The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1895-06-07
mo, you're wrong" interrupted old


So" Then putting the paper in hin
pocket, with a determined look no
said:
''Accordin' TO your own showin,'
Sam, this paper isn't yourn. I'll take
c'yar of it for the raj owner" And
the old man walked away determined
to keep the paper and see what came
of it, Sam was beaten, but not badly
disturbed. He had thrown into the
river the original medal, as he supposed,
and he now repeated the words he had
used at that time: "That will tell no
tales" And if he could not make it
appear that Jun, stood Jan.-June for
January-he could at least boldly claim
that this memorandum was mistake,
and the one shown by himself the cor
rect one. At any rate, he was re-
solved TO redouble his efforts to marry
his brothers widow as the surest road
to the final control of his fathers es-
tate, though Myra had thus far-with-
out suspecting his real motive-put
him off from month to month without
a definite answer.
Myra Cushing-now Mrs. Blake
was the daughter of Congregational
minister who had resided at Maysville,
where young jefferson Blake had
made the acquaintance of the daugh-
ter and married her. A lady of educa-
ton and culture, handsome, rosy and
full of life, polite and kind to all about
her And of her own volition she had
opened Sunday school for teaching
slave children. This was not at that
time unlawful, but the systematic eff
fort TO teach the slaves was exceedingly
distasteful to all far-seeing slave hold
ers, of which old Tom Blake was one
of the shrewdest. His son Jefferson
had foreseen his fathers hostility, and,
after winning the affection of Myra
and her consent, had married her with
out consulting his father. When the
father learned this fact he was furious.
He swore that no son of his with "a
niger school keeper" for a wife should
ever inherit a dollar of his property.
But jeff Blake had taken his wife
home TO the Springs, Notwithstanding
his fathers i'll humor. Old Tom was
struck with the young woman's
beauty and her kindly ways, and tell
ing jeff that his wife was "a cussed
purity gal" admitted them to the hos
pitality of the Springs; but at the same
time he held to his purpose that mo
man with niger teacher for wife"
should be his heir. After Joe was
born, and as he grew in beauty and
pleasant ways, the old man gave way
so far as to take the boy to his
heart, though he did not forgive
the father. At length, after few
years, even Myra, with her gentle and
loving ways, won the old mans good
will, and in tit of anger at both his
sons he had made an amended will de-
vising his entire estate to Joe on COM
| ing of age. He was much cast down
at the loss of his son, and especially
his grandson, and anxiously awaited
| the return of Sam from Cincinnati in
hope of hearing tidings from them.
He was disappointed. He did not sus-
pect Sam of rascallty in his account of
matters at Cincinnati, and while he
was assured that his son was somehow
prevaricating, nc thought the motive
was only to mislead Myra as to some
| of the facts, remove her last hope and
induce her to marry him. Neverthe-
less, with his usual craftiness, he re-
solved 10 keep his own counsel and
wait.
Shortly after the event of the memo
randum between Sam Blake and his
father, a scene growing out of the
same matter occurred at the negro
quarters in the cabin occupied by Pom
pey the hostler and his mother, Aunt
Winney," as the old negress was called
by whites and blacks. Aunt Winney
was head of the laundry department of
the Springs hotel, and was very vain
of her superior knowledge in that line.
She was so years old, black as
night, very shrewd, wary in avoid
ing the lash, and was general
favorite among the colored people con-
shutting her fellow-servants at the ho-
tel. In warm weather, as at present,
she was usually dressed in a long smock
of unbleached tow-linen, reaching from
neck to foot without band at the waist;
q snowy cotton kerchief over shoulders,
and on her head a cotton bandanna
handkerchief done up into turban.
Seeing Pompey pass her cabin door
soon after the conversation between
Sam and his father she called him in.
"Chile," said Aunt Winney, what
you find dat paper fur?"
~ done find no paper" replied Pom
pey.
Needn't tell no lie, chile; Mas'r
Sam say your not gwine to be whipt.
He seed you glib dat paper to ole mas'r;
and Mas'r Sam say you not gwine to be
whipt, kaze you didn't tell, an he seed
it hisself. What kind o. paper was it,
Pompey?"
Winney knew just enough to wish to
learn more, and as she was certain her
son was not to be whipped for telling,
she continued to ply Pompey with such
questions and assurances as she
thought would extract the whole mat
ter from him. But Pompey also was
shrewd, and had mortal fear of the
lash; so he only said in reply:
"Mammv did Won see dat paner?'