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Mammy accepted the apology with some hauteur, and it was several days before entire cordiality was reëstablished; in fact, in all her after life, Mammy would, when in certain moods, hark back to "dat time when dat long-mouthed Polly had de imperdence to say dat our folks' backs weren't as straight as hern." Full of peaceful content were the lives of both whites and blacks.
"Why, captain, they ran down the river past Plymouth and Roanoke, with our flag flying from the Fairy Belle's masthead." "Of all the imperdence! Where did they get a flag of our'n?" "No one knows, unless Jack got it off the smuggler West Wind, that he piloted into Newbern. Anyhow he got it, and kept it hung upon the wall of his mother's house in plain sight of all who went there."
"Don't tell the neighbors any more lies than you can help," called her father after her retreating form; "an' if any of 'em dare to come up here an' give me any of their imperdence, they'll be treated same as you. Come back here, Waitstill, and don't go to slobberin' any good-byes over her. She ain't likely to get out o' the village for some time if she's expectin' Mark Wilson to take her away."
My failure reminded me of the boy a humble imitator of the great George Washington who hacked to death a choice tree. When asked who did it, jolly, gushing and truthful, said, "I did it, pap." The old man seized and gathered him, stopping the whipping occasionally to get breath and wipe off the perspiration, would remark: "And had der imperdence to confess it."
"Whang-jacket your gor-righteously imperdence!" he bellowed, "what do you mean by stickin' that fish-hawk beak of your'n into my business and make me lose count? Get to Tophet out of here!" The stranger calmly removed his ear-pads and gazed on the furious selectman with cold, gray and critical eyes. "Your suggestion as to destination is not well considered," he said. "There is no hell.
You can fuss and you can fume, if it amuses you any, but 't won't do no good. Don't encourage Waitstill in any whinin' nor blubberin'. Jest tell her to come in and go to work and I'll overlook what she done this time. And don't you give me any more of your eye-snappin' and lip-poutin' and head-in-the-air imperdence!
I tried to see mother an' Liz, my sweetheart that was, just as I've seen 'em when my eyes was shut, but I couldn't see nothin' but you, the way you looked goin' along that road and makin' the End look bright. I'd shoot myself for the imperdence of the thing if I was goin' to get well again, but I ain't.
"I'm proud o' you, Vildy, 'n' I take back all the hard thoughts I've ben hevin' about you lately. The idee o' that chiny-eyed preacher thinkin' he was goin' to carry that child home in his buggy with hardly so much as sayin' 'Thank you, marm! I like his Baptist imperdence! His wife hed better wash his duster afore she adopts any children.
I see you doan want ter be a free gyurl. I'se tell Marse Scoville you no 'count niggah." "W'at you want anyhow, imperdence?" "I wants sup'n ter eat. Does you 'spects I kin ride all night en all day ter brung you freedom, en den not eben git a good word? You ain' fit fer freedom. I'se tell some nachel-bawn fool ter gib you a yaller rib'on en den dere be two ob you."
"Well, it is a downright shame!" said Aunt Mary, with a warmth of manner unusual to her. "And so I told her," responded Hannah. "You did! And what did Mrs. Tompkins say?" "Oh, she fired right up, and said she didn't want any of my imperdence." "But you oughtn't to have said so, Hannah." "How could I help it, ma'am, when my blood was boiling over? It is a shame; that's the truth."
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