could lean upon his hoe en’ sleep.  He went ter sleep walk’n’ ’long de road oncet, en’ mighty nigh bus’t his head open ‘gin’ a tree he run inter.  I did heah he oncet went ter sleep while he wuz in swimmin’.  He wuz floatin’ at de time, en’ come mighty nigh gittin’ drownded befo’ he woke up.  Ole Marse heared ‘bout it en’ ferbid his gwine in swimmin’ enny mo’, fer he said he couldn’t ’ford ter lose ’im.

“When Skundus wuz growed up he got ter lookin’ roun’ at de gals, en’ one er de likeliest un ’em tuk his eye.  It was a gal name’ Cindy, w’at libbed wid ’er mammy in a cabin by deyse’ves.  Cindy tuk ter Skundus ez much ez Skundus tuk ter Cindy, en’ bimeby Skundus axed his marster ef he could marry Cindy.  Marse Dugal’ b’long’ ter de P’isbytay’n Chu’ch en’ never ’lowed his niggers ter jump de broomstick, but alluz had a preacher fer ter marry ’em.  So he tole Skundus ef him en’ Cindy would ‘ten’ ter dey wuk good dat summer till de crap was laid by, he’d let ’em git married en’ hab a weddin’ down ter de quarters.

“So Skundus en’ Cindy wukked hahd as dey could till ‘bout a mont’ er so befo’ layin’ by, w’en Marse Dugal’s brudder, Kunnel Wash’n’ton McAdoo, w’at libbed down in Sampson County, ’bout a hunderd mile erway, come fer ter visit Marse Dugal’.  Dey wuz five er six folks in de visitin’ party, en’ our w’ite folks needed a new gal fer ter he’p wait on ’em.  Dey picked out de likeliest gal dey could fine ‘mongs’ de fiel-han’s, en’ ’cose dat wuz Cindy.  Cindy wuz might’ly tickled fer ter be tuk in de house-sarvice, fer it meant better vittles en’ better clo’s en’ easy wuk.  She didn’ seed Skundus quite as much, but she seed ’im w’eneber she could.  Prospe’ity didn’ spile Cindy; she didn’ git stuck up en’ ’bove ‘sociatin’ wid fiel’han’s, lack some gals in her place ’ud a done.

“Cindy wuz sech a handy gal ‘roun’ de house, en’ her marster’s relations lacked her so much, dat w’en dey visit wuz ober, dey wanted ter take Cindy ’way wid ’em.  Cindy didn’ want ter go en’ said so.  Her marster wuz a good-natured kind er man, en’ would ‘a’ kep’ her on de plantation.  But his wife say no, it ‘ud nebber do ter be lett’n’ de sarvants hab dey own way, er dey soon wouldn’ be no doin’ nuthin’ wid ’em.  Ole marster tole ’er he done promus ter let Cindy marry Skundus.

“‘O, well,’ sez ole Miss, ‘dat doan’ cut no figger.  Dey’s too much er dis foolishness ‘bout husban’s en’ wibes ‘mongs’ de niggers now-a-days.  One nigger man is de same as ernudder, en’ dey’ll be plenty un ’em down ter Wash’n’ton’s plantation.’  Ole Miss wuz a mighty smart woman, but she didn’ know ev’ything.

“‘Well,’ says ole Marse, ‘de craps’ll be laid by in a mont’ now, ’en den dey won’t be much ter do fer ernudder mont’ er six weeks.  So we’ll let her go down dere an’ stay till cotton-pickin’ time; I’ll jes’ len’ ’er ter ’em till den.  Ef dey wants ter keep ‘er en’ we finds we doan need ’er, den we’ll talk furder ‘bout sellin’ ’er.  We’ll tell her dat we jes’ gwine let her go down dere wid de chil’en a week er so en’ den come back, en’ den we won’t hab no fuss ‘bout it.’