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"Let thim dundther," Mary said. He put his hand behind his ear and asked eagerly: "What is 't?" "Somebody's dundtherin'." "Let thim go t' h ," he said angrily. "Th' tuk 'im frum Anna last time, th' won't take 'im frum me an' you, Mary." Another and louder knock. "It's Misthress Healy," came a voice. Again his hand was behind his ear. The name was repeated to him.
"'Well, sez I, 'you may have to wade purty fur an' dive consider'ble, fer she's about the toughest snag you ever struck. "'I'm a-goin' to have 'er soul, sez he, an' he laughed. 'I'd ruther make that sort of a struggle for the Lord 'an to put out a burnin' house, ur keep a pizen snake frum bitin' a baby. You watch my smoke. Is she a-comin' back heer?
"Look yere, you black villain," he roared, driving the lesson home with his boot "don't be a playin' possum yer. Stand up an' answer Mister Carlyle, or yer'll git a worse clip than I give yer afore. Whar is the bloody bark?" "Pounding her heart out on the rocks yonder," he said more civilly, "unless she's slid off, an' gone down." "Wrecked? Where?" "Hell, I ain't sure what's west frum here?"
"'Bout de only recr'ation us niggers had in dem days was candy pullin's. We all met at one house an' tol' ghost stories, sung plantation songs, an' danced de clog while de candy was cookin'. Dem was de good old days. Dey don't do dem things no mo'. "When a nigger died, we had a wake an' dat was diffrunt too frum whut 'tis today.
All right, then; hand it over. Now put out that light." He did exactly as I told him, moving as though paralyzed by fear, yet unable to resist. "You are a negro a slave?" "Yas, sah; Ah's Massa Donaldson's boy frum Saint Louee." "He is the sheriff?" "Yas, sah yas, sah. Whar is Massa Donaldson? Yer ain't done bin sent yere by him, I reckon. 'Pears like I never see yer afore."
This old negro reserves all of the heroic roles for others. Asked if he had had any experience with the "varmints", as he termed them he said: "Yas, suh. De worst scared I ever got wuz frum a wolf. Walkin' down a trail one day, I spied a wolf not more than ten feet away. Man, I wuz so scared dat I seemed to freeze in my tracks, and couldn't move. I tried to holler but all I could do wuz croak.
I reckon thar won't be no noses, nur no air, as fer that matter; folks that's read up on sech matters says everything will be different. The Lord knows I hope it will be. I want a change. But I am gettin' away frum Mis' Dawson.
Keeps er paint store down street, and deals in painters' merterial, but never buys er baral er biled oil wonc't in five yers; but, like de widder in the Scripter, he alers has er baral ter draw frum when er customer wants biled oil.
"About five shillings per week. I'm told that is the usual " "Five shillin's! The granny's hind foot! Why, boy, whut you tek me an' Cynthy Ann fur? We shan't tek five shillin's nor yit five cents. A boy like you, not much older'n our William, ef he'd 'a' lived, an' frum Lawsonville, too! Didn't I tell you you'd be jes' lak my own frum this time on? Board, indeed!
And, without no preachin', nor nothin' like that, I've done my best these weeks we've been frolickin' and projectin' round together to keep 'em frum growin' up to do mean things. I use chawin' tobacco myself; but I've told 'em, I don't know how many times, that ef they chaw it'll stunt 'em in their growth.
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