“‘I doan keer,’ ‘spon’ Dan.  ‘I’d des ez lief be anything fer a’ hour er so, ef I kin kill dat ole witch.  You kin do des w’at you er mineter.’

“‘All right, den,’ sez de cunjuh man, ’you come down ter my cabin at half-past nine o’clock ter-night, en I’ll fix you up.’

“Now, dis cunjuh man, w’en he had got th’oo talkin’ wid Dan, kep’ on down de road ’long de side er de plantation, ‘tel he met Mahaly comin’ home fum wuk des atter sundown.

“‘Hoddy do, ma’m,’ sezee; ‘is yo’ name Sis’ Mahaly, w’at b’longs ter Mars Dugal’ McAdoo?’

“‘Yas,’ ‘spon’ Mahaly, ‘dat’s my name, en I b’longs ter Mars Dugal’.’

“‘Well,’ sezee, ‘yo’ husban’ Dan wuz down by my cabin dis ebenin’, en he got bit by a spider er sump’n, en his foot is swoll’ up so he can’t walk.  En he ax’ me fer ter fin’ you en fetch you down dere ter he’p ’im home.’

“Co’se Mahaly wanter see w’at had happen’ ter Dan, en so she sta’ted down de road wid de cunjuh man.  Ez soon ez he got her inter his cabin, he shet de do’, en sprinkle’ some goopher mixtry on her, en tu’nt her ter a black cat.  Den he tuk ’n put her in a bairl, en put a bo’d on de bairl, en a rock on de bo’d, en lef her dere ’tel he got good en ready fer ter use her.

“’Long ‘bout half-pas’ nine o’clock Dan come down ter de cunjuh man’s cabin.  It wuz a wa’m night, en de do’ wuz stan’in’ open.  De cunjuh man ‘vited Dan ter come in, en pass’ de time er day wid ’im.  Ez soon ez Dan ‘mence’ talkin’, he heared a cat miauin’ en scratchin’ en gwine on at a tarrable rate.

“’Wat’s all dat fuss ‘bout?’ ax’ Dan.

“‘Oh, dat ain’ nuffin but my ole gray tomcat,’ sez de cunjuh man.  ’I has ter shet ’im up sometimes fer ter keep ’im in nights, en co’se he doan lack it.

“‘Now,’ ’lows de cunjuh man, ’lemme tell you des w’at you is got ter do.  Wen you ketches dis witch, you mus’ take her right by de th’oat en bite her right th’oo de neck.  Be sho’ yo’ teef goes th’oo at de fus’ bite, en den you won’t nebber be bothe’d no mo’ by dat witch.  En w’en you git done, come back heah en I’ll tu’n you ter yo’se’f ag’in, so you kin go home en git yo’ night’s res’.’

“Den de cunjuh man gun Dan sump’n nice en sweet ter drink out’n a new go’d, en in ‘bout a minute Dan foun’ hisse’f tu’nt ter a gray wolf; en soon ez he felt all fo’ er his noo feet on de groun’, he sta’ted off fas’ ez he could fer his own cabin, so he could be sho’ en be dere time ernuff ter ketch de witch, en put a’ een’ ter her kyarin’s-on.

“Ez soon ez Dan wuz gone good, de cunjuh man tuk de rock off’n de bo’d, en de bo’d off’n de bairl, en out le’p’ Mahaly en sta’ted fer ter go home, des lack a cat er a ’oman er anybody e’se would w’at wuz in trouble; en it wa’n’t many minutes befo’ she wuz gwine up de path ter her own do’.

“Meanw’iles, w’en Dan had retch’ de cabin, he had hid hisse’f in a bunch er jimson weeds in de ya’d.  He had n’ wait’ long befo’ he seed a black cat run up de path to’ds de do’.  Des ez soon ez she got close ter ’im, he le’p’ out en ketch’ her by de th’oat, en got a grip on her, des lack de cunjuh man had tol’ ‘im ter do.  En lo en behol’! no sooner had de blood ‘mence’ ter flow dan de black cat tu’nt back ter Mahaly, en Dan seed dat he had killt his own wife.  En w’iles her bref wuz gwine she call’ out: