er would casually say, "children your ma is coming
home today and what do you recon, someone has given her another baby."
The children would say, almost in concert, "what you say pa, is it a boy
or girl?" He would tell them which it was and nothing more was said nor
any further inquiry made into the happening.

The term "broke her leg" was used to convey the meaning of pregnancy.
George relates how his mother told him and his sister not to have any
thing more to do with Mary Jones, "cause she done broke her leg." George
said "Ma taint nothin matter wid Mary; I see her every day when the bell
rings for 12; she works across the street from Pa's shop and she and me
sets on the steps and talks till time fur her to go back to work." His
mother said, "dont spute me George, I know she is broke her leg and I
want yall to stay way frum her." George said, "Ma I aint sputing you,
jes somebody done misinform you dats all. She aint got no broke leg,
she walks as good as me." His mother said "then I'm a lie." George
quickly replied, "no ma, you aint no lie, but somebody done told you
wrong."

Nothing was said further on the question of Mary Jones until that same
evening when Isaac Pretty came home from the shop. The mother took him
aside and told him of how she had been disputed and called a lie by
George and added that she wanted George whipped for it.

"Come here George," came a commanding voice shortly after the mother and
father had been in conference. George obeyed and his father took him
apart from the family and locked himself and George in a room. He said
"George I know I haven't done right by not telling you, you are grown.
You are 33 years old now and I want to tell you some things you should
know." George was all eyes and ears, for he had been told when
previously asked how old he was, "I'll tell you when you get grown."
That was all he had heard from his parents for years and he was just
waiting for him to tell him. His father told him how babies were born
and about his mother confining herself in the upper room all the
different times when she expected babies. He told him that his mother
had never been out of town to Boston or Baltimore on any of the past
occasions. In fact he told George all he knew to tell him.

Now the startling thing about it all is that when he had finished
giving the information about babies he said, "Now George your mother
told me that you called her a lie today." George at once said, "Pa I
di