Part 12 (2/2)
”Are they fresh?”
”I gua'ntee 'em. I knows dey am fresh jess de same as ef I had laid 'em myse'f.”
”I'll take nine dozen. You can count them in this basket.”
”All right, mum.” He counts: ”One, two, free, foah, five, six, seben, eight, nine, ten. You kin rely on dem bein' fresh. How's your son comin'
on at de school? He mus' be mos' grown.”
”Yes, Uncle Mose, he is a clerk in a bank at Galveston.”
”Why, how ole am de boy?”
”He is eighteen.”
”You don't tole me so. Eighteen and gettin' a salary already! eighteen (counting), nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-free, twenty-foah, twenty-five, and how's yore gal comin' on? She was mos'
growed up de las' time I seed her.”
”She is married and living in Dallas.”
”Wal, I declar. How de time scoots away! An' yo' say she has childruns?
Why, how ole am de gal? She mus' be about----”
”Thirty-three.”
”Am dat so? (counting) firty-free, firty-foah, firty-five, firty-six, firty-seben, firty-eight, firty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-free. Hit am so singular dat you has sich old childruns. I can't believe you has grand-childruns. You don't look more den forty yeahs old youself.”
”Nonsense, old man, I see you want to flatter me. When a person gets to be fifty-three years old----”
”Fifty-free? I jess dun gwinter b'lieve hit, fifty-free, fifty-foah, fifty-five, fifty-six--I want you to pay tenshun when I counts de eggs, so dar'll be no mistake--fifty-nine, sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-free, sixty-foah--whew! Dat am a warm day. Dis am de time of yeah when I feels I'se gettin' ole myse'f. I ain't long for dis worl. You comes from an ole family. When your fodder died he was sebenty years ole.”
”Seventy-two, Uncle Mose.”
”Dat's ole, suah. Sebenty-two, sebenty-free, sebenty-foah, sebenty-five, sebenty-six, sebenty-seven, sebenty-eight, sebenty-nine--and your mudder? she was one ob de n.o.blest lookin' ladies I ebber see. You reminds me ob her so much. She libbed to mos' a hundred. I bleeves she was done past a centurion when she died.”
”No, Uncle Mose, she was only ninety-six when she died.”
”Den she wasn't no chicken when she died. I know dat--ninety-six, ninety-seben, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred, one, two, free, foah, five, six, seben, eight--dar 108 nice fresh eggs--jess nine dozen, and heah am one moah egg in case I has discounted myse'f.”
Old Mose went on his way rejoicing. A few days afterward Mrs. Burton said to her husband, ”I am afraid we will have to discharge Matilda. I am satisfied she steals the milk and eggs. I am positive about the eggs, for I bought them day before yesterday, and now about half of them are gone. I stood right there and heard Old Mose count them myself, and there were nine dozen.”
_THE NEGRO BABY'S FUNERAL._
I was walking in Savannah, past a church decayed and dim, When there slowly through the windows came a plaintive funeral hymn; And the sympathy awakened, and a wonder quickly grew, Till I found myself environed in a little negro pew.
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