"Tell me all about it," urged Tom sympathetically, for he had afriendly feeling toward the aged darky.
"Well," began Eradicate, "I suah thought I were gwine to make moneycuttin' grass, 'specially after yo' done fixed mah moah. But 'pearedlaik nobody wanted any grass cut. I trabeled all ober, an' Icouldn't git no jobs. Now me an' Boomerang has to eat, no mattah efhe is contrary, so I had t' look fo' some new wuk. I traded datlawn-moah off fo' a cross-cut saw, but dat was such hard wuk dat Igib it up. Den I got a chance to buy dis yeah outfit cheap, an' Ibought it."
Eradicate then went on to tell how he had purchased the portablesawmill from a man who had no further use for it, and how he hadmanaged to transport it from a distant village to the spot where Tomhad met him. There he had secured permission to work a piece ofwoodland on shares, sawing up the smaller trees into cord wood. Hehad started in well enough, cutting down considerable timber, forthe colored man was a willing worker, but when he tried to start hismill he met with trouble.
"I counted on Boomerang helpin' me," he said to Tom. "All he has todo is walk on dat tread mill, an' keep goin'. Dat makes de saw go'round, an' I saws de wood. But de trouble am dat I can't gitBoomerang to move. I done tried ebery means I knows on, an' he won'tgo. I talked kind to him, an' I talked harsh. I done beat him wif aclub, an' I rub his ears soft laik, an' he allers did laik dat, buthe won't go. I fed him on carrots an' I gib him sugar, an' I ebenstarve him, but he won't go. Heah I been tryin' fo' three days nowt' git him started, an' not a stick hab I sawed. De man what I'mwukin' wif on shares he git mad, an' he say ef I doan't saw woodpretty soon he gwine t' git annuder mill heah. Now I axes yo' fair,Mistah Swift, ain't I got lots ob trouble?"
"You certainly seem to have," agreed Tom "But why is Boomerang soobstinate? Usually on a treadmill a horse or a mule has to workwhether they like it or not. If they don't keep moving the platformslides out from under them, and they come up against the back bar."
"Dat's what done happened to Boomerang," declared Eradicate. "Hedone back up against de bar, an' dere he stay."
Tom went over and looked at the mill. The outfit was an old one, andhad seen much service, but the trained eye of the young inventor sawthat it could still be used effectively. Boomerang watched Tom, asthough aware that something unusual was about to happen.
"Heah I done gone an' 'vested mah money in dis yeah mill,"complained Eradicate, "an' I ain't sawed up a single stick. Ef Iwasn't so kind-hearted I'd chastise dat mule wuss dan I has, dat'swhat I would."
Tom said nothing. He was stooping down, looking at the gearing thatconnected the tread mill with the shaft which revolved the saw.Suddenly he uttered an exclamation,
"Rad, have you been monkeying with this machinery?" he asked.
"Me? Good land, Mistah Swift, no, sah! I wouldn't tech it. It's jestas I got it from de man I bought it oh. It worked when he had it,but he used a hoss. It's all due to de contrariness ob Boomerang,an' if I--"
"No, it isn't the mule's fault at all!" exclaimed Tom. "The mill isout of gear, and tread is locked; that's all. The man you bought itoff probably did it so you could haul it along the road. I'll haveit fixed for you in a few minutes. Wait until I get some tools."
From the bag on his motor-cycle Tom got his implements. He firstunlocked the treadmill, so that the inclined platform, on which theanimal slowly walked, could revolve. No sooner had he done this thanBoomerang, feeling the slats under his hoofs moving away, startedforward. With a rattle the treadmill slid around.
"Good land o' massy! It's goin'!" cried Eradicate delightedly. "Itsuah am goin'!" he added as he saw the mule, with nimble feet, sendthe revolving, endless string of slats around and around. "But desaw doan't move, Mistah Swift. Yo' am pretty smart at fixin' it asmuch as yo' has, but I reckon it's too busted t' eber saw any wood.I'se got bad luck, dat's what I has."
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Tom. "The sawmill will be going in a moment.All I have to do is to throw it into gear. See here, Rad. When youwant the saw to go you just throw this handle forward. That makesthe gears mesh."
"What's dat 'bout mush?" asked............