if you're determined to."

XII.

JOHN THINKS HE IS NOT AFRAID

"Son," said the father as they rode, "I reckon you've often wondered
why, owning ow hund'ed thousand an' sixty acres, we should appeah so
sawt o' reduced; haven't you?"

"Sir?"

The father repeated the question, and John said, dreamily:

"No, sir."

"Well, son, I'll tell you, though I'd rather you'd not mention it--in
school, faw instance--if we can eveh raise money to send you to school.

"It's because, in a sense, we a-_got_ so much lan'. Many's the time I
could a-sole pahts of it, an' refused, only because that particulah sale
wouldn't a-met the object fo' which the whole tract has always been
held. It was yo' dear grandfather's ambition, an' his father's befo'
him, to fill these lan's with a great population, p'osp'ous an' happy.
We neveh sole an acre, but we neveh hel' one back in a spirit o' lan'
speculation, you understan'?"

"Sir?--I--yes, sir."

"The plan wa'n't adapted to a slave State. I see that now. I don't say
slavery was wrong, but slave an' free labor couldn't thrive side by
side. But, now, son, you know, all labor's free an' the time's come faw
a change.

"You see, son, that's where Gen'l Halliday's village projec' is bad. His
villages are boun' han' an' foot to cotton fahmin' an' can't bring forth
the higher industries; but now, without concealin' anything fum him or
anybody--of co'se we don't want to do that--if we can get enough of his
best village residenters fum Leggettstown an' Libbetyville to come up
an' take lan' in Widewood--faw we can give it to 'em an' gain by it, you
know; an' a site or two faw a church aw school--why, then, you know,
when capitalists come up an' look at ow minin' lan's--why, first thing
you know, we'll have mines an' mills an' sto'es ev'y _which_ away!"

They met and passed three horsemen armed to the teeth and very tipsy.

"Why, if to-morrow ain't election-day ag'in! Why, I quite fo'gotten
that!"

At the edge of the town two more armed riders met them.

"Judge March, good mawnin', seh." All stopped. "Goin' to Suez?"

"We goin' on through into Blackland."

"I don't think you can, seh. Our pickets hold Swanee River bridge. Yes,
sah, ow pickets. Why _ow_ pickets, they're there. 'Twould be strange if
they wa'n't--three hund'ed Blackland county niggehs marchin' on the town
to burn it."

"Is that really the news?"

"That's the latest, seh. We after reinfo'cements." They moved on.