Middletown transcript., 1894-04-14

knocked up my cackerlations.
"sDo Jabe Scales live hyur?' I axet
de woman, en- she say he do. En-
sly, 'I'se de wife dat wuz sol' ii
slavery
"En', chillen, who you reckin dat
wuz? 1t wuz lump, dat same lump
growed sight bigger'n ever thought
she would, but whut you reckin sht
sayp 'Mebby you wuz his wife il
slavery, says she, but Use his wife in
| freedom, en- Jabe's GAVIN ter town wid
Mawse Alexis team,'
| 81 jis' fell fiat. De bref wuz knocked
outer me.
"'Dullaw, eff dis amt Amt Roxiel
say she den. En- I say, Inuver b'lieved
Jabe wud do dat. You cudn't a-beat
it inter my head all day long, Of
wuzn't hyur ter see fer myself. Whut
med you, lump?
"She begin ter cry, en- said dey
didn't reckin I'd ever be bac', en- lax
ez not I'd married agin too. I Iluked at
her stret. Dem amt my idees of mar
riage,' says 1. 'Whey's my baby, den2'
She sorter gasped en- showed de whites
of her eyes.
"'It's dade,' she say, en- de news
sprawled me fiat.
"tWhey is itp' axed.
"'Dade, she say again.
"'Whey's its little bones, Use axin'?'
"Den she p'inted out de place, en- l
lef' en- went ter dat leetle grave. whut
wuzn't no bIgger'n de crib I'd seen it
in las, en- fell down side it, en- hid
my burnin' shame face in its cool green
grass; en- TO got up heard a snap.
en- knowed my heart he'd popped in two
at las. 1t was terrible still out in dem
woods. De wind jis' move de broom
saige, en- de pine trees roared 'nough
ter mex you feel skeery when yuse way
off in graveyard by yo'se'f. Now'n
then partridge wud whir up, en- mex
me jump. All ter wunst l heard sum-
pin lax sumpin' saysn', Hurry OFF,
en- l nuver stopped ter think it out,
| but hurried at wunst.
$50 l KEN down ter dishyer state,
en- nuver let on who wuz tell now.
Dat ole niger out dere is Jabe Scales,
dat Tump's ole man, not mine, en- L
amt gwan hev speech wild him. pse
too puppiDdicklar ter resk multiplyin'
words wild him."
She broke into sobs again, and we
went to the window.
'He looks poor and old andforsaken,
we said. ''Hear him coughl Look at
the old hands shake, and his toes are
out of his boots. His trousers must
have been cut when the water was
high, and look at that coat! Poor,
dilapidated old manl''
Roxie came and peeped over our
shoulders.
"Dasso," she said. "Dat lump or
ter patch his duds. He looks lax a
skeer-crow, tubbe-sho! When Beck
kems, she'll be skeered outer her SEN
ses by him. Use gwad put my scruples
in my pocket, en- feed him en- clean
him up, en- SEN him bac' ter dat lump
ter show her how ter treat man.
She did put on mostus airs when she say
she wuz his wife in freedom, lax free
dom wuz de pr'r-book. amt nuver
called it such fine thing ter be wife
in freedom"
She bathed her face, then went out
Into the yard, singing as mournfully as
ever.
"Dey's Ian dat is fa'rer den day,
En- by faith we kin see it far off,"
She preteDdad to see nothing but the
clothes on the lines, which she took off
piece by piece, and put into bas kets.
The old man left the steps and tottered
toward her.
"Roxie!" he called in tremulous
old voice.
"Whut ole man is you?" she asked,
turning and looking at him uncol-
cernedly.
"Doan you know me, Roxie?'
he said, casting sheepish, deprecating
glance at his rags.
81 guess you ter be some ole man
slipped off from de po'-house," was the
cool reply.
s'Roxiep'
Cor some ole runaway niger been
hidin' ever sence befo' de wah.'
'-Now, Roxiel''
"Or some ole ha'nt of a niger whut
de Ku-Klux hung"
"Why, Roxiel''
"Or some ole skeercrow whut got
blowed erway, en- lodged down hyur. !"
"No, amt, Roxie, none O. dem.
Use po', no-count ole nigger,, named
Jabe Scales, whut uster life up in Tenn
see, dat you wuz married ter way
wunst.''
"De-laws-a- massyl" exclaimed Roxie
"Ain't you outer yo' MINI" Hohkum
you got strayed off so fur fun home,
den?"
81 KEN ter fin you," he said. 81
med s'arch tell l foun' you, Roxie.'
Roxie's hand clutched at the clot hes
line for support, and she looked away
toward the mountains.
81 got dem papers, dem Lighthouses,
you sent Roxie, en- Mawse Alexis lit
tie boy uster read 'em ter me, ZEN I'd
60 off by myself en- think over 'em en-
cry; en- at las cud'nt keep fun keek-
in no longer. Tumpy she done dade
en- GAVIN. She nuver tol' me tell de
las dat you wuz back dat time, en-
didn't blame her koze it wud'nt
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