get well?" he asked eagerly.

The old man clucked to the leisurely mule. "Yas, _suh_!" he said. "He
done git well. He 'bout de on'riest young'un roun' heah now!

"Reck'n yo'-all come f'om New York?" inquired Uncle Jefferson, after a
little silence. "So! Dey say dat's er pow'ful big place. But Ah reck'n
ol' Richmon's big ernuf fo' me." He clucked to the leisurely mule and
added, "_Ah_ bin ter Richmon' onct. Yas, _suh_! Ah nevah see sech
houses--mos' all bigger'n de county co'ot-house."

John Valiant expressed a somewhat absent interest. He was looking
thoughtfully at the blossom in his hand, in an absorption through which
Uncle Jefferson's reminiscences oozed on:

"Mos' cur'ousest thing wus how e'vybody dar seem ter know e'vybody else.
Dey got street-kyahs dar, no hoss en no mule, jes' shoot up de hill en
down ergen, lak de debble skinnin' tan-bahk. Well, suh, Ah got on er
kyah en gib de man whut stan' on de flatfawm er nickel, en Ah set dar
lookin' outen de win'ow, till de man he call out 'Adams,' en er gemman
whut wah sittin' ercross f'om me, he git up en git off. De kyah start
ergen en de nex co'nah dat ar man on de flatfawm he yell out 'Monroe.'
En Mistah Monroe, he was sittin' up at de end, en he jump up en git off.
Den de kyah took anuddah staht, en bress mah soul, dat ar man on de
flatfawm he hollah 'Jeffe'son!' Ah clah' ter goodness, suh, Ah nebbah
skeered so bad en mah life. How dat man know me, suh? Well, suh, Ah jump
up lak Ah be'n shot, en Ah says, 'Fo' de _Lawd_, boss, Ah wa'n't
gwineter git off at dis co'nah, but ef yo' _says_ so, Ah reck'n Ah _got_
ter!' So Ah git off en Ah walk erbout fo' miles back ter de deepo!"

Uncle Jefferson's inward and volcanic amusement shook his passenger from
his reverie. "En dat ar wa'n't de wust. When Ah got ter de deepo, Ah
didn' have mah pocketbook. Er burglar had 'scaped off wid it en lef me
es nickelless ez er convic'."

CHAPTER X

WHAT HAPPENED THIRTY YEARS AGO

When Shirley came across the lawn at Rosewood, Major Montague Bristow
sat under the arbor talking to her mother.

The major was massive-framed, with a strong jaw and a rubicund
complexion--the sort that might be supposed to have attained the utmost
benefit to be conferred by a consistent indulgence in mint-juleps. His
blue eyes were piercing and arched with brows like sable rainbows, at
variance with his heavy iron-gray hair and imperial. His head was
leonine and he looked like a king who has hu