‚ÄúCome,‚Äù she said, ‚ÄúI‚Äôll take the clothes home, then we‚Äôll go‚Äù‚ÅÝ‚Äîshe glanced at him‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äúdown where the dreams are.‚Äù And laughing, they hurried on.
Elspeth stood in the path that wound down to the cottage, and without a word Zora dropped the basket at her feet. She turned back; but Bles, struck by a thought, paused. The old woman was short, broad, black and wrinkled, with yellow fangs, red hanging lips, and wicked eyes. She leered at them; the boy shrank before it, but stood his ground.
‚ÄúAunt Elspeth,‚Äù he began, ‚ÄúZora and I are going to plant and tend some cotton to pay for her schooling‚ÅÝ‚Äîjust the very best cotton we can find‚ÅÝ‚Äîand I heard‚Äù‚ÅÝ‚Äîhe hesitated‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚ÄúI heard you had some wonderful seed.‚Äù
‚ÄúYes,‚Äù she mumbled, ‚ÄúI‚Äôse got the seed‚ÅÝ‚ÄîI‚Äôse got it‚ÅÝ‚Äîwonder seed, sowed wid the three spells of Obi in the old land ten tousand moons ago. But you couldn‚Äôt plant it,‚Äù with a sudden shrillness, ‚Äúit would kill you.‚Äù
‚ÄúBut‚ÅÝ‚Äî‚Äù Bles tried to object, but she waved him away.
‚ÄúGit the ground‚ÅÝ‚Äîgit the ground; dig it‚ÅÝ‚Äîpet it, and we‚Äôll see what we‚Äôll see.‚Äù And she disappeared.
Zora was not sure that it had been wise to tell their secret.
“I was going to steal the seed,” she said. “I knows where it is, and I don’t fear conjure.”
“You mustn’t steal, Zora,” said Bles, gravely.
“Why?” Zora quickly asked.
But before he answered, they both forgot; for their faces were turned toward the wonder of the swamp. The golden sun was pouring floods of