The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-02
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, DECEMBER ?, 1894

southern hospitality al Converly Pines"
babe the fine fellow g9od-by IN some
thing ike grateful shame II the charac-
ter Of my mission. and LETT Atlanta
thoroughly discouraged in my quest
At Greensboro the package had been
I transferred between trains on al
/ joining tracks in broad dayhghL
I II was carried 10 Raleigh by the
I messenger who received IL at Greensboro;
Z had remained in the Raleigh office sew
! eraI hours under conditions precluding
/ the possibility Of its having been tam
I pered with IN that city; and / rode with
/ the messenger who last handled the pack
+ age TO South Converly. without having dis
covered single hopeful clue to the rob
/ berry.
1 found South Converly a village only
/ in name. War had nearly twenty years
I before swept il away by flame A great
I railway bridge across the Roanoke had
been destroyed by contending armies,
/ and had not yet been rebuilt. But one
/ structure stood where once had been
/ sunny and prosperous hamlet This was
/ the log hut Of the postmaster, general
/ storekeeper and express agent all in one.
He was an ignorant. honest fellow. NOR
I ally and mentally incapable of this rob-
1 berry, which had required an active brain
and nimble fingers.
Halifax county. Moth Calling, haint
been tn same place" he began, plant
| lively, after I had concluded my investi-
cation of his shabby little office and
cheerily assured him that he had nothing
to fear in connection with the crime,
"sence that trouble come. I'm gettin' gray
outen it. Why, Kyernl Converly skasely
speaks to me no mo- 'n'even his niggahs
looks down on mel Air We gon' out Con-
verify Pines way. sir?"
Perhaps" / replied. How far is II
out to the Pines?"
Nigh onto twelve mile. Kase if We
be- he pleaded, returning to the sore spot
in his meager official life, Il reckon ye
wouldn't mind if We come up with tn
Converly folks, jest a putin me right,
after a form an manner. sir with tn
| kyernl? But thar's his OF Uncle Ephe,
nowi'
Trailing down the red and winding road
way which led to the opening, the hills
and the glorious pine bottoms along the
Roanoke, came a ramshackle old one
horse buggy, drawn by an ambling and
ruminative steed
Like dot of ebony set in a fringe of
blanched and spotless coral. showed I'm
Gle Ephe's face in its rim of knkly white
hair and beard. A little mite of an old and
bent negro he was, but as he neared the
station by a wide circular sweep around
it. so that when his errand was done
himself and his conveyance would be
headed homeward he seemed to gradually
stiffen up to the full pitiful limit of his
great age and feeble frame.
See therer said the agent in a profess
tive undertone. "Jest as 1 tor We. That
niggah, sir, won't look at me sence that
money wuz took Cuss tn hull DANCED
orery biziness, ennyhowl Hello, Uncle
Epher he called out. Folks all well up
t tn Pines?"
Likely, sab, likely"
"Kyern1 all WELL Ephe?'
'Fitten, sab, fitten."
"Or missis all well?"
Right peart, sab; right peart. fur her
years"
Young 'Rastus. an Miss Kate. an
Miss Hates fren' from tn moth, all well,
Uncle Ephe?"
Use waitin' fur de Kyern'Ts letters,
sahw
All this time Uncle Ephe had presented
only one corner OF his peaked chin to the
station agent. supercilous smile had
pursed up his lips and lighted his blue
black face while through his swiftly
blinking eyelids the whites of his eyes
showed that their pupils were rolled far
up into his little old head.
1 gathered that young Master 'Rastus.
who had brought the package TO Converly
Pines from the station. had been some
thing of a sad rake. Only within the year
had his course warranted his friends in
hoping that the heir to Converly Pines
would prove a fitting successor to his
proud and chivalrous father. From the
moment 1t was known that the package
d
never been seen at Converly Pines had
come into it's owners kindly face. From
that moment, too, the son, recognizing
this silent distrust, had scarcely spoken
to an inmate of the mansion.
Another matter revealed by Uncle Ephe
worried me unaccountably. The young
woman, Clara Brathwaite, now a guest at
Converly Pines, while a great favorite
with the whites, had secured the deepest
enmity of all the house servants and the
hundreds of other blacks on the planta-
ton.
Uncle Ephe's account of the matter was
brief, explicit and bitter with indignation
Ill luck had come to Converly Pines from
the moment Clara Brathwaite had ar
| rived. Some Of the hounds had sickened
and died. The young tobacco crop was
| giving them all more trouble than in any
previous year A favorite FLY had
/ broken its leg, when taking a wall that
any picaninny on the plantation could
/ have leaped. Then the robbery of the
1 money package had come to light. And
! finally as Uncle Ephe related with almost
vengeful Indignation:
/ Dis po' New Yawk white trash done
! los 'er buttons, an ups and 'cuzes
us colored folk wiz takin EN- Hoo"
cackled Uncle Ephe with ineffable sco~n.
"ef dat particular no count white gal
want Miss Hates fren', fore de Lawd.
| she'd git inter a cllusion wiv my OF
woman, fore she'd gwine on diser way
/ longi Why, sence dater hoodoo New
Yawk gal come, de birds done quit singin'
| at Converly Pinesr'
Thus this old blacks soul and features
! humbly yet effectively conveyed to min
ion of the Southern Express Company the
| vicarious scorn of Converly Pines folk for
its entire corporate incompetency.
But, Uncle Ephe," urged the agent as
we went forward to the vehicle together
"here's your letters, an here's man, a
| officer O. tn company, as will clear up tn
| hull cussed rumpus!
1t required three or four distinct jerky
movements of Uncle Eph's head to bring
his doubling face toward us; and even
then 1t was perked sidewise toleratively,
as he carefully placed the letters in his
quaint and age-shining hat.
''M-m-phr'
There was no compromising information
in the half-gutteral, half bird-like sound
which issued slowly through Uncle Ephe's
| quivering nostrils.
Hes goin' out t tn Kyern'rs, fur few