m stood perfectly still in the middle of the lane in the exact
place that he had been when he caught sight of me coming out of the
sunset toward him. He let the child slip from his shoulders and never
took his eyes off me during the five minutes of the reunion rejoicings.
And I never looked at or spoke to Sam, but walked on back to The Briers
ahead of him, with the women chattering and gesticulating around me.

When we came to the gate I waited for Sam to come forward to open it. I
wanted him to lead his flock into their promised land and--and I wanted
to follow at his heels with them.

Around up the hill he led us, down the old road, past the big rock
spring-house with its nine crocks of milk that I could see the women
eagerly point out to one another, and into the little town of tents, at
whose entrance stood daddy and Dr. Chubb, with their sleeves rolled up
and energetic welcome in their eyes.

Then for an hour there was sorting of bundles and bedding; locating and
housing; assuring and reassuring; nursing babies by camp-fires, and
feeding little mouths out of the huge chicken-dumpling pots that Mammy,
with Dr. Chubb's assistance, had been brewing since morning. A big heap
of coals was shoveled off a perfect mound of corn-pones; and there was
plenty for all and some left over. I think I never saw anything so happy
as the fledgling as he squatted on the ground and fed two toddlers from
a bowl of corn-bread and gravy, strictly turnabout, the odd one to his
own mouth.

Then, as the twilight came down softly like a beautiful benediction, we
left them all, strangers in a strange land, fed, housed, and comforted.

We went up to the old white, hovering house, and while Mammy and I
planned and in a measure mixed breakfast for the multitude down the
hill, daddy and Dr. Chubb went with Sam, who had slipped on his
overalls, to look at the new mules tied out behind the barn to long
temporary stable poles. The Byrd I could not get from the company down
by the spring. Later Mammy had to go down and extract him, fast asleep,
from the midst of the largest Belgian family, where he was watched over
tenderly by the fierce-eyed woman and the mother of the twins.

I had wiped the meal off my hands and taken off Mammy's apron when Sam
came to the door and called me; and I felt very much as I used to when
at school I went in to get my examination marks, as I followed him down
to Peter's shack on the hillside. I wasn't one bit afraid o