ble in de min',
ner nuffin; he wuz des gwine ter git so much wuk outer eve'y han', er
know de reason w'y.

"Dey wuz one time de niggers 'lowed, fer a spell, dat Mars Jeems mought
git bettah. He tuk a lackin' ter Mars Marrabo McSwayne's oldes' gal,
Miss Libbie, en useter go ober dere eve'y day er eve'y ebenin', en folks
said dey wuz gwine ter git married sho'. But it 'pears dat Miss Libbie
heared 'bout de gwineson on Mars Jeems's plantation, en she des 'lowed
she could n' trus' herse'f wid no sech a man; dat he mought git so
useter 'busin' his niggers dat he 'd 'mence ter 'buse his wife atter he
got useter habbin' her roun' de house. So she 'clared she wuz n' gwine
ter hab nuffin mo' ter do wid young Mars Jeems.

"De niggers wuz all monst'us sorry w'en de match wuz bust' up, fer now
Mars Jeems got wusser 'n he wuz befo' he sta'ted sweethea'tin'. De time
he useter spen' co'tin' Miss Libbie he put in findin' fault wid de
niggers, en all his bad feelin's 'ca'se Miss Libbie th'owed 'im ober he
'peared ter try ter wuk off on de po' niggers.

"W'iles Mars Jeems wuz co'tin' Miss Libbie, two er de han's on de
plantation had got ter settin' a heap er sto' by one ernudder. One un
'em wuz name' Solomon, en de yuther wuz a 'oman w'at wukked in de fiel'
'long er 'im--I fe'git dat 'oman's name, but it doan 'mount ter much in
de tale nohow. Now, whuther 'ca'se Mars Jeems wuz so tuk up wid his own
junesey[2] dat he did n' paid no 'tention fer a w'ile ter w'at wuz gwine
on 'twix' Solomon en his junesey, er whuther his own co'tin' made 'im
kin' er easy on de co'tin' in de qua'ters, dey ain' no tellin'. But
dey's one thing sho', dat w'en Miss Libbie th'owed 'im ober, he foun'
out 'bout Solomon en de gal monst'us quick, en gun Solomon fo'ty, en
sont de gal down ter de Robeson County plantation, en tol' all de
niggers ef he ketch 'em at any mo' sech foolishness, he wuz gwine ter
skin 'em alibe en tan dey hides befo' dey ve'y eyes. Co'se he would n'
'a' done it, but he mought 'a' made things wusser 'n dey wuz. So you kin
'magine dey wa'n't much lub-makin' in de qua'ters fer a long time.

[Footnote 2: Sweetheart.]

"Mars Jeems useter go down ter de yuther plantation sometimes fer a week
er mo', en so he had ter hab a oberseah ter look atter his wuk w'iles he
'uz gone. Mars Jeems's oberseah wuz a po' w'ite man name' Nick
Johnson,--de niggers called 'im Mars Johnson ter his face, but behin'
his back dey useter call 'im Ole Nick, en de name