FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131  
132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   >>   >|  
rest of them?" "Reckon I'd done gone kill myself, s'pose Miss Daisy leave me there," the girl said gloomily. "If dey send me down South, I _would_." "Send you South!" I said; "they would not do that, Margaret." "Dere was man wantin' to buy me--give mighty high price, de overseer said." In excitement Margaret's tongue sometimes grew thick, like those of her neighbours. "Mr. Edwards has no right to sell anybody away from the place," I insisted, in mixed unbelief and horror. "Dunno," said Margaret. "Don't make no difference, Miss Daisy. Who care what he do? Dere's Pete's wife--" "Pete's wife?" said I. "I didn't know Pete was married! What of Pete's wife?" "Dat doctor will kill me, for sure!" said Margaret, looking at me. "Do, don't, Miss Daisy! The doctor say you must go right to bed, now. See! you ain't got your clothes off." "Stop," said I. "What about Pete's wife?" "I done forget. I thought Miss Daisy knowed. Mebbe it's before Miss Daisy come home." "What?" said I. "What?" "It's nothin', Miss Daisy. The overseer he done got mad with Pete's wife and he sold her down South, he did." "Away from Pete?" said I. "Pete, he's to de old place," said Margaret, laconically. "'Spect he forgot all about it by dis time. Miss Daisy please have her clothes off and go to bed?" There was nothing more to wait for. I submitted, was undressed; but the rest and sleep which had been desired were far out of reach now. Pete's wife?--my good, strong, gentle, and I remembered always _grave_, Pete! My heart was on fire with indignation and torn to pieces with sorrow, both at once. Torn with the helpless feeling too that I could not mend the wrong. I do not mean this individual wrong, but the whole state of things under which such wrong was possible. I was restless on my bed, though very weary. I would rather have been up and doing something, than to lie and look at my trouble; only that being there kept me out of the way of seeing people and of talking. Such things done under my father and mother's own authority,--on their own land--to their own helpless dependants; whom yet it was _they_ made helpless and kept subject to such possibilities. I turned and tossed, feeling that I _must_ do something, while yet I knew I could do nothing. Pete's wife! And where was she now? And _that_ was the secret of the unvarying grave shadow that Pete's brow always wore. And now that I had quitted Magnolia, no human friend for the p
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131  
132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Margaret
 

helpless

 

clothes

 

feeling

 

overseer

 
doctor
 
things
 

strong

 
gentle
 

remembered


desired

 

sorrow

 
pieces
 

indignation

 
possibilities
 

turned

 
tossed
 
subject
 

authority

 

dependants


quitted

 

Magnolia

 

secret

 

unvarying

 

shadow

 

mother

 

father

 

restless

 

friend

 

people


talking

 
trouble
 

individual

 

neighbours

 

Edwards

 
tongue
 

horror

 
unbelief
 

insisted

 
excitement

gloomily
 

Reckon

 
mighty
 
wantin
 

difference

 

laconically

 
nothin
 

forgot

 
submitted
 

undressed