iped his shadow off de roof Ole Mistis wouldn' have
gone nowhare.

"De nex' spring dey wasn' much to plant. De Yankees done kep' totin'
off everything, hosses an' all, 'twell dey wasn' much lef'. But de
niggers, gran'mammy an' pappy along wid dem, dug up de garden wid de
grubbin hoe an' planted what seeds dey had. Mis' 'Riah's an' Mis'
Laughter's clothes 'gun to look ole, but gran'mammy kep' dem washed an'
sta'ched stiff. 'Twas Mis' Laughter dat kep' us from frettin' too much.
She would look at Mis' Riah an' say, 'We'll be all right, Mammy, when
Marse Ned comes home.' Sometime she call her pappy Marse Ned jus' like
dat. One day Marse Ned did come home. Dey brung him home. 'Twas 'bout
sunset. I 'members kaze 'twas de same day dat my ole black hen hatched
de duck eggs I done set her on, an' de apple trees wus bloomin'. De
blooms look jus' like droves of pink butterflies flyin' on de sky. Dey
brought Marse Ned in de house an' laid him out in de parlor. Mis' 'Riah
stood straight 'side him wid her head up. 'Twas de Lawd's will, she
tole Gran'mammy, but Gran'mammy shook her head an 'gun to cry, an' say:
'You can't put dat on de Lawd, Mis' 'Riah, you sho can't. 'Twasn' de
Lawd's will a tall, 'twas de will of de cussed Yankees.' Den she turn
'roun' an' took Mis' Laughter's hand an' led her up stairs an' put her
to bed.

"After dat things got worse. Dat wind dat blew trouble down de chimbley
for Mis' 'Riah when she was bawn 'gun to blow harder. De war got young
Marse Jerome an' shot him down. Dey won't much to eat, de coffee was
made out of parched cawn an' de sweetnin' was cane lasses, an' de ham
an' white bread done been gone a long time. Dey won't no eggs an'
chickens, an' dey won't but one fresh cow, but nobody ain't never seed
Mis' 'Riah bow her head nor shed a tear.

"When de surrender come dey was Yankees camped all 'roun' de plantation
an' Hillsboro was full of dem. One day a Yankee mans come to de house.
He was young. He come to see if Mis' 'Riah didn' want to sell her
place. Mis' 'Riah stood in de door an' talked to him, she wouldn' let
him come on de po'ch. She tole him she would starve befo' she would
sell one foot of her lan' to a Yankee, an' dat he shouldn' darken de
door of her house.

"'Bout dat time Mis' Laughter come down de hall an' stood behin' her
mammy. Her hair curled 'bout her head yellow as a dandylion an' she had
on a blue dress. When dat sojer seed her he stopped an' dey looked an'
looked at each