knelt down by her side. The things I wanted to say to her I couldn't, for the knot in my throat, but I'm sure she understood.
As we came into the campground, the hunters came out of their tents and gathered around us. The judge held up the three big coon hides. There was a roar from the crowd.
One man said, 'That was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen.'
'What was a beautiful sight?' Grandpa asked.
'Last night those little red hounds brought that coon right through camp.'
The judge said, 'We figured they did when we heard the noise.'
Laughing, the man said, 'We heard them when they ran up the other side of the river. Way up above here they crossed over. We could tell they were coming back so we doused all the fires and, sure enough, they came right through camp. Those two little hounds weren't fifty yards behind the coon, running side by side. Boy, they were picking them up and laying them down, and bawling every time their feet touched the ground. I'll tell you, it was the prettiest sight I ever saw.'
When the judge started telling about the last coon Little Ann had treed I took my dogs over to our tent and fed and watered them. After they had had their fill, I gave them a good rubdown with a piece of gunny sack. Taking them out to the buggy, I tied them up. I stood and watched while they twisted around in the hay making their bed.
That day I tried to get some sleep in our tent, but the soaking Grandpa had taken in the river had given him a cold, causing him to snore. I never heard such a racket in all my life. I'd have sworn he rattled the paper sacks in our grocery boxes. Taking a blanket, I went out to my dogs. Little Ann had wiggled up as close to Old Dan as she could. Prying them apart, I lay down between them and fell asleep.
The last night of the eliminations turned out like the second night. None of the judges turned in more than two hides.
That day, about noon, the owners of the other winning teams and I were called for a conference with the head judge. He said, 'Gentlemen, the eliminations are over. Only three sets of hounds are left for the runoff. The winner of tonight's hunt will receive the gold cup. If there is a tie for 'the championship, naturally there will be another runoff.'
He shook hands with each of us and wished us good luck.
Tension began to build up in the camp. Here and there hunters were standing in small groups, talking. Others could be seen going in and out of tents with rolls of money in their hands. Grandpa was the busiest one of all. His voice could be heard all over the camp. Men were looking at me, and talking in low tones. I strutted like a turkey gobbler.
That evening, while we were having supper, a hunter dropped by. He had a small box in his hand. Smiling, he said, 'Everyone has agreed that we should have a jackpot for the winner. I've been picked to do the collecting.'
Grandpa said, 'You may as well leave it here now.'
Looking at me, the hunter said, 'Son, I think almost every man in this camp is hoping you win it, but it's not going to be easy. You're going up against four of the finest hounds there are.' Turning to my father, he said, 'Did you know the two big walker hounds have won four gold cups?'
Very seriously, Papa said, 'You know I have two mules down on my place. One is almost as big as a barn. The other one isn't much bigger than a jack rabbit, but that little mule can outpull the big one every time.'
Smiling, the hunter turned to leave. He said, 'You could be right.'
Papa asked me again where I thought we should start hunting.
I had been thinking about this all day. I said, 'You remember where we jumped the last coon in the swamp?'
Papa said, 'Yes.'
'Well, the way I figure, more than one coon lives in that swamp,' I said. 'It's a good place for them as there are lots of crawfish and minnows in those potholes. If a hound jumps one there, he has a good chance to tree him.'
Papa asked, 'Why?'
'It's a long way back to the river, and about the same distance to the mountains,' I said. 'Either way he runs, a dog can get pretty close to him, and so he ^ould have to take to a tree.'
