Suddenly he was conscious of a great rumbling at hand and the train schickalacked up to the station and stopped.
John stared at the panting monster for a terrified moment, then prepared to bolt. But as he wheeled about he saw everybody"s eyes upon him and there was laughter on every face. He stopped and faced about. Tried to look unconcerned, but that great eye beneath the cloud-breathing smoke-stack glared and threatened. The engine"s very sides seemed to expand and contract like a fiery-lunged monster. The engineer leaning out of his window saw the fright in John"s face and blew a sharp blast on his whistle and John started violently in spite of himself. The crowd roared.
"Hey, dere, big-un," a Negro about the station called to John, "you ain"t never seed nothin" dangerous lookin" lak dat befo", is yuh?"
"Naw suh and hit sho look frightenin"," John answered. His candor took the ridicule out of the faces of the crowd. "But hits uh pretty thing too. Whar it gwine?"
"Oh eve"y which and whar," the other Negro answered, with the intent to convey the impression to John that he knew so much about trains, their habits and destinations that it would be too tiresome to try to tell it all.
The train kicked up its heels and rattled on off. John watched after it until it had lost itself down its shiny road and the noise of its going was dead.
"You laks dat ole train Ah see," the Negro said to John, watching him as he all but fell down into the railroad cut, trying to keep sight of the tail of the train.
"Yeah, man, Ah lakted dat. It say something but Ah ain"t heered it "nough tuh tell whut it say yit. You know whut it say?"
"It don"t say nothin". It jes" make uh powerful racket, da.s.s all."
"Naw, it say some words too. Ahm comin" heah plenty mo" times and den Ah tell yuh whut it say." He straightened up and suddenly remembered.
"Whar de cotton-gin at?"
"Hit"s right over dere, but dey ain"t hirin" n.o.body yit."
"Ain"t lookin" tuh git hiahed. Lookin" fuh Mist" Alf Pearson."
"Dere he right over dere on de flat-form at de deepo", whut yuh want wid "im?"
"Wants tuh git uh job."
"Reckon you kin git on. He done turned off his coachman fuh stovin" up one uh his good buggy hawses."
John stalked over to the freight platform.
"Is you Mist" Alf?" he asked the tall broad-built man, who was stooping over some goods.
"Why yes, what"re you want?"
"Ah wants uh job uh work, please suh."
The white man continued to examine invoices without so much as a glance at the boy who stood on the ground looking up at him. Not seeing what he wanted, he straightened up and looked about him and saw John at last. Instead of answering the boy directly he stared at him fixedly for a moment, whistled and exclaimed, "What a fine stud! Why boy, you would have brought five thousand dollars on the block in slavery time! Your face looks sort of familiar but I can"t place you. What"s your name?"
"Mama, she name me Two-Eye-John from a preachin" she heered, but dey call me John Buddy for short."
"How old are you, John?"
"Sixteen, goin" on sebenteen."
"Dog d.a.m.n! Boy you"re almost as big as I am. Where"d you come from?"
"Over de Big Creek. Mama she sont me over here and told me tuh ast you tuh gimme uh job uh work. Ah kin do mos" anything."
"Humph, I should think you could. Boy, you could go bear-hunting with your fist. I believe I can make a lead plowhand out of you."
"Ya.s.suh, thankee, Mista Alf, Ah knows how."
"Er, who is your mama?"
"Amy Crittenden. She didn"t useter be uh Crittenden. She wuz jes" Amy and b"longed tuh you "fo surrender. She say Ah borned on yo" place."
"Oh yes. I remember her. G"wan get in my rig. The bay horses with the cream colored buggy. Fetch it on over here and drive me home."
John went over by the courthouse to get the rig. It was some distance. As soon as he was out of earshot, one of Alf Pearson"s friends asked him, "Say, Judge, where"d you get the new house-n.i.g.g.e.r from?"
"Oh a boy born on my place since surrender. Mama married some stray darky and moved over the Big Creek. She sent him over here to hunt work and he ran into me and I"m hiring him. Did you ever see such a splendid specimen? He"ll be a mighty fine plow hand. Too tall to be a good cotton-picker. Sixteen years old."
"Humph! Plow-hand! Dat"s uh house-n.i.g.g.e.r. His kind don"t make good field n.i.g.g.e.rs. It"s been tried. In his case it"s a pity, because he"d be equal to two hands ordinary."
"Oh well, maybe I can do something with him. He seems willing enough. And anyway I know how to work "em."
When John brought the horses to a satisfactory halt before the white pillars of the Pearson mansion, his new boss got down and said, "Now John, take those horses on to the stable and let Nunkie put "em away. He"ll show you where the quarters are. G"wan to "em and tell old Pheemy I said fix you some place to sleep."
"Ya.s.suh, thankee suh."
"And John, I might need you around the house sometimes, so keep clean."
"Ya.s.suh."
"Where"s the rest of your clothes?"
"Dese is dem."
"Well, you"ll have to change sometime or other. I"ll look around the house, and perhaps I can scare you up a change or two. My son Alfred is about your size, but he"s several years older. And er, er, I"ll fetch "em down to the quarters in case I find anything. Go "long."
Ole Pheemy gave John a bed in her own cabin, "Take dis bed heah if hit"s good "nough fuh yuh," she said pointing to a high feather bed in one corner.
"Ya.s.sum, thankee ma"am. Ah laks it jes" fine, and dis sho is uh pritty house."
He was looking at the newspapers plastered all over the walls.
Pheemy softened.
"Oh you ain"t one uh dese uppity yaller n.i.g.g.e.rs then?"
"Oh no ma"am. Ahm po" folks jes" lak you. On"y we ain"t got no fine houses over de Creek lak dis heah one."
"Whus yo" name?"
"John, but Zeke and Zack and dem calls me John Buddy, ya.s.sum."
"Who yo" folks is over de Big Creek?"
"Mama she name Amy Crittenden-she-"
"Hush yo" mouf, you yaller rascal, you! Ah knowed, Ah seed reckerlection in yo" face." Pheemy rushed upon John, beating him affectionately and shoving him around. "Well, Lawd a"mussy boy! Ahm yo" granny! Yo" nable string is buried under dat air chanyberry tree. "Member so well de very day you cried." (First cry at birth.) "Eat dis heah tater pone."
The field hands came in around dusk dark, eyeing John suspiciously, but his utter friendliness prevented the erection of barriers on his birth place. Amy"s son was welcome. After supper the young folks played "Hide the Switch" and John overtook and whipped most of the girls soundly. They whipped him too. Perhaps his legs were longer, but anyway when he was "it" he managed to catch every girl in the quarters. The other boys were less successful, but girls were screaming under John"s lash behind the cowpen and under the sweet-gum trees around the spring until the moon rose. John never forgot that night. Even the strong odor of their sweaty bodies was lovely to remember. He went in to bed when all of the girls had been called in by their folks. He could have romped till morning.
In bed he turned and twisted.
"Skeeters botherin" yuh, John Buddy?" Pheemy asked.
"No"m Ahm jes" wishin" Mist" Alf would lak mah work and lemme stay heah all de time." Then the black eyes of the little girl in the school yard burned at him from out of the darkness and he added, "Wisht Ah could go tuh school too."
"G"wan tuh sleep, chile. Heah "tis way in de midnight and you ain"t had no night rest. You gotta sleep effen you wanta do any work. Whut Ma.r.s.e Alf tell yuh tuh do?"
"He ain"t tole me nothin" yit."
"Well, you stay heah tuh de house. Ontell he send fuh yuh. He ain"t gwine overwork yuh. He don"t break n.o.body down. Befo" surrender he didn"t had no whippin" boss on dis place. Nawsuh. Come tuh "membrance, "tain"t nothin" much tuh do now. De crops is laid by, de ground peas ain"t ready, neither de cawn. But Ah don"t speck he gointer put you in de fiel" nohow. Maybe you hand him his drinks uh drive de carridge fuh him and Ole Miss."
"Ya.s.sum," drifted back from John as he slid down and down into sleep and slumber.
That night he dreamed new dreams.
"John."
"Ya.s.suh."
"I see the clothes fit you."
"Ya.s.suh, Ahm powerful glad dey do, "cause Ah laks "em."
"John, I don"t reckon I"ll have you to drive us again. I thought to make a coachman out of you, but the mistress thinks you"re too, er, er-large sitting up there in front. Can"t see around you."
"Ya.s.suh," John"s face fell. He wasn"t going to be hired after all.
"But I"ve got another job for you. You feed the chickens and gather the eggs every morning before breakfast. Have the fresh eggs in the pantry at the big house before seven o"clock so Emma can use some for our breakfast."
"Ya.s.suh."
"And John, see to it that Ceasar and Bully and Nunkie keep the stables, pig pens and the chicken houses clean. Don"t say anything to "em, but when you find "em dirty you let me know."
"Ya.s.suh."
"And another thing, I want you to watch all of my brood sows. As soon as a litter is born, you let me know. And you must keep up with every pig on the place. Count "em every morning, and when you find one missing you look around and find out what"s become of it. I"m missing entirely too many shoats. I"m good to my darkies but I can"t let "em eat up all my hogs. Now, I"m going to see if I can trust you."
"Ya.s.suh."
"Can you read and write, John?"
"Nawsuh."
"Never been to school?"
"Nawsuh, ya.s.suh, Ah pa.s.sed by dat one d"other day."
"Well, John, there"s nothing much to do on the place now, so you might as well go on down to the school and learn how to read and write. I don"t reckon it will hurt you. Don"t waste your time, now. Learn. I don"t think the school runs but three months and it"s got to close for cotton-picking. Don"t fool around. You"re almost grown. Three or four children on this place go so you go along with them. Go neat. I didn"t have slouchy folks on my place in slavery time. Mister Alfred, my son, is studying abroad and he"s left several suits around that will do for you. Be neat. Let"s see your feet. I don"t believe you can wear his shoes but I"ll buy you a pair and take it out of your wages. You mind me and I"ll make something out of you."
"Ya.s.suh, Mister Alf. Thankee. Youse real good tuh me. Mama said you wuz good."
"She was a well-built-up girl and a splendid hoe hand. I never could see why she married that darky and let him drag her around share-cropping. Those backwoods white folks over the creek make their living by swindling the n.i.g.g.e.rs."
John didn"t go to school the next day. He had truly been delighted at the prospect of attending school. It had kept him glowing all day. But that night the young people got up a game of "Hide and Seek." It started a little late, about the time that the old heads were going to bed.
Bow-legged, pigeon-toed Minnie Turl was counting, "Ten, ten, double ten, forty-five, fifteen. All hid? All hid?"
From different directions, as the "hiders" sought cover, "No!"
"Three li"l" hawses in duh stable, One jumped out and skint his nable.
All hid? All hid?"
"No!" from farther away.
John ran down hill towards the spring where the bushes were thick. He paused at a clump. It looked like a good place. There was a stealthy small sound behind it and he ran on. Some one ran down the path behind him. A girl"s hand caught his. It was Phrony, the womanish fourteen-year-old who lived in the third cabin from Pheemy"s.
"Ah"ll show yuh uh good place tuh hide," she whispered, "n.o.body can"t find yuh."
She dragged him off the path to the right and round and about to a clump of sumac overrun with wild grape vines.
"Right under heah," she panted from running, "n.o.body can"t find yuh."
"Whar you goin" hide yuhself?" John asked as he crept into the arboreal cave.
"Iss plenty room," Phrony whispered. "Us bofe kin hide in heah."
She crept in also and leaned heavily upon John, giggling and giggling as the counting went on.
"Ah got up "bout half-past fo"
Forty fo" robbers wuz "round mah do"
Ah got up and let "em in Hit "em ovah de head wid uh rollin" pin.
All hid? All hid?"
"Yeah."
"All dem ten feet round mah base is caught. Ahm comin"!"