mighty pinchin'. I hatter be pinchin' myse'f, suh, kaze I know
time I sell my ginger-cakes dat ef I don't grip onter de money, dee won'
be none lef' fer buy flour en 'lasses fer make mo'. It de Lord's trufe,
suh, kaze I done had trouble dat way many's de time. I say dis 'bout
Marse Fess Trunion, ef he ain' got de blood, he got de breedin'. Ef he
ain' good ez de Tomlinsons, he lots better dan some folks w'at I know."

I gathered from all this that Trunion was a foreigner of some kind, but
I found out my mistake later.

"I pick dat man up myse'f, en I knows 'im 'most good ez ef he wuz one er
we-all."

"What do you mean when you say you 'picked him up'?" I asked, unable to
restrain my impatience.

"Well, suh, de fus' time I see Marse Fess Trunion wuz terreckerly atter
de Sherman army come 'long. Dem wuz hot times, suh, col' ez de wedder
wuz. Dee wuz in-about er million un um look like ter me, en dee des
ravage de face er de yeth. Dee tuck all de hosses, en all de cows, en
all de chickens. Yes, suh; dee cert'n'y did. Man come 'long, en 'low:
'Aunty, you free now,' en den he tuck all my ginger-cakes w'at I bin
bakin' 'g'inst Chris'mus; en den I say: 'Ef I wuz free ez you is, suh,
I'd fling you down en take dem ginger-cakes 'way fum you.' Yes, suh. I
tole 'im dat. It make me mad fer see de way dat man walk off wid my
ginger-cakes.

"I got so mad, suh, dat I foller 'long atter him little ways; but dat
ain' do no good, kaze he come ter whar dee wuz some yuther men, en dee
'vide up dem cakes till de wa'n't no cake lef'. Den I struck 'cross de
plan'ation, en walked 'bout in de drizzlin' rain tell I cool off my
madness, suh, kaze de flour dat went in dem cakes cos' me mos 'a hunderd
dollars in good Confederick money. Yes, suh; it did dat. En I work for
dat money mighty hard.

"Well, suh, I ain' walk fur 'fo' it seem like I year some un talkin'. I
stop, I did, en lissen, en still I year um. I ain' see nobody, suh, but
still I year um. I walk fus' dis away en den dat away, en den I walk
'roun' en 'roun', en den it pop in my min' 'bout de big gully. It ain'
dar now, suh, but in dem days we call it de big gully, kaze it wuz wide
en deep. Well, suh, 'fo' I git dar I see hoss-tracks, en dee led right
up ter de brink. I look in, I did, en down dar dee wuz a man en a hoss.
Yes, suh; dee wuz bofe down dar. De man wuz layin' out flat on he back,
en de hoss he wuz layin' sorter up en down de gully en right on top er
one er de man legs