"No'm, dat I ain't, Miss Becky. I ain't seen Lucindy in now gwine on
mighty nigh a mont'."

"Well, it hain't a-gwine to hurt you," said Miss Becky, somewhat
sharply. "In my day an' time it wuz allers took to be a bad sign when
niggers got to honeyin' 'roun' an' gwine on."

"Yessum," said Free Joe, cheerfully assenting to the
proposition--"yessum, dat's so, but me an' my ole 'oman, we 'uz raise
terge'er, en dey ain't bin many days w'en we 'uz' 'way fum one 'n'er
like we is now."

"Maybe she's up an' took up wi' some un else," said Micajah Staley from
the corner. "You know what the sayin' is: 'New master, new nigger.'"

"Dat's so, dat's de sayin', but tain't wid my ole 'oman like 'tis wid
yuther niggers. Me en her wuz des natally raise up terge'er. Dey's lots
likelier niggers dan w'at I is," said Free Joe, viewing his shabbiness
with a critical eye, "but I knows Lucindy mos' good ez I does little
Dan dar--dat I does."

There was no reply to this, and Free Joe continued:

"Miss Becky, I wish you please, ma'am, take en run yo' kyards en see
sump'n n'er 'bout Lucindy; kaze ef she sick, I'm gwine dar. Dey ken take
en take me up en gimme a stroppin', but I'm gwine dar."

Miss Becky got her cards, but first she picked up a cup, in the bottom
of which were some coffee-grounds. These she whirled slowly round and
round, ending finally by turning the cup upside down on the hearth and
allowing it to remain in that position.

"I'll turn the cup first," said Miss Becky, "and then I'll run the cards
and see what they say."

As she shuffled the cards the fire on the hearth burned low, and in its
fitful light the gray-haired, thin-featured woman seemed to deserve the
weird reputation which rumor and gossip had given her. She shuffled the
cards for some moments, gazing intently in the dying fire; then,
throwing a piece of pine on the coals, she made three divisions of the
pack, disposing them about in her lap. Then she took the first pile, ran
the cards slowly through her fingers, and studied them carefully. To the
first she added the second pile. The study of these was evidently not
satisfactory. She said nothing, but frowned heavily; and the frown
deepened as she added the rest of the cards until the entire fifty-two
had passed in review before her. Though she frowned, she seemed to be
deeply interested. Without changing the relative position of the cards,
she ran them all over again. Then she threw a larger piece of pine on