'

"'Yas, hit is ernudder nigger, en you is a liah w'en you say it wuz
Jeff.'

"'Mebbe I is a liah, en mebbe I ain' got good eyes. But 'less'n I IS a
liah, en 'less'n I AIN' got good eyes, Jeff is gwine ter meet dat 'oman
dis ebenin' long 'bout eight o'clock right down dere by de crick in de
swamp 'bout halfway betwix' dis plantation en Mars' Marrabo Utley's.'

"Well, Chloe tol' Hannibal she didn' b'liebe a wud he said, en call'
'im a low-down nigger who wuz tryin' ter slander Jeff 'ca'se he wuz mo'
luckier'n he wuz. But all de same, she couldn' keep her min' fum runnin'
on w'at Hannibal had said. She 'membered she'd heared one er de niggers
say dey wuz a gal ober at Mars' Marrabo Utley's plantation w'at Jeff
use' ter go wid some befo' he got 'quainted wid Chloe. Den she 'mence'
ter figger back, en sho' 'nuff, dey wuz two er th'ee times in de las'
week w'en she'd be'n he'p'n de ladies wid dey dressin' en udder fixin's
in de ebenin', en Jeff mought 'a' gone down ter de swamp widout her
knowin' 'bout it at all. En den she 'mence' ter 'member little things
w'at she hadn' tuk no notice of befo', en w'at 'u'd make it 'pear lak
Jeff had sump'n on his min'.

"Chloe set a monst'us heap er sto' by Jeff, en would 'a' done mos'
anythin' fer 'im, so long ez he stuck ter her. But Chloe wuz a mighty
jealous 'oman, en w'iles she didn' b'liebe w'at Hannibal said, she seed
how it COULD 'a' be'n so, en she 'termine' fer ter fin' out fer herse'f
whuther it WUZ so er no.

"Now, Chloe hadn' seed Jeff all day, fer Mars' Dugal' had sont Jeff ober
ter his daughter's house, young Mis' Ma'g'ret's, w'at libbed 'bout fo'
miles fum Mars' Dugal's, en Jeff wuzn' 'spected home 'tel ebenin'. But
des atter supper wuz ober, en w'iles de ladies wuz settin' out on de
piazzer, Chloe slip' off fum de house en run down de road,--dis yer
same road we come; en w'en she got mos' ter de crick--dis yer same crick
right befo' us--she kin' er kip' in de bushes at de side er de road,
'tel fin'ly she seed Jeff settin' on de back on de udder side er de
crick,--right under dat ole willer tree droopin' ober de watah yander.
En ev'y now en den he'd git up en look up de road to'ds Mars' Marrabo's
on de udder side er de swamp.

"Fus' Chloe felt lak she'd go right ober de crick en gib Jeff a piece er
her min'. Den she 'lowed she better be sho' befo' she done anythin'. So
she helt herse'f in de bes' she could, gittin' madder en madder ev'ry
minute, 'tel bimeby she seed