' all de chil'en looked at her so hard, she tu'n
right red, an' tried to pull her long curls over her eyes, an' den put
bofe de backs of her little han's in her two eyes, an' begin to cry to
herse'f. Marse Chan he was settin' on de een' o' de bench nigh de do',
an' he jes' reached out an' put he arm roun' her an' drawed her up to
'im. An' he kep' whisperin' to her, an' callin' her name, an' coddlin'
her; an' pres'n'y she took her han's down an' begin to laugh.

"Well, dey 'peared to tek' a gre't fancy to each udder from dat time.
Miss Anne she warn' nuthin' but a baby hardly, an' Marse Chan he wuz a
good big boy 'bout mos' thirteen years ole, I reckon. Hows'ever, dey
sut'n'y wuz sot on each udder an' (yo' heah me!) ole marster an' Cun'l
Chahmb'lin dey 'peared to like it 'bout well ez de chil'en. Yo' see
Cun'l Chahmb'lin's place j'ined ourn, an' it looked jes' ez natural
fur dem two chil'en to marry an' mek it one plantation, ez it did fur
de creek to run down de bottom from our place into Cun'l Chahmb'lin's.
I don' rightly think de chil'en thought 'bout gittin' _married_, not
den, no mo'n I thought 'bout marryin' Judy when she wuz a little gal
at Cun'l Chahmb'lin's, runnin' 'bout de house, huntin' fur Miss Lucy's
spectacles; but dey wuz good frien's from de start. Marse Chan he use'
to kyar Miss Anne's books fur her ev'y day, an' ef de road wuz muddy
or she wuz tired, he use' to tote her; an' 'twarn' hardly a day passed
dat he didn' kyar her some'n' to school--apples or hick'y nuts, or
some'n'. He wouldn' let none o' de chil'en tease her, nudder. Heh! One
day, one o' de boys poked he finger at Miss Anne, an' arfter school
Marse Chan he axed 'im 'roun' hine de school-house out o' sight, an'
ef he didn' whop 'im!

"Marse Chan, he wuz de peartes' scholar ole Mr. Hall hed, an' Mr. Hall
he wuz mighty proud o' 'im. I don' think he use' to beat 'im ez much
ez he did de udders, aldo' he wuz de head in all debilment dat went
on, jes' ez he wuz in sayin' he lessons.

"Heh! one day in summer, jes' 'fo' de school broke up, dyah come up a
storm right sudden, an' riz de creek (dat one yo' cross' back yonder),
an' Marse Chan he toted Miss Anne home on he back. He ve'y off'n did
dat when de parf wuz muddy. But dis day when dey come to de creek, it
had done washed all de logs 'way. 'Twuz still mighty high, so Marse
Chan he put Miss Anne down, an' he took a pole an' waded right in. Hit
took 'im long up to de shoulders. Den he waded bac