The Mule-Bone

found out how come you think youse so important. Lindsay Ain’t we got de finest and de biggest church? Macedonia Baptist will hold more folks than any two buildings in town. Lige Thass right, y’all got a heap more church than you got members to go in it. Hambo Thass all right⁠ ⁠… y’all ain’t got neither de church nor de members. Everything that’s had in this town got to be held in our church. Re-enter Joe Clark. Clark What you-all talkin’? Hambo Come on out, Tush Hawg, lemme beat you some checkers. I’m tired of fending and proving wid dese boys ain’t got no hair on they chest yet. Clark I God, you mean you gointer get beat. You can’t handle me⁠ ⁠… I’m a tush hawg. Hambo Well, I’m going to draw dem tushes right now. To two small boys using checkerboard on edge of porch. Here you chilluns, let de Mayor and me have that board. Go on out an’ play an’ give us grown folks a little peace. The children go down stage and call out: Small Boy Hey, Senator. Hey, Marthy. Come on let’s play chick-me, chick-me, cranie-crow. Child’s Voice Off stage. All right! Come on, Jessie! Enter several children, led by Senator, and a game begins in front of the store as Joe Clark and Hambo play checkers. Joe Clark I God! Hambo, you can’t play no checkers. Hambo As they seat themselves at the checkerboard. Aw, man, if you wasn’t de Mayor I’d beat you all de time. The children get louder and louder, drowning out the men’s voices. Small Girl I’m gointer be de hen. Boy And I’m gointer be de hawk. Lemme git maself a stick to mark wid. The boy who is the hawk squats center stage with a short twig in his hand. The largest girl lines up the other children behind her. Girl Mother Hen. Looking back over her flock: Y’all ketch holt of one ’nother’s clothes so de hawk can’t git yuh. They do. You all straight now? Children Yeah. The march around the hawk commences. Hen and Chicks

Chick mah chick mah craney crow
Went to de well to wash ma toe
When I come back ma chick was gone
What time, ole witch?

Hawk Making a tally on the ground. One! Hen and Chicks Repeat song and march. Hawk Scoring again. Two! Can be repeated any number of times. Hawk Four. He rises and imitates a hawk flying and trying to catch a chicken. Calling in a high voice: Chickee. Hen Flapping wings to protect her young. My chickens sleep. Hawk Chickee. During all this the hawk is feinting and darting in his efforts to catch a chicken, and the chickens are dancing defensively, the hen trying to protect them. Hen My chicken’s sleep. Hawk I shall have a chick. Hen You shan’t have a chick. Hawk I’m goin’ home. Flies off. Hen Dere’s de road. Hawk My pot’s a boilin’. Hen Let it boil. Hawk My guts a growlin’. Hen Let ’em growl. Hawk I must have a chick. Hen You shan’t have n’airn. Hawk My mama’s sick. Hen Let her die. Hawk Chickie! Hen My chicken’s sleep. Hawk darts quickly around the hen and grabs a chicken and leads him off and places his captive on his knees at the store porch. After a brief bit of dancing he catches another, then a third, etc. Hambo At the checkerboard, his voice rising above the noise of the playing children, slapping his sides jubilantly. Ha! Ha! I got you now. Go ahead on and move, Joe Clark⁠ ⁠… jus’ go ahead on and move. Loungers Standing around two checker players. Ol’ Deacon’s got you now. Another Voice Don’t see how he can beat the Mayor like that. Another Voice Got him in the Louisville loop. These remarks are drowned by the laughter of the playing children directly in front of the porch. Mayor Joe Clark disturbed in his concentration on the checkers and peeved at being beaten suddenly turns toward the children, throwing up his hands. Clark Get on ’way from here, you limbs of Satan, making all that racket so a man can’t hear his ears. Go on, go on! The Mayor looks about excitedly for the town marshall. Seeing him playing cards on the other side of porch, he bellows: Lum Boger, whyn’t you git these kids away from here! What kind of a marshall is you? All this passle of young’uns around here under grown people’s feet, creatin’ disorder in front of my store. Lum Boger puts his cards down lazily, comes down stage and scatters the children away. One saucy little girl refuses to move. Lum Boger Why’nt you go on away from here, Matilda? Didn’t you hear me tell you-all to move? Little Matilda Defiantly. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. You ain’t none of my mama. Jerking herself free from him as Lum touches her. My mama in the store and she told me to wait out here. So take that, ol’ Lum. Lum Boger You impudent little huzzy, you! You must smell yourself⁠ ⁠… youse so fresh. Matilda The wind musta changed and you smell your own top lip. Lum Boger Don’t make me have to grab you and take you down a buttonhole lower. Matilda Switching her little head. Go ahead on and grab me. You sho can’t kill me, and if you kill me, you sho can’t eat me. She marches into the store. Senator Derisively from behind stump. Ol’ dumb Lum! Hey! Hey! Little Boy at edge of stage thumbs his nose at the marshall. Lum lumbers after the small boy. Both exit. Hambo To Clark who has been thinking all this while what move to make. You ain’t got but one move⁠ ⁠… go ahead on and make it. What’s de matter, Mayor? Clark Moving his checker. Aw, here. Hambo Triumphant. Now! Look at him, boys. I’m gonna laugh in notes. Laughing to the scale and jumping a checker each time. Do, sol, fa, me,