t we cannot afford to do."

"I beliebs eberybody, Norf and Souf, is lookin' at us; an' some ob dem
ain't got no good blood fer us, nohow you fix it," said Salters.

"I specs cullud folks mus' hab done somethin'," interposed Aunt Linda.

"O, nonsense," said Robert. "I don't think they are any worse than the
white people. I don't believe, if we had the power, we would do any
more lynching, burning, and murdering than they do."

"Dat's so," said Aunt Linda, "it's ralely orful how our folks hab been
murdered sence de war. But I don't think dese young folks is goin' ter
take things as we's allers done."

"We war cowed down from the beginnin'," said Uncle Daniel, "but dese
young folks ain't comin' up dat way."

"No," said Salters, "fer one night arter some ob our pore people had
been killed, an' some ob our women had run'd away 'bout seventeen miles,
my gran'son, looking me squar in de face, said: 'Ain't you got five
fingers? Can't you pull a trigger as well as a white man?' I tell yer,
Cap, dat jis' got to me, an' I made up my mine dat my boy should neber
call me a coward."

"It is not to be expected," said Robert, "that these young people are
going to put up with things as we did, when we weren't permitted to hold
a meeting by ourselves, or to own a club or learn to read."

"I tried," said Salters, "to git a little out'er de book wen I war in de
army. On Sundays I sometimes takes a book an' tries to make out de
words, but my eyes is gittin' dim an' de letters all run togedder, an' I
gits sleepy, an' ef yer wants to put me to sleep jis' put a book in my
han'. But wen it comes to gittin' out a stan' ob cotton, an' plantin'
corn, I'se dere all de time. But dat gran'son ob mine is smart as a
steel trap. I specs he'll be a preacher."

Salters looked admiringly at his grandson, who sat grinning in the
corner, munching a pear he had brought from the table.

"Yes," said Aunt Linda, "his fadder war killed by the Secesh, one night,
comin' home from a politic meetin', an' his pore mudder died a few
weeks arter, an' we mean to make a man ob him."

"He's got to larn to work fust," said Salters, "an' den ef he's right
smart I'se gwine ter sen' him ter college. An' ef he can't get a libin'
one way, he kin de oder."

"Yes," said Iola, "I hope he will turn out an excellent young man, for
the greatest need of the race is noble, earnest men, and true women."

"Job," said Salters, turning to his grandson, "tell Jake ter hitch up