"But I only want to make shoes for Aggy's doll.

Please, you must let me make them for Aggy.

On Levin Covington's plantation near Natchez in 1844, in a typical week of October, Bill averaged 220 pounds a day, Dred 205 pounds, Aggy 215, and Delia 185; and on Saturday of that week all the twenty-eight men and boys together picked an average of 160 pounds, and all the eighteen women and girls an average of 125.

Every breakfast Aggy and me got ready to pull for the mines, and every morning I woke up in the bedroom.

When he'd missed about six casts of his rope, Ag opened up on him: "'Put a stamp on it and send it to him by mail,' says Aggy, in his sourcastic way.

"Then Aggy argues the case with me, and when Aggy started to argue, you might just as well 'moo' and chase yourself into the corral, because he'd get you, sure.

"I grabbed Aggy by the shoulder and took him in the corner for a private talk.

"The driver turned round with one corner of his lip h'isteda dead ringer of a mean manSays he to Aggy, 'Yer a funny bloke, ain't yer?' "'Why!' says Ag, 'that's for you to saywouldn't look well coming from mebut if you press me, I'll admit I give birth to a little gem now and then.'

"'Now Aggy,' says I, 'we're dumpedwhat shall we do?' He sat there awhile looking around him, snapping pebbles with his thumb.

"'Aggy,' says I, 'what's these things?' throwing one over to him.

"Aggy wasn't the kind of man to go off the handle over trifles, but when he looked into that hole he turned perfectly green.

"'Red,' say he, 'do you know this is the only ford on the river forI don't know how many milesperhaps the whole length of her?' "'Well?' says I. "'Our little placer claim,' says Aggy slowly, rubbing his hands together, 'covers that ford; and by a judicious taking up of claims for various uncles and brothers and friends of ours along the creek on the lowlands, we can fix it so they can't even bridge it.'

"'Do you mean they can't cross our claim if we say they can't?' "'Sure thing!' says Aggy.

"'Now,' says Aggy, 'have you got a gun?' "'I have that,' says the man.

"'I hope it ain't going to be my painful line of performance to pull the trigger,' says Aggy.

"'That gives us lots of time to stake, and to salt claims that can't show cause their own selves,' says Aggy.

"Getting even on our esteemed friend the stage driver was right in your Uncle Reddy's line, and Aggy and our new pard White seemed to take kindly to it, also.

There was Aggy sound asleep, sitting up hugging himself in the moonlight.

Aggy proceeds to load up 'Old Moral Suasion,' as he called her, so that the folks could see there was no attempt at deception.

"'Now, Mr. Snick'umfritz,' says Aggy, 'you that drives, I mean, come here and read this little sign.'

"'It's a horrible supposition,' says Aggy, and the innocent will have to suffer with the guilty.'

I reckon he realized it was the only ford for four thousand miles, more or less, just as Aggy had remarked.

"'I'd like to have you other gentlemen come up and see our first clean up, so you won't think we're running in a windy,' says Aggy.

"'All right, in you come!' says Aggy.

whoops Aggy, jumping four foot in the air, 'before I squirt enough lead into your system to make it a paying job to melt you down!'