tall young man; an' I enform him: 'Yes, suh. I didn'
reckon 'twould hu't none.' So den he come an' set by me an' say he wuz
my counsel."

There was such a suggestion of contempt in his tone that I inquired if
he had not done very well.

"Oh, yes, suh," he drawled, slowly, "he done toler'ble
well--considerin'. He do de bes' he kin, I reckon. He holler an' mix me
up some right smart; but dee wuz too strong for him; he warn' no mo'
to 'em 'n wurrm is to woodpecker. Major Torm Woods' de com-monwealph's
attorney, is a powerful la'yer; he holler so you kin heah him _three_
mile. An' ole Mis' Twine wuz dyah, whar tell all 'bout de ring, an'
how impident I wuz to her dat day, an' skeer her to death. An' dat Jim
Sinkfiel', he wuz dyah, an' tolt' 'bout how I beat P'laski, an' how he
heah him 'way out in main road, hollerin' 'murder.' An' dee had de gre't
bundle o' hick'ries dyah, whar dee done fine in my house, an' dee had so
much _evidence_ dat presney I 'mos' begin to think maybe I had done kilt
P'laski sho 'nough, an' had disermembered it. An' I thought 'bout Marth'
Ann an' all de urr chil'ern, an' I wondered ef dee wuz to hang me ef I
wouldn' fine her; an' I got so I mos' hoped dee would sen' me. An den de
jury went out, an' stay some time, an' come back an' say I wuz guilty,
an' sen' me to de Pen'tentiy for six years."

I had followed him so closely, and been so satisfied of his innocence,
that I was surprised into an exclamation of astonishment, at which he
was evidently much pleased.

"What did your counsel do?" I asked.

He put his head on one side. "He? He jes lean over an' ax did I warn'
to repeal. I tell him I didn't know. Den he ax me is I got any money at
all. I tell him, nor; ef I had I would 'a' got me a la'yer."

"What happened then?" I inquired, laughing at his discomfiting reply.

"Well, den de jedge tole me to stan' up, an' ax me has I got anything to
say. Well, I know dat my las' chance, an' I tell him, 'Yes, suh.' An'
he inform me to precede wid de relation, an' so I did. I preceded, an'
I tolt 'em dyah in de cote-house ev'y wud jes like I have explanified
it heah. I tolt 'em all 'bout Marth' Ann an' de chillern I hed had; I
reformed 'em all decernin' de Maconses; an' I notified 'em how P'laski
wuz dat urr ooman's son, not Marth' Ann's, an 'bout de tunament an' how
I had demonstrated wid him not to ride dyah, an' how he had repudiated
my admonition, an' had crown de queen wid ole Mis' Twine weddin'-rin