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"Delicious, suh; I have not tasted such Madeira since the wah. In my cellar at home, suh, I once had some old Madeira of '28 that was given to my father, the late General John Caarter, by old Judge Thornton. You, of course, know that wine, suh. Ah! I see that you do."
The colonel turned the map to Chad's side of the table. Every man in the room stood up and craned his head forward. "Now, Chad," said the colonel, "this map is a plan of our lan' same as if you were lookin' down on it. Here is the road to Caartersville. See that square, black mark? That's Caarter Hall. This is the marsh, and that is the coal hill.
To share with you his last crust was a part of his religion; to eat alone, a crime. "There, Major," said the colonel as Chad laid the smoking plate before me, "is the breast of a bird that fo' days ago was divin' for wild celery within fo'ty miles of Caarter Hall. My dear old aunt Nancy sends me a pair every week, bless her sweet soul!
Leave out Caarter Hall, suh, and you pa'alize the whole scheme. Am I not right, Fitz?" "Unquestionably, Colonel. It is really all the life it has," replied Fitz, solemn as a graven image, blowing a cloud of smoke through his nose. "And then, suh," continued the colonel with increasing enthusiasm, oblivious to the point of Fitz's remark, "see the improvements.
"Do I mean it, Fitz? Don't it crop out in half a dozen spots right on our own place? One haalf of my estate, suh, is a coal-field." "You never told me a word about it." "I don't know that I did, Fitz. But it has never been of any use to me. Besides, suh, we have plenty of wood. We never burn coal at Caarter Hall." Fitz did not take that view of it.
The red-faced man took off a wide straw hat and uncovered a head slightly bald and reeking with perspiration. "I'm lookin' fur Colonel Caarter, suh. Is he in?" Fitz pointed to the door of the private office, and the elderly man drew his cane and rapped twice.
"The partition line that was made immejitly aafter the war, dividin' the estate between Miss Ann Caarter and yo'self, Colonel, was also tuk from this survey." Fitz conferred with the agent for a moment and then asked the colonel where lay the deposit of coal of which he had spoken. "In a moment, my dear Fitz," said the colonel, deprecatingly, and turning to the agent:
"Every pound of coal on the colonel's land!" said Fitz, with a yell that brought his host and Kerfoot as fast as their legs could carry them. "Stop!" said Kerfoot. "This only settles the Caarter and Barbour division. There was another division here a year ago between Miss Ann Caarter and the colonel.
Within a few days, however, I shall receive a vehy large amount of secu'ities from an English syndicate that isinvestigatin' my railroad. I shall then return the amount to you with interest, together with that other sum which you loaned me when I left Caarter Hall." The little lady's only reply was to slip her hand into his and kisshim on the forehead.
Klutchem, certainly does not relieve that gemman from the responsibility of answerin' Colonel Caarter." The colonel said the point was well taken, and the judge sustained him. Yancey looked around with the air of a country lawyer who had tripped up a witness, decorated a corner of the carpet, and continued:
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