and the sight of Leffie's bright eyes and rosy lips made him forgetful of
his promise. Going up to her, he announced his intention of kissing her. A
violent squabble ensued, in which the large china dish which Leffie held
in her hand was broken, two pickle jars thrown down, chairs upset, the
baby scalded, and the dog Tasso's tail nearly crushed! At last Aunt
Dilsey, the head cook and mother of Leffie, interposed, and seizing the
soup ladle as the first thing near her, she laid about her right and left,
dealing no very gentle blows at the well-oiled hair of Rondeau, who was
glad to beat a retreat from the kitchen, amid the loud laughter of the
blacks who had witnessed the scene.

Leaving the house he was soon on his way to the post office, and having
procured his master's mail he started for home. At length, slackening his
pace, he took from his pocket the letters and carefully scrutinized the
inscription of each. He was in the habit of going to the post office, and
after his master's return from Kentucky, he had noticed two or three
letters written in what he called "a mighty fineified hand," and he had
whispered to Leffie as a great secret that "'twere his private opinion
marster was going to marry some Kentucky girl." Recently he had noticed
the absence of those letters, and also the absence of his master's
accustomed cheerfulness. Rondeau was pretty keen, and putting the two
circumstances together, he again had a whispered conference with Leffie,
whom he told that "most probably the Kentucky girl had flunked, for
marster hadn't had a letter in ever so long, and every time he didn't get
one he looked as blue as a whetstone!"

"Glad on't," said Leffie. "Hope he won't have any your foreigners. Allus
did wish he'd have Miss Mortimer. Next to old marster and young marster
Lacey, her father's the toppinest man in New Orleans. And it's a pity for
young marster to stoop."

After examining all the letters closely, Rondeau came to the conclusion
that the right one wasn't there, and he thought, "Well, Leffie'll be glad,
and marster'll be sorry, and hang me if I ain't sorry too, for marster's a
plaguey fine chap, and desarves anybody there is in Kentucky."

Meanwhile Dr. Lacey was anxiously awaiting Rondeau's return, and when he
caught sight of him, coming at an unusually rapid pace toward the house,
he thought, "Surely Rondeau would never hurry so if he had not good news
for me," but the next thought was, "How should he know