My work was maybe more enthused than normal because Mr. Eustis was treating Jim and me like full-grown adults, and that impressed me. Plus we enjoyed driving anything, even a tractor. I figured Mr. Eustis must have known that new drivers felt that way so this driving job might be his way of repaying us for helping him hide his two palominos in these stalls. I remembered him laughing. It was like a game to him. When Merle showed up, he explained about the beaters that shredded the manure, the raised beaters that flung the manure out and up, and the floor and apron chains that dragged the material to the rear. "Don't get close to any of these moveable parts. If they grabbed loose clothing, it'd be all over for you." He showed us how to operate the tractor and the manure spreader. "Got it," Jim and I said, eager to drive the big red Farmall. Merle said, "I'm not crazy about having you handle this thing. It's dangerous. You have any trouble, just shut down, come back here, and get me. Don't try to fix anything yourself." "Okay." "Oh, one other thing, he wants you to enter the field through the far gate, the one closest to the field where we bale alfalfa this afternoon." A few minutes later I took the first load down the lane, passed the first gate, which was closed, and turned through the farther-away gate into the designated field. In the stiff wind blowing, I held my hat on and drove into position for a straight shot down the field from one end to the other. Then, as instructed, I tripped the lever, engaged the gears, and started spreading. Immediately, debris rained down on my back from my head to my waist. I hunched over the wheel but looked behind several times. That let stuff, whose nature I didn't want to think about, hit my face. Halfway across the field I disengaged, stood up, faced behind into the wind, and brushed off the trash. Spreading in the direction I'd been instructed to use was stupid. I should spread by driving into the wind, not with the wind, so that's what I did. Twice crossing the field emptied the load. My arrival back at the barn, surprisingly, brought Merle and Wayne and Mr. Eustis to my side. They were all smiling. "How'd you do, young man?" Mr. Eustis said. "Any trouble?" All three men stared at me. What was going on? Wayne said, "You got something on your hat." He picked off a long straw stuck in a small dark chunk that he held up in front of me. Wayne and Mr. Eustis laughed. Merle chuckled. "You didn't unload the whole wagon with the wind, did you?" There was more laughter.
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