at p'int of view," said Mr. Sanders.
"I 'lowed maybe that the best an' cheapest plan would be for me to take
the little chap down an' fetch him back."

"My opinion may not be worth much, Mr. Sanders," said Sarah Clopton,
"but I think it would be a shame to take that child so far away from
home. I don't believe his mother will allow him to go."

"That is a matter that was jest fixin' for to worry me," remarked Mr.
Sanders. "I could feel it kinder fermentin' in my mind, like molasses
turnin' to vinegar, an' now that you've fetched it to the top, Sarah,
we'll settle it before we go any furder. Come, Cephas; we'll go an' see
your mammy, an' see ef we can't coax her into lettin' you go. You'll
have to do your best, my son; I'll coax, an' you must wheedle."

As they went out, Cephas was laughing at Mr. Sanders's remark about
wheedling. The youngster was an expert in that business. He was his
mother's only child, and he had learned at a very early age just how to
manage her.

"What troubles me, Cephas," said Mr. Sanders, "is how you can git a
message to Gabriel wi'out lettin' the cat out'n the bag. He'll be
surrounder'd in sech a way that you can't git a word wi' 'im wi'out
tellin' the whole caboodle."

At that moment, Mr. Sanders heard a small voice cry out something like
this: "Phazasee! Phazasee! arawa ooya ingagog?"

To which jabbering Cephas made prompt reply: "Iya ingagog ota annysavvy
ota eesa gibbleable!"

"Ooya ibfa! Ooya ibfa!" jeered the small voice.

Mr. Sanders looked at Cephas in astonishment. "What kinder lingo is
that?" he asked.

"It's the way we school-children talk when we don't want anybody to know
what we are saying. Johnny asked me where I was going, and I told him I
was going to Savannah to see Gabriel."

"Did he know what you said?"

"Why, he couldn't help but know, but he didn't believe it; he said it
was a fib."

"Well, I'll be jigged!" exclaimed Mr. Sanders. "Call that boy over
here."

Cephas turned around--they had passed the house where the little boy
lived--and called out: "Onnaja! Onnaja! Stermera Andersa antwasa ota
eesa ooya."

The small boy came running, though there was a doubtful look on his
face. He had frequently been the victim of Cephas's practical jokes.

Mr. Sanders questioned him closely, and he confirmed the interpretation
of the lingo which Cephas had given to Mr. Sanders.

"Do you mean to tell me," said Mr. Sanders to Cephas when they had
dismissed the small b