antly consulted
about weaning calves, and planting crops according to the stage of the
moon. And for everything in the heavens above and the earth beneath and
the waters under the earth she "had a sign."

Since Gordon Lee's illness, she had fallen into the habit of dropping in
to sit with him at such hours as Amanda would not be there. She would
crouch over the fire, elbows on knees and pipe in mouth, and regale him
with hair-raising tales of "hants" and "sperrits" and the part she had
played in exorcising them.

"Dis heah case ob yourn," she said one day, "ain't no ordinary case. I
done worked on lizards in de laigs, but I nebber had no 'casion to treat
a _cricket_ in de laig. Looks lak de cricket is a more persistent animal
dan de lizard. 'Sides, ez I signify afore, dis heah case ob yourn ain't
no ordinary case."

"Why--why ain't it?" Gordon Lee stammered apprehensively.

Aunt Kizzy lifted a bony black hand, and shook her turbaned head
ominously.

"Dey's two kinds ob hoodoos," she said, "de libin' an' de daid. De daid
ones is de easiest to lift, 'ca'se dey answers to charms; but nobody can
lift a libin' hoodoo 'ceptin' de one dat laid hit on. I been a-steddyin'
an' a-steddyin', an' de signs claim dat dis heah hoodoo ob yourn ain't
no daid hoodoo."

By this time the whites of Gordon Lee's eyes were largely in evidence,
and he raised himself fearfully on his elbow.

"Aunt Kizzy," he whispered hoarsely, "how am I gwine to fin' out who 't
is done conjured me?"

"By de sign ob seben," she answered mysteriously. "I's gwine home an'
work hit out, den I come back an' tell yer. Ef my 'spicions am true, dat
dis heah is a _libin'_ hoodoo, de only power in de earth to tek it off
am ter git er bigger trick an' lay on de top ob hit. I'm gwine home now,
an' I'll be back inside de hour."

That night when Amanda returned home she found Gordon Lee preoccupied
and silent. He ate gingerly of the tempting meal she prepared, and
refused to have his bed straightened before he went to sleep.

"Huccome you put yer pillow on the floor?" she asked.

"I ain't believin' in feathers," he answered sullenly; "dey meks me heah
things."

In vain Amanda tried to cheer him; she recounted the affairs of the day;
she gave him all the gossip of the Order of the Sisters of the Star. He
lay perfectly stolid, his horizontal profile resembling a mountain-range
the highest peak of which was his under lip.

Finally Amanda's patience wore thin.