gs
trottin' by me, so I been goin' ever sence. Days I'd go out sawin' wood,
I'd set you on de wood-pile by me; an' when de cook 'd slip me out a
plate o' soup, I'd ax fur two spoons. An' so you an' me, we been
pardners right along, an' _I wouldn't swap pardners wid nobody_--you
heah, Juke? Dis here's Christmas, an' I'm talkin' ter yer."

Duke looked so serious that a feather's weight would have tipped the
balance and made him cry; but he only blinked.

"An' it's gittin' late now, pardner," the old man continued, "an' you
better be gwine--less'n you 'feerd? Ef you is, des sesso now, an' we'll
meck out wid de col' victuals in de press."

"Who's afeerd, gran'dad?" Duke's face had broken into a broad grin now,
and he was cracking his whip again.

"Don't eat no supper tell I come," he added, as he started out into the
night. But as he turned down the street he muttered to himself:

"I wouldn't keer, ef all dem sassy boys didn't pleg me--say I ain't got
no mammy--ur daddy--ur nothin'. But dey won't say it ter me ag'in, not
whiles I got dis whup in my han'! She sting lak a rattlesnake, she do!
She's a daisy an' a half! Cher-whack! You gwine sass me any mo', you
grea' big over-my-size coward, you? Take dat! An' dat! _An' dat!_ Now
run! Whoop! Heah come de red light!"

So, in fancy avenging his little wrongs, Duke recovered his spirits and
proceeded to catch on behind the Prytania car, that was to help him on
his way to get his second-hand Christmas dinner.

His benefactress had not forgotten her promise; and, in addition to a
heavy pan of scraps, Duke took home, almost staggering beneath its
weight, a huge, compact bundle.

Old Mose was snoring vociferously when he reached the cabin. Depositing
his parcel, the little fellow lit a candle, which he placed beside the
sleeper; then uncovering the pan, he laid it gently upon his lap. And
now, seizing a spoon and tin cup, he banged it with all his might.

"Heah de plantation-bell! Come git yo' Christmas-gif's!"

And when his grandfather sprang up, nearly upsetting the pan in his
fright, Duke rolled backward on the floor, screaming with laughter.

"I 'clare, Juke, boy," said Mose, when he found voice, "I wouldn't 'a'
jumped so, but yo' foolishness des fitted inter my dream. I was dreamin'
o' ole times, an' des when I come ter de ringin' o' de plantation-bell,
I heerd _cherplang_! An' it nachelly riz me off'n my foots. What's dis
heah? Did you git de dinner, sho' 'nough?"