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"Now lots o' coon darkies dey uster steal de youn' Mockers jes' afore dey lef' de nest and sell 'em to white trash dat ud tote 'em down the ribber an' sell 'em agin in N'Orleans, to be fetched off in ships. And I'se hear tell dat dere ain't any sech birds in oder countries, and dat de kings and queens jes' gib dere gold crowns offen dere heads t' have a cage o' Mockers.
"Larry's a river drifter," the girl explained, "and Daddy's one of those set old fellows who hate the river. But Mamma knew it was all right. Larry's saved $7,000 in three years. He'd never tell me that till I married him, but I knew. We're going clear down to N'Orleans. Are you?" "Probably." "And all alone aren't you afraid?"
"I ran up on deck, an' dare was de steward w'at gin me de bahsket to tote. 'W'at th'ell you doin' on bo'd dis ship, he ahsk me. "I tells 'im I ain't wantin' t' stay no mo'n he wants me, an' he takes me to de cap'm. 'I reckon he b'long to do navy now, says de cap'm, 'so dey fix some papers an' I makes my mark on 'em. "Ahftah a bit I find we bound fo' N'Orleans.
"My name's Prebol," the man said, "Jest Prebol. I live on Old Mississip'! I live anywhere, down by N'Orleans, Vicksburg everywhere! I'm a grafter, I am " "A grafter?" Rasba repeated the strange word. "Yas, suh, cyards, an' tradin' slum, barberin' mebby, an' mebby some otheh things. I can sell patent medicine to a doctor, I can! I clean cisterns, an' anything." "You gamble?"
Sometimes I used to think maybe it might have been a misprint and that you were the one." "No, no. 'Live and kickin'. Been up around here a good while." "Where?" "Home. N'Orleans. M' mother died, Hattie, God rest her bones. Know it?" "No." "Cancer." It was a peculiar silence. A terrible word like that was almost slowly soluble in it. Gurgling down. "O-oh!"
Disbon looked up from cleaning his repeating shotgun. "My first trip was out of the Ohio and down to N'Orleans. I wouldn't recommend to no woman that she go down thataway, not alone. Theh's junker-pirates use up from N'Orleans, and, course, there's always more or less meanness below Cairo. Above St. Louis it ain't so bad, but mean men draps down from Little Klondike."
There's a fruit steamer out of here for N'Orleans in the mawnin'. Reckon I'll catch it." "I'd advise you to." "No objection to me droppin' around to see the girl first? Entitled to a little natural curiosity. Come, I'll take you up home this evenin'. The girl. No harm." "You're not serious, Morton. You wouldn't upset things. You wouldn't tell that child!"
Disbon declared, looking at her husband doubtfully. "Seems to me that on the average, men are more of a nuisance than they're worth. It's which and t'other about them. I see you've had experience?" Nelia looked down at her wedding ring. "Yes, I've had experience," she nodded. "Going clear down?" "You mean ?" "N'Orleans?" "Why, I hadn't thought much about it." "The Lower River's pretty bad."
"Dem coons nebber got no gold crowns, howsumever. What dey got was mos'ly a quarter foh free he-birds. Now Sambo he was a-courtin' an' wanted a banjo powerful bad, an' he didn't want no common truck, so he 'lowed to get one up from N'Orleans. So he 'greed to pay for it in Mockers, an' he to'ht he know'd where he'd get 'em foh sure.