“It was—uh—but fighting the dud-devil with fuf-fire,” wheezes Ajax. “You masticated my e-ear, friend.”

“Friend?” yells Doleful. “Don’t you call me friend! I hate —— out of you, by ginger! Hold fast, ’cause I’m coming to visit you again!”

Ajax sidestepped this time, and when Doleful stumbled over his legs Ajax fell on top of him. Man, they sure investigated each other. Doleful kicked, whooped and yelped and managed to squirm loose, minus one boot, which Ajax has annexed.

For a minute Ajax seems to show human intelligence by hammering Doleful over the head with the boot. Doleful wails loud and clear and hops away a few feet, where he takes off the other boot and comes back at Ajax.

“God didn’t make men equal but boots did,” says Magpie, and then them two are at it again.

It was some duel if you asks me, and before they’re at it a minute me and Magpie are weeping on each other’s bosom. They never seen us. In fact they hadn’t been at it a minute until they couldn’t see each other.

Pretty soon Doleful makes a wild swing, and the heel of that boot hit Ajax at the butt of his ear. That was plenty for Ajax, who sprawls on his face in the dirt, but Doleful didn’t know it. He kept right on, hopping back and forth, whaling away with that boot at something that ain’t there.

“Look at the danged fool!” gasps Magpie. “He can’t see!”

Just then Doleful makes an extra hard swing, his foot slipped, and the toe of that boot hit him under the chin. He straightens up, shrugs his shoulders like a Frenchman and then falls flat on his back—knocked out, or rather kicked out.

“Honest to —— that never happened,” sobs Magpie. “Aw, it couldn’t! He hit himself in the— Haw, haw, haw!”

I haw-haws with him, and we cries a duet.

Pretty soon Doleful gets to his feet, walks around in a circle and appears to be listening. Then Ajax coughs and sets up.

“I’ve had a gosh-darn plenty,” states Doleful in a whisper. “Hear me?”

“I’m sorry,” says Ajax.

 Prev. P 12/27 next