Free Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski Page B

to the wagon, but Buzz was not there. Pa had bought barbed wire and white paint both. He loaded them on. They waited till Buzz came. He had a black eye, and said he had had a fight with Gus Slater. Pa grinned. "But he got worse than I did," added Buzz. "He’s in jail." It was night when they got home. Ma reported that the Slater herd had gone through the strawberry field again on their way to the lake. Shoestring had driven them.

    Pa unloaded the wagon. Ma did not say a word about the white paint. "I see you got more wire," she said. Then she scolded Pa and Buzz for fighting the Slaters. "Fighting don't settle anything. There's more peaceable ways to handle this.. "Now jest what," asked Pa, with sarcasm in his voice, "would you do!" "I'll show you!" said Ma with spirit. "Next time he comes to cut that fence, I'll get him to turn round and leave it uncut. And I wont say a word to him neither." Birdie opened her eyes wide.
    Could Ma handle Slater better than Pa and keep things peaceable! The following week Mr. Boyer lost no time in putting the new fence up. Mrs. Boyer expected something to happen. She told the children to keep a sharp lookout and to let her know if any of the Slaters appeared--or any of the Slaters' cows or hogs. She did not have to wait long.
    One day toward the end of the week, Dovey and Dan came running in. "The Slaters are coming!" they called. "They're drivin'
    their cattle this-away!"
    Pa was off on the other side of the farm, but Ma was ready. She told the little children to stay in the house with Dixie. Armed with flour sacks, she and Birdie hurried out to the strawberry field. They sprinkled flour on the strawberry plants in the rows next to the wire fence.
    The herd of woods cattle came closer and closer, on through the scrub. They were small, thin and wiry, with protruding hip bones and long horns. They had grown runty from foraging for tough wire grass, from traveling through saw palmetto thickets, sidestepping rattlesnakes, jumping over gopher holes, and withstanding heat, rain, flies and mosquitoes.
    The cattle came up to the fence and stopped. They massed in a confused huddle.
    Shoestring, riding his cowhorse, pushed his way through the herd. His father, on another horse, made his way up from behind. They had expected to drive the cows right through, but the new fence was in the way.
    "Got your pliers, Pa!" called Shoestring. He shouted in a loud bragging tone, so Birdie could hear.
    "There ain't no fence can stop me!" called Slater. "Do Boyer think he can keep me from comin' through here with my cattle, he'll soon find out different. He knows we got the right o' way through here to the lake!"
    Mrs. Boyer did not look up or reply. She kept on sprinkling flour.
    Slater stared at her and Birdie. Shoestring, beside him, stared too. Wide-eyed, they looked at the suspicious white powder on the strawberry plants.

    Slater turned and spoke to Shoestring. He said only one word.
    They wheeled their horses sharply and drove the cows off in another direction, skirting the fenced field, taking a longer, roundabout route to the lake. They let the new fence alone.
    When Pa heard they'd come and gone without cutting the fence, he asked, "How did that happen!" He poked Ma in the ribs.
    "Did you use the little ole shotgun!"
    "No," said Ma, "hit wasn't necessary. I just played a little trick on them. Now maybe we can live peaceable for a while." She let Birdie explain about the flour sacks. "Flour!" exclaimed Pa. "Flour on the strawberry plants. What for! What did he think it was! What did he say!" "'Poison!'" said Ma.

CHAPTER IX
Strawberries
    There won't be no more cow squabbles for a while, anyway," said Mrs. Slater.
    "And no more fence cutting," added Mrs. Boyer.
    "You mighty right," said Mrs. Slater, with a sigh.
    Mrs. Slater had come over to call as soon as the boys drove off with the cows.
    The winter pasture was not good. The cattle could not get enough to eat. So Boyer and Slater forgot their differences