Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-10-31
THE RUNAWAYS
A Story OF Antebeiium
Days
By ANNA LAURA GRAVES.

( dolph, starting TO his feet. This is the
fifth year that negro has run away. III
See about this And. catching up his
cane and panama hat. he strobe down
( the avenue toward the negro quarters
He stopped before the cabin of Aunt
4 Dinah, the wife of the recreant, and
/ she met him by answering his unspo-
/ ken question.
Yes. sah he done run away ag'in.
/ sab When / git up dis mawnin' he
I done gone. Its pow'ful cu'ous. sab.
/ He'll come back. You know. he allus
/ does. Gawd knows / sho is toah up
in my mind about it. He knows what
a kind massa he got. and 'peahs lax
when he come back he pow'ful shame
o hisself: but he done gone ag'in.'
As was always the case with him.
the coloners wrath had subsidized by
| the time he had reached Uncle Ephra-
inns cabin. and after hearing Aunt
Dinah's explanation he said thought
/ fully:
We'll. tell Eph to come and see me
when he comes back. and We'll not
search for him this time Then he
walked slowly back to the house.
At dinner that day the family dis
cussed the runaway. He had been
born on the plantation and was a great
favorite with them all. He was only
few days older than the colonel.
They had been boys together, and the
slave had been devoted to Ibis white
folks" But every October for five
years Eph had mysteriously disappear
ed, to appear again in about two
weeks, a little shamefaced, and his
! only explanation to the darkies had
beer that he ''jes' had to co.
The colonel had maintained a dis
Greet silence. He remembered the long
years of unbroken loyalty and devo-
ton of EphraiIn. and waited for him
to explain his disappearance. but the
explanation had never come This
time the colonel had determined to ask
for it.
About two weeks after this last Oc-
tober day disheveled old darky
walked into Aunt Dinah's cabin. His
clothes We're torn by brambles and COW
cred with the mud of the swamps. He
looked tired, but happy. Uncle Ephra-
i'm had returned.
He said little by way of reply to the
upbradings of Aunt Dinah. who gave
him q good tongue flashing" for his
congratulate to ole massa to run off
lax common field niggah." He
WINGED al the last appeIlation. fer
Uncle Eph was quite an aristocrat in
his way, having been coachman in the
Randolph family ever since he had ar
rived at mans estate. He said roth
ing. however, for he was rather a 81
lent darky.
When Aunt Dfnah had had her
say" she gave him the masters mes
sage. He stopped smoking. his cob
pipe went out. At last he arose, put
on his battered hat and. without
changing his mud stained garments.
walked slowly up to the big house"
Colonel Randolph solemnly surveyed
the weather beaten runaway.
''Well. Eph,'' he said sternly, 1--WE
never asked you before, but now
want you to tell me why you ran
away
Ephraim. lingering his hat and look
ing at his muddy shoes. said:
That's jus what I'm gwine to do,
Marse Phil. Seem lax l couldn't wait
to fix up none. JUS got to tell you
now. You know, Marse PHIL (and
Uncle Eph coughed), I'VE been KNOWN
one 'nuther long time. You know my
nanny wah yo' black nanny, too,
an you know we done play togedder,
we did. an we hunted togedder, we
did. an you know. Marse Phil. you
could outride anybody in dis coun-
try
That we could broke in the colo
mel, forgetting himself for the moment,
unconscious of his role as judge of
runaway negro and remembering only
his happy boyhood.
We'll. Marse Phil, you know in de
fall sab, when de sun shines sort O
meller lax an when de muscadines an
fox grapes an simmons am ripe an de
cbestnuts am droppin'. sab, | jes' can't
stand il nohow. l jes' 'bleeged to run
away. 'Peahs lax l jus recollect de
time, Marse Phil, / do, when you an
me used to so possum an coon huntin'.
an den atterwhile, when / take de
chillens-an', Lord, SIGH times as We
had! An now dey'G all married an
gone. sab. but ole Eph. he jes' have to
take to de woods once year an kind
O. circumnavigate 'roun', sab, jes' feb
de ole times, sab Ize pow'ful sorry to
ClScOmmo0e you, MarSe fn1, Out tol
dat trifiin' Joe how to tex keer o de
BOSSES. sab. an l jes' has to go, Marse
Phil, jes' has to-"
The colonel had turned and was look
ing out of the window. He did not
speak at once.
From the distant cabins came the
plaintive echo of a lullaby sung by
black nanny to a curly headed pieka-
ninny. The gold of evening was melt
ing into the purple glow of twilight.
and the air was balmy and sweet To
the colonel there came the memory of
days, long ago. when he had seen and
felt all this so keenly. when the young
blood coursed through his veins warm
ed by the fire of youth and when all ma
ture seemed but 10 be speaking words
Of Nelcnr,aea irn1-iriric- him farrL