kick.

The boys fell back a few steps as Farmer Green joined them.

"Was Twinkleheels doing all that kicking?" Farmer Green asked Johnnie.
"It was so loud that I thought the barn would fall down any minute."

"We threw a few currants at old Ebenezer," Johnnie Green explained
somewhat faintly.

His father gave him a sharp look.

"Huh!" Farmer Green grunted. "_He_ didn't kick--did he?"

"N-no! N-no, sir!"

"Did you throw at the bays?" Johnnie's father demanded.

"Only once or twice!" Johnnie confessed.

"Once or twice is too much," his father said sternly. "Don't meddle with
the bays. And don't tease the pony, either. You've chosen the surest way
to make a kicker of him.

"How long," Farmer Green demanded, "has this business been going on?"

"Only a short time!" Johnnie assured him. "I never threw any currants
until they began to ripen."

[Illustration: Twinkleheels Tells Spot About Kicking. (Page 34)]