Ole Faithful
Anonymous/Unknown
"Mose," yelled Judge Hale to his colored handy man, "why haven't you sent that old horse to the glue factory, as I told you to last week?"
"Please, boss," cried the old Negro, "Ole Faithful done been on this farm for over twenty-three years. He was born the day my Sammy died over there in France.
"You know, boss," continued the colored man, "that horse is mighty attached to me. Ah once read a story about reincarnation. How dead people come back alive in another animal's body. Somehow, Ah feels like this horse might be my own son."
"Poppycock," yelled the old judge.
"Please, boss," begged the Negro, "that horse is mighty smart. Look," he said, as a shrill whistle came from his mouth. Suddenly a clattering of horse's hooves was heard and across the grounds came Old Faithful in a bee line dash for Rufus.
"See, boss," said the Negro, "every time Ah whistles, he comes straight at me."
"Poppycock," roared the judge again. "Have the truck take him to the depot in the morning and ship him to the Birmingham."
"Yas, suh," cried Mose, as tears crept out of the corners of his eyes.
Mose slowly stroked Old Faithful's mane. "Horse," he sniffed, "run around the meadows tonight. It's gonna be your last day on the farm."
Late that evening, old Judge Hale read the paper on his porch. "Gosh Almighty," he yelled, as he turned the paper and read a news dispatch. "JUDGE THOMAS FOUND MURDERED. JURIST'S EYES BURNED OUT."
"Thomas dead! Murdered!" gasped the judge. "Why, we used to sit on the same bench together. It was Thomas, Blackburn and myself who gave Killer Grange the life sentence together. Yep, that was the day before I retired."
The old judge sighed, "That Thomas was a fine man. Wonder why anybody would want to murder him?"
The judge heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked up and saw Mose.
"What's the matter now?" he roared. "If you're back again to ask me to keep your horse, it's nothing doing. If that horse isn't at the depot in the morning, you can quit your job."
"No suh, boss," said Mose. "Ah came to tell you somebody is outside on the grounds who wants to see you."
It was dark outside and as Hale walked toward the figure, he asked, "What do you want?"
The man remained silent.
Hale, with Mose close behind, came nearer to the man. The indignant judge yelled, "Come, come, what is it?"
The man suddenly removed his hat and at the same time whipped out a gun. "Put up your hands and come over here!" he barked.
"Gosh Almighty," gasped the Judge, as he recognized the man. "KILLER GRANGE."
"Yeah!" snapped the killer, as he stepped forward and knocked Hale to the ground.
"What are you going to do with that?" asked Mose.
"Burn the judge's eyes out," he shot back. "I swore I'd do it as soon as I broke out of stir."
Mose whistled shrilly in surprise.
Suddenly, from the meadows, came a clatter of hooves. The killer turned.
"What's that?" he screamed.
Out of nowhere, Old Faithful came crashing through the bushes. The horse did not see the Killer until he was upon him, but then it was too late as the powerful legs sent the killer to the ground.
... The next day, Mose was patting Old Faithful.
"Horse," he said, "Judge Hale thinks you are the smartest animal he ever saw. The way you came crashing through the hedge and knocked the killer down, won him over. How could he know you didn't see anything? Only Ah knows you is blind as the eyes on potatoes."
