The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-02-24
CHAPTER x-continued.

She pointed to the house and then to
herself and smiled. He understood
the pantomime and nodded. When
they reached the house a withered
and wrinkled little woman came out
to the arched veranda to meet them
She looked Gerry over shrewdly and
then held out her hand. He shook
it listlessly. They walked through a
long dividing hall. On each side were
large rooms, empty, save one where
big bed, a waSh-stand, and an old
bureau with mildewed glass, were
grouped like an oasis in a desert. They
reached the kitchen. 1t was evidently
the living room of the house. A ham
mock cut off one corner. Chairs were
drawn up to rough, uncovered table.
A stove was built into the masonry
and cavernous oven gaped from the
massive wall.
At the stove was an old negress,
making coffee with shaky deliberation.
On the floor sat an old darky clad
only from his waist down in such trOu-
Sers as Gerry was wearing, except
that they were soiled and tattered.
He looked up and fastened his eyes
on Gerry and then struggled to his
feet. Dim recollections of some by
gone white master brought a CLEAN
into his beary eyes. He raised his
hand in the national gesture of child
to parent, slave to master. Blessing,
master, blessing" Gerry had learned
the meaning of the quaint custom.
God bless thee" 6e answered in
badly jumbled Portuguese. The girl
and the wrinkled woman looked at
him, surprised, and then smiled at
steps of child.
They made him sit down at the
table and placed before him crisp
rusks of manioc -four and steamine
coffee whose splendid aroma tri'
umphed over the sordidness Of the
scene and through the nostrils reached
the palate with GnticipatOry touch.
1t was sweetened with dark, pungeEt
sirup and was served black in a caps.
cious bowl, as though one could nct
drink too deeply Of the elixir of life.
Gerry ate ravenously and slipped thC
coffee, at first spar'ngly, then greedilT
The old negress futtered nervous:J
about the stove, nursing its inadequate
fire Of charcoal. Her eyes were Rf
with wonder at the capacity of uiC
white master. The old negro had surE
back to his seat on the floor. The tvs
white women stood and watched Ger
ry. The more he ate the more the.
urged.
Gerry set down the empty bowl wit
n sigh. The rusks had been delicious
Before the coffee the name Of nec<E
dwindled to imPotency. Its elixir rs5t
ed in his veins. At the sigh the cir
had deftly rolled a cigarette in Id
of corn husk, scraped thin as paper
Now she slipped it into his fingers
The old negress picked up live Goa
and, passing 1t from shaky hand t
shaky hand, deposited it on his plate
Gerry lit the cigarette. With the frs
long contented Whit he smiled. Th
smile brought stinglng recollection
With a frown he threw away the cigf
rette and rose from the table. 9TH
brute is fed and laughs" he said alou
and strobe from the room. The gtl
and the little wrinkled woman locke
at each other in dismay. They SCENE
to sense the unintelligible words. Th
old darky crawIed across the floor an
possessed himself of the cigarette.
Gerry went to seat himself on IL
steps of the veranda. Before hill
stretched the falIOw valley, beyond
cleaned the black line of the rushin
river To the right were the ruins of
sugar mill and stables. To the lie
the debris that once had been slave
quarters. The fields still bore the hun
mocks. in rough alignment, that to
the story of past years fruitful
cane. All was waste. all was ruin.
The girl slipped to seat beside hiT
She rolled a fresh cigarette and thu
shyly laid a small brown hand on b
arm. Gerry looked at her. Her b
brown eyes were sorrOwful and plea
ing. She held out the cigarette with
little shrug that deprecated the sma
ness of the offering.
Gerry felt a twinge Of remorse. T
patted the hand that lay on his arr
smiled, and took the cigarette. T
girls face lit up. She called and aga
the negress brought fire. This tir
Gerry smoked gravely. The girl S
on beside him. Her hand lay in b
So they sat until the sun passed t
zrnith and, slipping over the cav
fell like FIRE on their bare feet. Ger
stood up, pointed to himself and tn
down the river to the town. The s
shook her head. She made him und
stand that he was cut off from
town by an impossible tributary
the great river-that he would ha
to make a long detour inland. Th
she swept her hand from the sun
the horizon to show him that the d
was too far gone for the journey.
He was not much concerned.
apathy seized him at the thought
going back. He felt as though shai
had left some visible scar on his col
tenance that men must see and rel
As he stood. thoughtful and detach'