Come erlong, deacon. Mist" Bryant he expectin" some ole rip like you come soon."
They had almost reached the lane when Alek"s cur Susie, who had followed her master, approached in the silence which attends dangerous dogs; and seeing indications of what she took to be war, she appended herself swiftly but firmly to the calf of Peter"s left leg. The melee was short, but spirited. Alek had no wish to have his dog complicate his already serious misfortunes, and went manfully to the defence of his captor. He procured a large stone, and by beating this with both hands down upon the resounding skull of the animal, he induced her to quit her grip. Breathing heavily, Peter dropped into the long gra.s.s at the road-side. He said nothing.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE NEXT MOMENT HE WAS LOOKING INTO THE AMAZED AND AGONIZED FACE OF OLD ALEK"]
"Mist" Wash"ton," said Alek at last, in a quavering voice, "I raikon I gwine wait yere see what you gwine do ter me."
Whereupon Peter pa.s.sed into a spasmodic state, in which he rolled to and fro and shook.
"Mist" Wash"ton, I hope dish yer dog "ain"t gone an" give you fitses?"
Peter sat up suddenly. "No, she "ain"t," he answered; "but she gin me er big skeer; an" fer yer "sistance with er cobblestone, Mist"
Willums, I tell you what I gwine do--I tell you what I gwine do." He waited an impressive moment. "I gwine "lease you!"
Old Alek trembled like a little bush in a wind. "Mist" Wash"ton?"
Quoth Peter, deliberately, "I gwine "lease you."
The old man was filled with a desire to negotiate this statement at once, but he felt the necessity of carrying off the event without an appearance of haste. "Yes, seh; thank "e, seh; thank "e, Mist"
Wash"ton. I raikon I ramble home pressenly." He waited an interval, and then dubiously said, "Good-evenin", Mist" Wash"ton."
"Good-evenin", deacon. Don" come foolin" roun" _feelin"_ no mellums, and I say troof. Good-evenin", deacon."
Alek took off his hat and made three profound bows. "Thank "e, seh.
Thank "e, seh. Thank "e, seh."
Peter underwent another severe spasm, but the old man walked off towards his home with a humble and contrite heart.
IV
The next morning Alek proceeded from his shanty under the complete but customary illusion that he was going to work. He trudged manfully along until he reached the vicinity of Si Bryant"s place. Then, by stages, he relapsed into a slink. He was pa.s.sing the garden-patch under full steam, when, at some distance ahead of him, he saw Si Bryant leaning casually on the garden fence.
"Good-mornin", Alek."
"Good-mawnin", Mist" Bryant," answered Alek, with a new deference. He was marching on, when he was halted by a word--"Alek!"
He stopped. "Yes, seh."
"I found a knife this mornin" in th" road," drawled Si, "an" I thought maybe it was yourn."
Improved in mind by this divergence from the direct line of attack, Alek stepped up easily to look at the knife. "No, seh," he said, scanning it as it lay in Si"s palm, while the cold steel-blue eyes of the white man looked down into his stomach, ""tain"t no knife er mine." But he knew the knife. He knew it as if it had been his mother.
And at the same moment a spark flashed through his head and made wise his understanding. He knew everything. ""Tain"t much of er knife, Mist" Bryant," he said, deprecatingly.
""Tain"t much of a knife, I know that," cried Si, in sudden heat, "but I found it this mornin" in my watermelon-patch--hear?"
"Watahmellum-paitch?" yelled Alek, not astounded.
"Yes, in my watermelon-patch," sneered Si, "an" I think you know something about it, too!"
"Me?" cried Alek. "Me?"
"Yes--you!" said Si, with icy ferocity. "Yes--you!" He had become convinced that Alek was not in any way guilty, but he was certain that the old man knew the owner of the knife, and so he pressed him at first on criminal lines. "Alek, you might as well own up now. You"ve been meddlin" with my watermelons!"
"Me?" cried Alek again. "Yah"s _ma_ knife. I done cah"e it foh yeahs."
Bryant changed his ways. "Look here, Alek," he said, confidentially: "I know you and you know me, and there ain"t no use in any more skirmishin". _I_ know that _you_ know whose knife that is. Now whose is it?"
This challenge was so formidable in character that Alek temporarily quailed and began to stammer. "Er--now--Mist" Bryant--you--you--frien"
er mine--"
"I know I"m a friend of yours, but," said Bryant, inexorably, "who owns this knife?"
Alek gathered unto himself some remnants of dignity and spoke with reproach: "Mist" Bryant, dish yer knife ain" mine."
"No," said Bryant, "it ain"t. But you know who it belongs to, an" I want you to tell me--quick."
"Well, Mist" Bryant," answered Alek, scratching his wool, "I won"t say "s I _do_ know who b"longs ter dish yer knife, an" I won"t say "s I _don"t_."
Bryant again laughed his Yankee laugh, but this time there was little humor in it. It was dangerous.
Alek, seeing that he had gotten himself into hot water by the fine diplomacy of his last sentence, immediately began to flounder and totally submerge himself. "No, Mist" Bryant," he repeated, "I won"t say "s I _do_ know who b"longs ter dish yer knife, an" I won"t say "s I _don"t_." And he began to parrot this fatal sentence again and again. It seemed wound about his tongue. He could not rid himself of it. Its very power to make trouble for him seemed to originate the mysterious Afric reason for its repet.i.tion.
"Is he a very close friend of yourn?" said Bryant, softly.
"F-frien"?" stuttered Alek. He appeared to weigh this question with much care. "Well, seems like he _was_ er frien", an" then agin, it seems like he--"
"It seems like he _wasn"t_?" asked Bryant.
"Yes, seh, jest so, jest so," cried Alek. "Sometimes it seems like he _wasn"t_. Then agin--" He stopped for profound meditation.
The patience of the white man seemed inexhaustible. At length his low and oily voice broke the stillness. "Oh, well, of course if he"s a friend of yourn, Alek! You know I wouldn"t want to make no trouble for a friend of yourn."
"Yes, seh," cried the negro at once. "He"s er frien" er mine. He is dat."
"Well, then, it seems as if about the only thing to do is for you to tell me his name so"s I can send him his knife, and that"s all there is to it."
Alek took off his hat, and in perplexity ran his hand over his wool.
He studied the ground. But several times he raised his eyes to take a sly peep at the imperturbable visage of the white man. "Y--y--yes, Mist" Bryant. ...I raikon dat"s erbout all what kin be done. I gwine tell you who b"longs ter dish yer knife."
"Of course," said the smooth Bryant, "it ain"t a very nice thing to have to do, but--"
"No, seh," cried Alek, brightly; "I"m gwine tell you, Mist" Bryant. I gwine tell you erbout dat knife. Mist" Bryant," he asked, solemnly, "does you know who b"longs ter dat knife?"
"No, I--"
"Well, I gwine tell. I gwine tell who, Mr Bryant--" The old man drew himself to a stately pose and held forth his arm. "I gwine tell who. Mist" Bryant, _dish yer knife b"longs ter Sam Jackson_!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE OLD MAN DREW HIMSELF TO A STATELY POSE"]