Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-11-16
AZ done stole one Q, dem roses. too.

'I done stole one o. dem roses. too.
nanny" she faltered-
"Wha' dat. Macie2 An pend
'spressly on 20 TO look out 70 de Cd
ders Oh. chile. chiler'
Her mother spoke slowly. and Ma
cie's head dropped still lower.
"I's sorry. nanny" she said. scarce
above a whisper. '.but I did stole one.
OATS de trufe. rs badder'n dey is.
case was TO look out To- DEM"
"Yas. yo'se badder'n dey is her
mother assented. IAN I reckon yo' got
corn dat ain crack yet 70 bring hit
out hyeh an poun' on hit all day. 70
pap an nell go to emancipation by
ourse'fs. An. min. all o. yo'," Inn
pressiveIy. III da's any COINS on while
Yves off dar's gwine be mo- punish
ment tomorrer."
The children made no reply. but
stood about sullenly until the old peo-
pie had disappeared up the road to-
ward Mariana, where the ''doings"
were to be held.
ST aim gwine do a stitch o. wuk all
de 'durin' day" Washington declared
denantIy. IF de wood git chopped
hit jes' chop hitse'f."
His companions grumbled their ap-
proval. and one Of them kicked vi
ciously at the hoe which stood near
him.
AN all dis 70 some no count ole
roses" washington went on irritably.
then: "Wha' yo' gwine to do dar.
Macie7 Yo' aim gwine TO wuk shore
ly7"
'Yass, 1 be-" sturdily. as gwine
poun' dis corn. jes' like nanny say.
An rs pow'ful 'shamed O. myself.
is. Mebbe de roses ain no count. but
dat aim de pint. Nanny say not
tech dem. An'-an' mammy's been
mighty good TO we ais. Yo'se know
dat"
Yes, they knew. but not one Of them
was ready to admit it just yet. So they
lay there, scowling and digging their
heels and toes into the sand and max
ing teering remarks at Macie. But she
worked quietly on, and at length they
rose uneasily. one by one. and found
places in the window and inside the
cabin, where they swung their legs
and continued TO scowL
But all the time they were thinking.
and at length. in seeming desperation.
Washington pushed his way between
the row on the window seat and drop
ped to the ground.
81 declar'. hits sights easier to wuk
dan to sot hyer long o. sech grum-
blers," he snorted. "l's gwine into dat
wood pile jes' To- de change"
Presently one of the leg swingers
oItnFlod 20 "a
ground and picked up the hoe.
IAN / low dat sweet tater patch
has mo- fun TO- me dan dis crowd"
he muttered as he moved away.
One by one the others thought Of
some occupation that was mo fun"
and shuf1ed in search Of It. And. curl
ously enough, as they set to work the
scowls and grumbling and discomfort
disappeared. and It was not long be-
fore most of them were whistlIng or
singing. Never In the history Of the
clearing had there been greater IN
dustry. nor, toward the end OF the
day, greater cheerfulness. When the
old people returned there was a crowd
ing line to meet them with eager ac-
counts Of the days work and with
embarrassed apologies for the disobedi-
ence Of the morning.
LAWS a-massy mew calculated man.
my, with smiles that were very near
to tears. What chilluns dey is! An
all dem taters hoed. an all dat corn
pounded. an all dat udder wuk done!
My. my. jes' TO fink, An hits man
cipation day an folks all OF TO de do
ms. But I ain fo'git 70. cbiliuns."
softly. us done got peanuts TO 20
ais. an candy an raisings an yaller
oranges. Hyer," removing package
after package from her capacious
pockets. Now, yo' alls run OF an hab
a Emancipation jes' by yo'se'fs. An
tomorrer yo' all kin go fishin'"
AS she turned and entered the cabin
she murmured to herself softly: What
chilluns dey Isl What chilluns dev is!'
Young Girls Are Victims