And in the natural course of events the young Alloway namesake did awaken and gave lusty vent to a demand for human companionship, which was answered promptly by the General, who happened to be passing the front gate in pursuits of his own.  Finding the house deserted, with his usual decision of action Stonie picked up the baby and kept on his way, which led past the garden up the hill to the barn.  Young Tucker accepted this little journey in the world with his usual imperturbability, and his sturdy little neck made unusual efforts to support his bald head over the General’s shoulders as if in pride at being in the company of one of his peers and not in the usual feminine thraldom.

Finding the barn also deserted, Stonie laid young Tucker on the straw in the barrel with two of Sniffer’s sleeping puppies and began to attend to his errand, which involved the extraction of several long, stout pieces of string from a storehouse of his own under one of the feed bins and the plaiting of them into the cracker of a whip which he had brought along with him.

Down below the store the rest of the Swarm were busy marking out a large circus ring and discussing with considerable heat their individual rights to the various star parts to be performed in the coming exhibition.  The ardors of their several ambitions were not at all dampened by the knowledge of the fact that the audience that would be in attendance to witness their triumphs would in all probability consist of only Granny Satterwhite, whom little Miss Amanda always coaxed to attend in her company, with perhaps a few moments of encouragement from Mr. Crabtree if he found the time.  To which would always be added the interested and jocular company of Mr. Rucker, who always came, brought a chair to sit in and stayed through the entire performance.  And in the talented aggregation of performers there was of course just one role that could have been assumed by General Jackson, that of ringmaster; so to that end he sat on the floor of the barn beside the sleeping puppies and young Tucker and plaited the lash by means of which he intended to govern the courses of his stars.

And it was here that Everett found him a few minutes later as he walked rapidly up the milk-house path and stood in the barn door in evident hurried search for somebody or some thing.

“Hello, General,” he said with a smile at the barrel full of sleepers at Stonie’s side, “do you know where Rose Mary is?”

“Yes,” answered the General, “she are in her room putting buttermilk on the five freckles that comed on her nose when she hoed out in the garden without no sunbonnet.  I found ’em all for her this morning, and she don’t like ’em.  You can go on in and see if they are any better for her, I ain’t got the time to fool with ’em now.”

“Not for worlds!” exclaimed Everett as he sat down on an upturned peck measure in close proximity to the barrel.  “Have you decided to have Mrs. Poteet and Mrs. Sniffer swap—­er—­puppies, Stonie?” he further remarked.