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me. Dat chile war allers at my heels. I couldnā€™t stir widout him, anā€™ when he missed me, heā€™d fret anā€™ cry so I had ter stay wid him; anā€™ wen he went to school, I had ter carry him in de morninā€™ and bring him home in de ebeninā€™. Anā€™ I learned him to hunt squirrels, anā€™ rabbits, anā€™ ketch fish, anā€™ set traps for birds. I beliebs he lobā€™d me better dan any ob his kinā€™. Anā€™ he showed me how to read.ā€

ā€œWell,ā€ said Tom, ā€œef he lobā€™d you so much, why didnā€™t he set you free?ā€

ā€œMarse Robert tole me, ef he died fust he war gwine ter leave me freeā ā€”dat I should neber sarve anyone else.ā€

ā€œOh, sho!ā€ said Tom, ā€œpromises, like pie crusts, is made to be broken. I donā€™t trust none ob dem. Iā€™se been yere dese fifteen years, anā€™ Iā€™se neber founā€™ any troof in dem. Anā€™ Iā€™se gwine wid dem North men soonā€™s I gits a chance. Anā€™ ef you knowed whatā€™s good fer you, youā€™d go, too.ā€

ā€œNo, Tom; I canā€™t go. When Marster Robert went to de front, he called me to him anā€™ said: ā€˜Uncle Daniel,ā€™ anā€™ he was drefful pale when he said it, ā€˜I are gwine to de war, anā€™ I want yer to take keer of my wife anā€™ chillen, jisā€™ like yer used to take keer of me wen yer called me your little boy.ā€™ Well, dat jisā€™ got to me, anā€™ I couldnā€™t help cryinā€™, to save my life.ā€

ā€œI specs,ā€ said Tom, ā€œyour tear bags must lie mighty close to your eyes. I wouldnā€™t cry ef dem Yankees would make ebery one ob dem go to de front, anā€™ stay dere foreber. Deyā€™d only be gittinā€™ back what deyā€™s been a doinā€™ to us.ā€

ā€œMarster Robert war nebber bad to me. Anā€™ I beliebs in stanninā€™ by dem dat stans by you. Arter Miss Anna died, I had great ā€™sponsibilities on my shoulders; but I war orful lonesome, anā€™ thought Iā€™d like to git a wife. But dere warnā€™t a gal on de plantation, anā€™ nowhereā€™s rounā€™, dat filled de bill. So I jisā€™ waited, anā€™ ā€™tended to Marse Robert till he war ole ā€™nough to go to college. Wen he went, he allers ā€™membered me in de letters he used to write his grandma. Wen he war gone, I war lonesomer dan eber. But, one day, I jisā€™ seed de gal dat took de rag off de bush. Gundover had jisā€™ brought her from de upcountry. She war putty as a picture!ā€ he exclaimed, looking fondly at his wife, who still bore traces of great beauty. ā€œShe had putty hair, putty eyes, putty mouth. She war putty all over; anā€™ she knowā€™d how to put on style.ā€

ā€œO, Daniel,ā€ said Aunt Katie, half chidingly, ā€œhow you do talk.ā€

ā€œWhy, itā€™s true. I ā€™member when you war de puttiest gal in dese diggins; when nobody could top your cotton.ā€

ā€œI donā€™t,ā€ said Aunt Katie.

ā€œWell, I do. Now, let me go on wid my story. De fust time I seed her, I sez to myself, ā€˜Datā€™s de gal for me, anā€™ I means to hab her ef I kin git her.ā€™ So I scraped ā€˜quaintance wid her, and axed her ef she would hab me ef our marsters would let us. I warnā€™t ā€™fraid ā€™bout Marse Robert, but I warnā€™t quite shore ā€™bout Gundover. So when Marse Robert comā€™d home, I axed him, anā€™ he larfā€™d anā€™ said, ā€˜All right,ā€™ anā€™ dat he would speak to ole Gundover ā€™bout it. He didnā€™t relish it bery much, but he didnā€™t like to ā€™fuse Marse Robert. He wouldnā€™t sell her, for she tended his dairy, anā€™ war mighty handy ā€™bout de house. He said, I mought marry her anā€™ come to see her wheneber Marse Robert would gib me a pass. I wanted him to sell her, but he wouldnā€™t hear to it, so I had to put up wid what I could git. Marse Robert war mighty good to me, but ole Gundoverā€™s wife war de meanest woman dat I eber did see. She used to go out on de plantation anā€™ boss things like a man. Arter I war married, I had a baby. It war de dearest, cutest little thing you eber did see; but, pore thing, it got sick and died. It died ā€™bout three oā€™clock; and in de morninā€™, Katie, habbin her cows to milk, lef her dead baby in de cabin. When she comā€™d back from milkinā€™ her thirty cows, anā€™ went to look for her pore little baby, someone had been to her cabin anā€™ tookā€™d de pore chile away anā€™ put it in de grounā€™. Pore Katie, she didnā€™t eben hab a chance to kiss her baby ā€™fore it war buried. Ole Gundoverā€™s wife has been dead thirty years, anā€™ she didnā€™t die a day too soon. Anā€™ my little baby has gone to glory, anā€™ is winginā€™ wid the angels anā€™ a lookinā€™ out for us. One ob de lasā€™ things ole Gundoverā€™s wife did ā€™fore she died war to order a woman whipped ā€™cause she comā€™d to de field a little late when her husband war sick, anā€™ she had stopped to tend him. Dat morninā€™ she war taken sick wid de fever, anā€™ in a few days she war gone out like de snuff ob a candle. She lefā€™ several sons, anā€™ I specs she would almosā€™ turn ober in her grave ef she knowā€™d she had ten culled granchillen somewhar down in de lower kentry.ā€

ā€œIsnā€™t it funny,ā€ said Robert, ā€œhow these white folks look down on colored people, anā€™ then mix up with them?ā€

ā€œMarster war away when Miss ā€™Liza treated my Katie so mean, anā€™ when I tole him ā€™bout it, he war tearinā€™ mad, anā€™ went ober anā€™ saw ole Gundover, anā€™ founā€™ out he war hard up for money, anā€™ he bought Katie and brought her home to lib wid me, and weā€™s been a libin in clover eber sence.

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