lacently, "all three er my
child'en wuz white, an' one of 'em has be'n on the other side fer many
long years. Rena has be'n to school, an' has traveled, an' has had
chances--better chances than anybody roun' here knows."

"She's jes' de lady I'm lookin' fer, ter teach ou' school," rejoined
Wain, with emphasis. "Wid her schoolin' an' my riccommen', she kin git
a fus'-class ce'tifikit an' draw fo'ty dollars a month; an' a lady er
her color kin keep a lot er little niggers straighter 'n a darker lady
could. We jus' got ter have her ter teach ou' school--ef we kin git
her."

Rena's interest in the prospect of employment at her chosen work was so
great that she paid little attention to Wain's compliments. Mis' Molly
led Mary B. away to the kitchen on some pretext, and left Rena to
entertain the gentleman. She questioned him eagerly about the school,
and he gave the most glowing accounts of the elegant school-house, the
bright pupils, and the congenial society of the neighborhood. He spoke
almost entirely in superlatives, and, after making due allowance for
what Rena perceived to be a temperamental tendency to exaggeration, she
concluded that she would find in the school a worthy field of
usefulness, and in this polite and good-natured though somewhat wordy
man a coadjutor upon whom she could rely in her first efforts; for she
was not over-confident of her powers, which seemed to grow less as the
way opened for their exercise.

"Do you think I'm competent to teach the school?" she asked of the
visitor, after stating some of her qualifications.

"Oh, dere 's no doubt about it, Miss Rena," replied Wain, who had
listened with an air of great wisdom, though secretly aware that he was
too ignorant of letters to form a judgment; "you kin teach de school
all right, an' could ef you didn't know half ez much. You won't have
no trouble managin' de child'en, nuther. Ef any of 'em gits onruly,
jes' call on me fer he'p, an' I'll make 'em walk Spanish. I'm chuhman
er de school committee, an' I'll lam de hide off'n any scholar dat don'
behave. You kin trus' me fer dat, sho' ez I'm a-settin' here."

"Then," said Rena, "I'll undertake it, and do my best. I'm sure you'll
not be too exacting."

"Yo' bes', Miss Rena,'ll be de bes' dey is. Don' you worry ner fret.
Dem niggers won't have no other teacher after dey've once laid eyes on
you: I'll guarantee dat. Dere won't be no trouble, not a bit."

"Well, Cousin Molly," said Ma