e in a single morning, but a second coating was
found necessary, and it is said by one of her fellow-servants, who
professes to have overheard the remark, that while Pete was putting the
finishing-touches to the bit of chimney back of her stove, Moriah, who
stooped at the oven door beside him, basting a roast turkey, lifted up
her stately head and said, archly, breaking her mourning record for the
first time by a gleaming display of ivory and coral as she spoke,

"Who'd 'a' thought you'd come into my kitchen to do yo' _secon'
co'tin'_, Pete?"

At which, so says our informant, the whitewash brush fell from the
delighted artisan's hands, and in a shorter time than is consumed in the
telling, a surprised and smiling man was sitting at her polished kitchen
table chatting cosily with his mourning hostess, while she served him
with giblets and gravy and rice and potatoes "an' coffee b'iled
expressly."

[Illustration: "A SURPRISED AND SMILING MAN WAS SITTING AT HER
POLISHED KITCHEN TABLE"]

It was discovered that the kitchen walls needed a third coating. This
took an entire day, "because," so said Pete, "de third coat, hit takes
mo' time to soak in."

And then came the announcement. Moriah herself, apparently in nowise
embarrassed by its burden, bore the news to us on the following morning.
There was no visible change of front in her bearing as she presented
herself--no abatement of her mourning.

"Mis' Gladys," she said, simply, "I come ter give you notice dat I gwine
take fo' days off, startin' nex' Sunday."

"I hope you are not in any new trouble, Moriah?" I said,
sympathetically.

"Well, I don' know ef I is or not. Me an' Pete Pointdexter, we done
talked it over, an' we come ter de conclusion ter marry."

I turned and looked at the woman--at her black garments, her still
serious expression. Surely my hearing was playing me false. But catching
my unspoken protest, she had already begun to explain.

"Dey ain't no onrespec' ter de dead, Mis' Gladys, in _marryin'_,"
she began. "De onrespec' is in de _carryin's on_ folks does _when_
dey marry. Pete an' me, we 'low ter have eve'ything quiet an'
solemncholy--an' pay all due respects--right an' left. Of co'se Pete's
chillen stands up fur dey mammy, an' dey don't take no stock in him
ma'yin' ag'in. But Ca'line she been dead _long enough_--mos' six
mont's--countin' fo' weeks ter de mont'. An' as fur me, I done 'ranged
ter have eve'ything did ter show respec's ter Nu