Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-07-23
40 THE TOTS

WV tl At lOlhtS dch only COMES.
Prophet Isaiah said it to his sister
/ Leona, In the tore of one burdened with
a great und, rtaking Prophet Isaiah
Sharp was his full name but to all the
plantation be was Aunt Whey Bud. "
A slim scrawny lad was Isaiah, blacker
than darkness, with big eyes, bigger feet
and numberless plaits Of woody hal, each
wrapped close with white cotton strings
stand pg out all over his mead
Lsona was smaller and blacker, with
4 longer plaits and more Of them though in
! her case they were ambushed In a head -
rag Of faded lawn The two stood in a
big log cabin, whlte-washed, swept and
| garnlshed, with green boughsin the large
fireplace, empty save for two barrels across
Zone corner, holding up a long plank to
form a rude counter.
To drRpe it Leona had sacrificed her
! best lawn frock, her one white apron,
( whose edge of coarse rick-rack shaved
I finely in the middle with two ruff d
/ breadths at either side of it. On top sat
4 several cracked dishes tull Of cheap red
and yellow candy, raisins, almonds and
cumbly sweet cakes. At one end was a
water bucket half full of lemonade, at the
other big, round, green-striped Florida
! watermelon.
For, at that season, late June-melons
are not ripe in Middle Tennessee. Pro
phet lsiah was glad of it, He said to
Loona, tiptoeinp to thump the upper riud,
Ills EN- at dlt2 Dis yere fat man cos me
half doliaf-but she's vars knee high
ter er hopper grass, he gwine fetch de
dimes eve'y time Niggers amt done
taste watermillon since las fall, dey be
plum skarted when day get the smell of
hit.
Better not let 'um see hit twell dey
done buyed all de res Put hit down dar
on de flo, right no in de eornder." Lee
said sagaeiousy, and adding after a
minut, Does yer recon, sho' 'nough,
wc'l make 'nough tn cay we in de cir
Gus -"
"Yes-sir.eeb bob, and buy er flag an er
genger cake an 6'Crackers, too. tell
you, Lee. ! m gwine make you mem Der
dat Foth er July long as you lib.
"Humph! ! members all on 'um any
ay, Lee said, tossing her turbaned head,
dat de time we all wus set free. -
The prophet looked at her in deep re-
rroach, saying as he ambushed the melon:
"Well, sub, you is ignuentl Why, gal,
don You know no batter'n dat? Folkes
keep de Foth er July cause hits de day
ole Missus Clumbus be cane dribin long
an skiveIed dis country, an fotch all ne
niggers yere ter work il. De sottin- free
came way back yonder bout Christmas
time. "
DDS so it happened, hit don't matter
When" Lee sand whirling about on her
her tiptoes. bat | wish de foxes would
come on. How much we got tn make,
Bud, fore we git circus money |?
Bud knotted his brows. "Lemme zee,
had err quarter an you er nice-then
Marse Joe len me three dolars-an' hits
all in dis yere passed er truck cepin FIVE
nickles tn make change at de start-but
look Wonder der come three, TO-, seben
fokes-run, stan at de do, Lee, an tell
'uu handy. got tn gitup yere 'hine de
counter ready for selin'.
Lees eyes danced, as hinging wide the
door she saw through the clear starlight
all the field paths dotted with waving
groups Evidently the plantation, the
neighborhood, looked with favor on Buds
speculation, and had come bodily this
Saturday night to give him countenance
and cash.
By twos, by three8, by half dozens, peo-
pie stra ggled IN. Old or young, women
wore light, stiff starched tr9cks, gay rib
bons, Strings Of shell beads about the
throat or in tue hair, unwrapped for the
occasion, and built into rolls or putfs all
over the head, grown men were likewise
spic and span in Sunday best Buds
piough-b0y mates alone came In every day
shirt and trousers, with unkeupt, mOppy
heads.
For a while men and women stood prim.
ly apart, in silence, or speaking in whis.
per- 70 their next Deiphbor buds heart
went down 10 the tips Of his ragged boots.
II was not thus at grown-folk festivals
He had been to dozen at least-8nd re-
membered well their instant furious 10,
litv If the people thus stood heavily at
rest, there would be neither hunger nor
thirst, nobody would hug anything, liz
stead Of taking Lee to the circus, be would
miss it himself, besides owing Marse Joe
more than a week = wages. 1t made him
sick to think OF it-so much so indeed
there was no healing it in the
knowledge that the less he sold the more
ne must eat.
If only somebody would start the march
ing, some big man, blacksmith Ike, for IN
stance, whose singing could easily be
heard for half mile.
As if impelled by Buds thought Of him,
the big dmkey lounged up in front Of the
counter, peered thirstily into the lemonade
bucket, struck both hands into his pockets
that gave out a faint jingle Of small coin
and said, nertendiHg TO trown
'Huh NiggcT dees sou reckon you git
red er all dat stuff Rid suIkus an Foth er
/ july bofe comm ?"
Prophet Isaiah nodded an emphatic yea,
and whispered eagerly int the black
smiths e,r, motioning a. be d Ia 30 10 the
corner back Of him Ike listened a broad
grin overspreading his face, and at the
said: 'Er whole half er eide? G0ly,
Bud, III nab desc niQgers twis in lex de
harrycane was hine 'um