eyes, like her pa's, on'y bigger an' not so
fierce, an' 'twarn' none o' de young ladies ez purty ez she wuz. She
an' Marse Chan still set a heap o' sto' by one 'nudder, but I don'
t'ink dey wuz easy wid each udder ez when he used to tote her home
from school on his back. Marse Chan he use' to love de ve'y groun' she
walked on, dough, in my 'pinion. Heh! His face 'twould light up
whenever she come into chu'ch, or anywhere, jes' like de sun hed come
th'oo a chink on it suddenly.

"Den ole marster lost he eyes. D' yo' ever hyah 'bout dat? Heish!
Didn' yo'? Well, one night de big barn cotch fire. De stables, yo'
know, wuz under de big barn, an' all de hosses wuz in dyah. Hit
'peared to me like 'twarn' no time befo' all de folks an' de
neighbors dey come, an' dey wuz a-totin' water, an' a-tryin' to save
de po' critters, an' dey got a heap on 'em out; but de ker'ige-hosses
dey wouldn' come out, an' dey wuz a-runnin' back'ads an' for'ads
inside de stalls, a-nikerin' an' a-screamin', like dey knowed dey time
hed come. Yo' could heah 'em so pitiful, an' pres'n'y ole marster said
to Ham Fisher (he wuz de ker'ige-driver), 'Go in dyah an' try to save
'em; don' let 'em bu'n to death.' An' Ham he went right in. An' jes'
arfter he got in, de shed whar it hed fus' cotch fell in, an' de
sparks shot 'way up in de air; an' Ham didn' come back, an' de fire
begun to lick out under de eaves over whar de ker'ige-hosses' stalls
wuz, an' all of a sudden ole marster tu'ned and kissed ole missis, who
wuz standin' nigh him, wid her face jes' ez white ez a sperit's, an',
befo' anybody knowed what he wuz gwine do, jumped right in de do', an'
de smoke come po'in' out behine 'im. Well, seh, I nuvver 'specks to
hyah tell Judgment sich a soun' ez de folks set up. Ole missis she
jes' drapt down on her knees in de mud an' prayed out loud. Hit
'peared like her pra'r wuz heard; for in a minit, right out de same
do', kyarin' Ham Fisher in his arms, come ole marster, wid his clo'es
all blazin'. Dey flung water on 'im, an' put 'im out; an', ef you
b'lieve me, yo' wouldn' a-knowed 'twuz ole marster. Yo' see, he hed
find Ham Fisher done fall down in de smoke right by de ker'ige-hoss'
stalls, whar he sont him, an' he hed to tote 'im back in his arms
th'oo de fire what hed done cotch de front part o' de stable, an' to
keep de flame from gittin' down Ham Fisher's th'ote he hed tuk off his
own hat and mashed it all over Ham Fisher's face, an' he hed kep' Ham
Fishe