try him, young 'un! Give him another turn around the ring, Glen!"
shouted the spectators, anxious to have their fun prolonged, but having
no idea that this boy from Brimfield could ride, any more than the
other.

Glen borrowed a pair of spurs, soothed the mule for a moment, sinched
the girth a trifle tighter, and, with a sudden leap, vaulted into the
saddle. For an instant the animal remained motionless with astonishment;
then he bounded into the air, and came down with all four legs as stiff
as posts. The shock would have been terrible to the boy, had he not
lifted himself from the saddle and supported his whole weight in the
stirrups. The mule repeated this movement several times, and then began
to plunge and kick. But the saddle in which Glen sat was a deeply
hollowed, high-pommelled, Mexican affair, built for just such occasions
as this, and so the plunging might have been kept up all day without
disturbing the rider in the least.

The mule laid down and tried to roll, while the boy, who had jumped from
his back, stood quietly by, and allowed him to discover the folly of the
attempt. The high pommel of the saddle again interfered; and as the
disgusted animal scrambled to his feet, he again found his burr-like
rider as firmly seated on his back as ever.

For a moment the mule hung his head in a dejected manner, as though
thinking out some new plan. Suddenly his meditations were interrupted by
a yell directly in one of his long ears, and a sharp pain felt in both
sides at once. He sprang forward to escape these annoyances; but they
clung to him as close as did his new rider. Faster and faster he flew,
while harder and harder spurred Glen, and louder grew his yells. All at
once the animal stopped, as short as on the former occasion; but this
time the rider did not fly over his head. The fact is, the mule was now
so thoroughly frightened and bewildered that he had no idea of stopping
until his lower jaw was jerked back so sharply that had it belonged to
any other kind of an animal it must have been dislocated. Even Glen had
no idea of the power of that cruel Mexican bit, and was almost as
greatly surprised as the mule at its sudden effect.

Then came more yelling, more spurring, and more frantic dashing around
that tiresome square. At length the mule spied the opening through which
he had entered, and, rushing through it, he sped away over the open
prairie, thankful to be rid of those bewildering tents and shouting