But, 

 o' course, there were giants — fer strength I mean 

 — in those days. 



"After preliminaries had all been settled, we 

 were turned loose into a ten-acre wheat-field. A 

 swath was cut through the middle an' the master 

 o' ceremonies says, 'There, Jo, that's yours; an' 

 Jim you'll take that chunk,' pointing to the north 

 half of the field, 'an' swing, ye boys, swing, fer 

 all that's in ye.' 



"He didn't need to have said that last, fer Jim 

 an' me, before he had got the words out, were at 

 it, cutting an' slashin' like the Old Guard at 

 Waterloo. 



"The way we went up an' down that field that 

 swelterin' hot August day would make yer Mara- 

 thon road racers lay down and pant. We kept 

 pretty close, swath after swath. Jim had a little 

 longer reach than me, an' sometimes got to the 

 end of his swath a few yards ahead, but I had a 

 side swing an' figured on nippin' off about six or 

 eight inches more in width. I knew if I could keep 

 near in the procession that Jim would have a 

 swath or two left over at the end. But things 



