The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-04-12
1 FAVOR RETURNED.

"a iuIurlOuo 1OonAh6' "A PAStuAc VI Allt
end activity such as one will find only
rnder these conditions.
s. The house. big, snowy white struc-
4 mre. with tall porch pillars reaching
4 inward two stories in height. stands at
a ,ne intersection Of two driveways,
y shich curve upward in somewhat irreg-
8 ular fashion from their respective gates
in the long. rambling white board fence
j that surrounds the grounds.
4 A small darky boy, clad in very non
a dscript garments. is generally to be-
q seen on one or the other of these road
q ways, grubbing away, not very ener-
n ce,ically. I'm afraid, at the accumula-
j ton of creeping vines and weeds that
4 threaten to obliterate the hard clay
i .aadbed unless speedily dealt with. He
y is there this very afternoon. but, alas
a and alack. the suns rays. slanting
a through the live oaks, with their long
81 ieards of southern moss, shine in vain
n upon his defenseless. woolly head, from
Il which much torn old straw hat has
4 fallen. and the creeping vines on the
Il roadway get fresh start in life. Billy
Il is fast asleep.
4 But Billy must not be too severely
1 blamed. 1t is siesta time all over Re-
serve. as the plantation is called. The
4 wide, front door Of the mansion stands
4 inyitingly open. it is true. yet every
4 where about there is quiet. and only an
4 OCCASIONAL muslin curtain, at some up
d per window, hutters out into the soft
southern breeze to tell Of some fair
/ slumberer perhaps within.
4 faint. insistent sound comes across
i the field to the rear of the house. Here
4 is the small sugar press, and here an
4 old darky, mounted on an equally an
4 cient mule, is monarch Of all he surveys
4 this afternoon. Round and round he
goes, every now and then stopping to
gather up the cane from convenient
piles and feeding it into the press,
which creaks and groans like q rusty
4 veil sweep.
a A long stalk Of the cane serves him
hoth as whip for his steed and refresh
uent for himself. He alternately chews
at one end and vigorously slashes at the
mule with the other, tossing the stalk
into the press, when under this doub'o
I duty its condition becomes somewhat
d dilapidated.
4 There arc cotton pickers way out in
I the wide fields which belong to the
awealthy mistress Of Reserve many of
a 5them-but they are out of the view,
and not even their rich toned, monot-
3O1ous melodies come waited on the
breeze
The whole place is quiet, and the
'un giving up his struggle with the
3aeeping darky boy by tho roadway,
alakes dip toward the west.
Suddenly Billy sits bolt upright and
larasts out his bare foot in a vigorous
nck A small yellow dog Of the plain
3dog variety is shifting and nipping at
4 DIS legs. with its owner coming along
i The road behind it.
de is forlorn looking fellow-the
aaoss master-a young peddler, with
DIS pack carefully rolled in a piece Of
acang and strapped to his back. His
jeloihes are torn and frayed, his hat is
sIained and wcrn by time and many
Jsuowers. his face is streaked with per-
aasHrat'on and dust, and there are dark
3ofcles under his eyes and lines about
3us mouth that to the close observer
2ulght tell Of hunger and much fatigue.
9 ne comes wearily up the driveway
lana halts beside the darky boy. who is
Engaged in brisk argument with the
aIellow dog
,c,, WHO lives here. boy ?" he questions
WHO'S yOur miatreas
-, Mis- Hamilton, she done lib heah
a"nat yuh want tub know foahp" in
aeTogates Billy in return. a note Of i'm
3padence coming into his voice.
Ihe peddler shifts his pack. II have
ZONE things that maybe she would like
3U ouy-she or somebody about the
aplace Is that the way to the house9'
6p0nting up the drive. sis your mis-
3ness at homer
sut Billy has taken to his bare feet
81: s.aa hown across the grass in the direc-
l1Cn OF the negro quarters.
II takes but few moments for him
~ rouse two or three men and boys,
3"no' shirking work in the field, have
sen sleeping within on this balmy fall
5al.elnoon. They now emerge from the
aaOlns and. led by the important Billy.
3Nuvance to meet the peddler
h.. "heah. wha' yuh doir heah, now2
3als Hamilton, she don low no tramps
,uan 0. dis heah plantation. Go long.
.0w' git out'h heah. quick. now" says
II ourly field hand, advancing toward
ue peddler in q threatening manner.
Cant I see your mistress for o mo-
%enf or some of the women folks about
He place? Maybe they would like to
vuy something out, of my pack" says
%e lad (he is no more), his eye travel
lss about the group Of darkies in search
@ a friendly face.
nut not one does he see. The group
usomes REINFORCED by two or three
Iu!e' who come running from the
ssolns' drawn by the unusual excite
4.a.. .lS, and everywhere he sees hostility.
NO, yuh can stay roun' heah no
;,.sah'" replies the spokesman. "Yuh
- make tracks as fas' as yuh kin, or
- y Git intuh trubbil." producing q
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