slavery,‚Äù she agreed. ‚ÄúI hates it mighty bad, too, ‚Äôcause I wanted de little chillens in school; but‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù The old woman broke down and sobbed.
A knocking came at the door; hastily wiping her eyes Aunt Rachel rose.
‚ÄúI‚Äôll‚ÅÝ‚ÄîI‚Äôll see what I can do, Aunt Rachel‚ÅÝ‚ÄîI must do something,‚Äù murmured Miss Smith hastily, as the woman departed, and an old black man came limping in. Miss Smith looked up in surprise.
‚ÄúI begs pardon, Mistress‚ÅÝ‚ÄîI begs pardon. Good morning.‚Äù
‚ÄúGood morning‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù she hesitated.
‚ÄúSykes‚ÅÝ‚ÄîJim Sykes‚ÅÝ‚Äîthat‚Äôs me.‚Äù
‚ÄúYes, I‚Äôve heard of you, Mr. ¬ÝSykes; you live over south of the swamp.‚Äù
“Yes, ma’am, that’s me; and I’se got a little shack dar and