The Mule-Bone

provin’ who love Daisy de best. To Daisy. Now, which one of us you think love you de best? Daisy Deed I don’t know, Dave. Dave Baby, I’d walk de water for you⁠ ⁠… and tote a mountain on my head while I’m walkin’. Jim Know what I’d do, honey babe? If you was a thousand miles from home and you didn’t have no ready-made money and you had to walk all de way, walkin’ till ye’ feet start to rolling, just like a wheel, and I was riding way up in de sky, I’d step backwards offa dat aryplane just to walk home wid you. Daisy Falling on Jim’s neck. Jim, when you talk to me like dat I just can’t stand it. Less us git married right now. Jim Now you talkin’ like a blue-back speller. Less go! Dave Sadly. You gointer leave me lak dis, Daisy? Daisy Sadly. I likes you, too, Dave, I sho do. But I can’t marry both of y’all at de same time. Jim Aw, come on, Daisy⁠ ⁠… sun’s gettin’ low. He starts off pulling Daisy. Dave Whut’s I’m gointer do? Walking after them. Jim Gwan back and dance⁠ ⁠… you make out you don’t need me to play none. Dave Almost tearfully. Aw, Jim, shucks! Where y’all going? Daisy comes to an abrupt halt and stops Jim. Daisy That’s right, honey. Where is we goin’ sho nuff? Jim Sadly. Deed I don’t know, baby. They just sentenced me to go⁠ ⁠… they didn’t say where and I don’t know. Daisy How we goin’ nohow to go when we don’t know where we goin’? Jim looks at Dave as if he expects some help but Dave stands sadly silent. Jim takes a few steps forward as if to go on. Daisy makes a step or two, unwillingly, then looks behind her and stops. Dave looks as if he will follow them. Daisy Jim! He stops and turns. Wait a minute! Whut we gointer do when we git there? Jim Where? Daisy Where we goin’? Jim I done tole you I don’t know where it is. Daisy But how we gointer git something to eat and a place to stay? Jim Play and dance⁠ ⁠… just like I been doin’. Daisy You can’t dance and Dave ain’t gointer be ther. Jim Looks appealingly at Dave, then away quickly. Well, I can’t help dat, can I? Daisy Brightly. I tell you whut, Jim! Less us don’t go nowhere. They sentenced you to leave Eatonville and youse more than a mile from de city limits already. Youse in Maitland now. Supposin’ you come live on de white folks’ place wid me after we git married. Eatonville ain’t got nothin’ to do wid you livin’ in Maitland. Jim Dat’a a good idea, Daisy. Daisy Jumping into his arms. And listen, honey, you don’t have to be beholden to Dave nor nobody else. You can throw dat ole box away if you want to. I know ehre you can get a swell job. Jim Sheepishly. Doin’ whut? Looks lovingly at his guitar. Daisy Almost dancing. Yard man. All you have to do is wash windows, and sweep de sidewalk, and scrub off de steps and porch and hoe up de weeds and rake up de leaves and dig a few holes now and then with a spade⁠ ⁠… to plant some trees and things like that. It’s a good steady job. Jim After a long deliberation. You see, Daisy, de Mayor and corporation told me to go on off and I oughter go. Daisy Well, I’m not going tippin’ down no railroad track like a Maltese cat. I wasn’t brought up knockin’ round from here to yonder. Jim Well, I wasn’t brought up wid no spade in my hand⁠ ⁠… and ain’t going to start it now. Daisy But sweetheart, we got to live, ain’t we? We got to git hold of money before we kin do anything. I don’t mean to stay in de white folks’ kitchen all my days. Jim Yeah, all dat’s true, but you couldn’t buy a flea a waltzing jacket wid de money I’m going to make wid a hoe and spade. Daisy Getting tearful. You don’t want me. You don’t love me. Jim Yes, I do, darling, I love you. Youse de one letting a spade come between us. He caresses her. I loves you and you only. You don’t see me dragging a whole gang of farming tools into us business, do you? Daisy Stiffly. Well, I ain’t going to marry no man that ain’t going to work and take care of me. Jim I don’t mind working if de job ain’t too heavy for me. I ain’t going to bother wid nothin’ in my hands heavier than dis box⁠ ⁠… and I totes it round my neck ’most of de time. Daisy makes a despairing gesture as Jim takes a step or two away from her. She turns to Dave finally. Daisy Well, I reckon you loves me the best anyhow. You wouldn’t talk to me like Jim did, would you, Dave? Dave Naw, I wouldn’t say what he said a-tall. Daisy Cuddling up to him. Whut would you say, honey? Dave I’d say dat box was too heavy for me to fool wid. I wouldn’t tote nothing heavier than my hat and I feel like I’m ’busing myself sometime totin’ dat. Daisy Outraged. Don’t you mean to work none? Dave Wouldn’t hit a lick at a snake. Daisy I don’t blame you, Dave, looks down at his feet cause toting dem feet of yourn is enough to break down your constitution. Jim Airily. That’s all right⁠ ⁠… dem foots done put plenty bread in our moufs. Dave Not by they selves though⁠ ⁠… wid de help of dat box, Jim. When you gits having fits on dat box, boy, my foots has hysterics. Daisy, you marry Jim cause I don’t want to come between y’all. He’s my buddy. Jim Come to think of it, Dave, she was yourn first. You take and handle dat spade for