when its mistress
presently recovered from her surprise at her unexpected visitors, she
began to explain that "ef she'd 'a' knowed dey was comin' to call, she
would 'a' scoured up a little."

Her chief apologies, however, were for the house itself and its
location, "away outside o' quality neighborhoods in de swampy fields."

"I des camps out here, missy," she finally explained, "bec'ase dey's mo'
room an' space fur my family." And here she laughed--a high, cracked
peal of laughter--as she waved her hand in the direction of the back
porch.

"Dey ain't nobody ter pleg Crazy Jake out here, an' him an' me, wid deze
here lame an' crippled cats an' dogs--why, we sets out yonder an' talks
together in de evenin's after de 'lection lights is lit in de tower
market and de moon is lit in de sky. An' Crazy Jake--why, when de
moon's on de full, Crazy Jake he can talk knowledge good ez you kin. I
fetched him out here about a million years ago, time dey was puttin' him
in de streets, caze dey was gwine hurt him. An' he knows mighty smart,
git him ter talkin' right time o' de moon! But mos' gin'ally he forgits.

"Ef I hadn't 'a' fell an' sprained my leg las' week, de bread it
wouldn't 'a' 'mos' give out, like it is, but I done melt down de insides
o' some ole condense'-milk cans, an' soak de dry bread in it for him,
an' to-morrer I'm gwine out ag'in. Yas, to-morrer I'm bleeged to go,
caze you know to-morrer dats my birfday, an' all my family dey looks for
a party on my birfday--don't you, you yaller, stub-tail feller you! Ef e
warn't sort o' hongry, I'd make him talk fur yer; but I 'ain't learnt
him much yit. He's my new-comer!"

This last was addressed to the yellow dog.

[Illustration: "'DE CATS? WHY, HONEY, DEY WELCOME TO COME AN' GO'"]

"I had blin' Pete out here till 'istiddy. I done 'dopted him las' year,
but he struck out ag'in beggin', 'caze he say he can't stand dis heah
soaked victuals. But Pete, he ain't rale blin', nohow. He's des got a
sinkin' sperit, an' he can't work, an' I keeps him caze a sinkin' sperit
what ain't got no git-up to it hit's a heap wuss 'n blin'ness. He's got
deze heah yaller-whited eyes, an' when he draps his leds over 'em an'
trimbles 'em, you'd swear he was stone-blin', an' dat stuff wha' he
rubs on 'em it's inju'ious to de sight, so I keeps him and takes keer of
him now so I won't have a blin' man on my hands--an' to save him f'om
sin, too.

"Ma'am? What you say, missy? De cats? Why, honey