th, I was dat shuck up; an' when de
dinner was ober he calls all de ladies an' gemmen, an' says, 'Now come
down to de duck-pond. I'm gwine ter show dis nigger dat all de gooses on
my plantation got mo' den one leg.'

"I followed 'long, trapesin' after de whole kit an' b'ilin', an' when we
got to de pond"--here Chad nearly went into a convulsion with suppressed
laughter--"dar was de gooses sittin' on a log in de middle of dat ole
green goose-pond wid one leg stuck down--so--an' de udder tucked under
de wing."

Chad was now on one leg, balancing himself by my chair, the tears
running down his cheeks.

"'Dar, marsa,' says I, 'don't ye see? Look at dat ole gray goose! Dat's
de berry match ob de one we had to-day.'

"Den de ladies all hollered an' de gemmen laughed so loud dey hyerd 'em
at de big house.

"'Stop, you black scoun'rel!' Marsa John says, his face gittin' white
an' he a-jerkin' his handkerchief from his pocket. 'Shoo!'

"Major, I hope to have my brains kicked out by a lame grasshopper if
ebery one ob dem gooses didn't put down de udder leg!

"'Now, you lyin' nigger,' he says, raisin' his cane ober my head, 'I'll
show you.'

"'Stop, Marsa John!' I hollered; ''tain't fair, 'tain't fair.'

"'Why ain't it fair?' says he.

"''Cause,' says I, 'you didn't say "Shoo!" to de goose what was on de
table.'"

"And did he thrash you?"

"Marsa John? No, sah! He laughed loud as anybody; an' den dat night he
says to me as I was puttin' some wood on de fire, 'Chad, where did dat
leg go?' An' so I ups an' tells him all about Henny, an' how I was
'fraid the gal would git whipped, an' how she was on'y a-foolin',
thinkin' it was my goose; an' den old marsa look in de fire a long time,
an' den he says: 'Dat's Colonel Barbour's Henny, ain't it, Chad?'

"'Yes, marsa,' says I.

"Well, de nex' mawnin' Marse John had his black hoss saddled, an' I held
de stir'up fur him to git on, an' he rode ober to de Barbour plantation
an' didn't come back till plumb black night. When he come up I held de
lantern so I could see his face, for I wa'n't easy in my mind all day;
but it was all bright an' shinin' same as a' angel's.

"'Chad,' he says, handin' me de bridle reins, 'I bought yo' Henny dis
evenin' from Colonel Barbour, she's comin' ober to-morrow, an' you can
bofe git married next Sunday.'"

FOOTNOTE:

[75] Used by permission of and arrangement with Messrs. Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., Boston, Mass., publishers of the works of