It is really astonishing how rapidly acquaintanceships form under favorable circumstances. These two young people were shy, both of them, and on the preceding day had hardly spoken to each other at all. When they mounted their horses that morning they were almost strangers, and they might have remained only half acquaintances for a week or a fortnight but for that morning's ride. They were gone an hour, perhaps, in all, and when they sat down to breakfast they were on terms of easy familiarity and genuine friendship. CHAPTER VII. _Mr. Pagebrook Learns Several Things._ After breakfast Robert walked out with Billy to see the negroes at work cutting tobacco, an interesting operation always, and especially so when one sees it for the first time. "Gilbert," said Billy to his "head man," "did you find any ripe enough to cut in the lot there by the prize barn?" "No sah; dat's de greenest lot of tobawkah on de plantation, for all 'twas plaunted fust. I dunno what to make uv it." "Why, Billy, I thought Cousin Edwin owned the 'prize' barn!" said Robert. "So he does--his." "Are there two of them then?" "Two of them? What do you mean? Every plantation has its prize barn, of course." "Indeed! Who gives the prizes?" "Ha! ha! Bob, that's good; only you'd better ask _me_ always when you want to know about things here, else you'll get yourself laughed at. A prize barn is simply the barn in which we prize tobacco." "And what is 'prizing' tobacco?" "Possibly 'prize' a'n't good English, Bob, but it's the standard Ethiopian for pressing, and everybody here uses it. We press the tobacco in hogsheads, you know, and we call it prizing. It never struck me as a peculiarly Southern use of the word, but perhaps it is for all that. You're as sharp set as a circular saw after dialect, a'n't you?" "I really do not know precisely how sharp set a circular saw is, but I am greatly interested in your peculiar uses of English, certainly." Upon returning to the house Billy said: "Bob I must let you take care of yourself for two or three hours now, as I have some papers to draw up and they won't wait. Next week is court week, and I've got a great deal to do between now and then. But you're at home you know, old fellow." So saying Mr. Billy went to his office, which was situated in the yard, while Robert strolled into the house. Looking into the dining-room he saw there Cousin Sudie. Possibly the young gentleman was looking for her. I am sure I do not know. But whether he had expected to find her there or not, he certainly felt some little surprise as he looked at her. "Why, Cousin Sudie, is it possible that you are washing the dishes?" "O certainly! and the plates and cups too. In fact, I wash up all the things once a day." "Pray tell me, cousin, precisely what you understand by 'dishes,' if I'm not intruding," said Robert.