"Not a mule, exactly," Jail replied, "but I drove old Pier up from the field with a load of wheat all by myself.Mother sat on the load.""Come along!" shouted Father De Smet to Joseph, and in a moment the gangplank was out and Jan and Joseph had changed places.
"May I go, too?" asked Marie timidly of Father De Smet as he was about to draw in the plank."The babies are both asleep and Ihave nothing to do."
Father De Smet took a careful look in every direction.It was level, open country all about them, dotted here and there with farmhouses, and in the distance the spire of a village church rose above the clustering houses and pointed to the sky.
"Yes, yes, child.Go ahead," said Father De Smet."Only don't get too near Netteke's hind legs.She doesn't know you very well and sometimes she forgets her manners."Marie skipped over the gangplank and ran along the tow-path to Jan, who already had taken up Netteke's reins and was waiting for the signal to start.Joseph took his place at the tiller, and again the "Old Woman" moved slowly down the stream.
For some time Jan and Marie plodded along with Netteke.At first they thought it good fun, but by and by, as the sun grew hot, driving a mule on a tow-path did not seem quite so pleasant a task as they had thought it would be.
"I'm tired of this," said Jan at last to Marie."That mule is so slow that I have to sight her by something to be sure that she is moving at all! I've been measuring by that farmhouse across the river for a long time, and she hasn't crawled up to it yet! Ishouldn't wonder if she'd go to sleep some day and fall into the river and never wake up! Why, I am almost asleep myself.""She'll wake up fast enough when it's time to eat, and so will you," said Marie, with profound wisdom.
"Let 's see if we can't make her go a little faster, anyway,"said Jan, ignoring Marie's remark."I know what I'll do," he went on, chuckling; "I'll get some burrs and stick them in her tail, and then every time she slaps the flies off she'll make herself go faster."Marie seized Jan's arm.
"You'll do nothing of the kind!" she cried."Father De Smet told me especially to keep away from Netteke's hind legs.""Pooh!" said Jan; "he didn't tell me that.I'm not afraid of any mule alive.I guess if I can harness a horse and drive home a load of grain from the field, there isn't much I can't do with a mule!" To prove his words he shouted "U - U" at Netteke and slapped her flank with a long branch of willow.
Now, Netteke was a proud mule and she wasn't used to being slapped.Father De Smet knew her ways, and knew also that her steady, even, slow pace was better in the long run than to attempt to force a livelier gait, and Netteke was well aware of what was expected of her.She resented being interfered with.
Instead of going forward at greater speed, she put her four feet together, laid back her ears, gave a loud "hee-haw!" and stopped stock-still.
"U - U!" shouted Jan.In vain! Netteke would not move.Marie held a handful of fresh grass just out of reach of her mouth.But Netteke was really offended.She made no effort to get it.She simply stayed where she was.Father De Smet stuck his head over the side of the boat.
"What is the matter?" he shouted.
"Oh, dear!" said Jan to Marie."I hoped he wouldn't notice that the boat wasn't moving.""Netteke has stopped.She won't go at all.I think she's run down!" Marie called back.
"Try coaxing her," cried the skipper."Give her something to eat.
Hold it in front of her nose."
"I have," answered Marie, "but she won't even look at it.""Then it's no use," said Father De Smet mournfully."She's balked and that is all there is to it.We'll just have to wait until she is ready to go again.When she has made up her mind she is as difficult to persuade as a setting hen."Mother De Smet's head appeared beside her husband's over the boat-rail.
"Oh, dear!" said she; "I hoped we should get to the other side of the line before dark, but if Netteke's set, she's set, and we must just make the best of it.It's lucky it's dinner-time.We'll eat, and maybe by the time we are through she'll be willing to start." Father De Smet tossed a bucket on to the grass.
"Give her a good drink," he said, "and come aboard yourselves."Jan filled the bucket from the river and set it down before Netteke, but she was in no mood for blandishments.She kept her ears back and would not touch the water.
"All right, then, Crosspatch," said Jan.Leaving the pail in front of her, he went back to the boat.The gangplank was put out, and he and Marie went on board.They found dinner ready in the tiny cabin, and because it was so small and stuffy, and there were too many of them, anyway, to get into it comfortably, they each took a bowl of soup as Mother De Smet handed it to them and sat down on the deck in front of the cabin to eat it.It was not until the middle of the afternoon that Netteke forgot her injuries, consented to eat and drink, and indicated her willingness to move on toward Antwerp.
