As she got up to go to the kitchen she took the pitcher for water. While she was pumping the water near the kitchen-door, Aunt Winnie staggered to the door trying to wind a cloth around her bleeding head, and one eye was swollen shut. As she came in and reported how badly she was bruised up, she wanted me to take the pitcher and go to the pump for water; but I told her I would wait a little, for they might think we went on purpose to see Winnie. "Poor thing, I know she came to the door on purpose to let me see her." And Mrs. Springer could not rest satisfied until I drew the next pitcher of water, when the poor woman reeled to the door with her hand on her head and the cloth around it saturated with blood. I could not sleep a wink after the day of the unmerciful whipping of those two little boys. Again the night after this unmerciful beating of this poor woman was spent in weeping, and prayer to Him who hears the cries of his oppressed children. A few days after Aunt Winnie came to Mrs. Springer and asked her if she would cut and make a green delaine sacque for her, and cut a calico skirt, as she could make that in the night, and charged her not to let her mistress see it or let her know she had it, because her husband got it for her and gave her seventy-five cents to get Mrs. Springer to cut it; "for he is going to take me away three weeks from next Saturday night, 'cause the people are so hard here; he says I shan't stay here any longer." "I am so sorry for her, I told her to come in when her mistress and Joe Shears's wife are away making calls, and I would take her measure and cut and baste it: then for her to come in after they are all in bed and I would fit it and make it any time, keeping it under a sheet I've got to make, and in that way I can keep it out of sight; and I told her you and my daughter will say nothing about it. Said Winnie, 'I knows that by her face.' Do you know how quick these black people read faces?" While she was sewing on Aunt Winnie's sacque, Joe Shears's wife came into our room a little while, and the daughter looked out the back window, where Jack was chopping, and said, "I don't think your Jack is going to live long." "Why? I'm sure he eats hearty." "He looks so bad out of his eyes; I've noticed it a few days past, and I've noticed he sort o' staggers sometimes, and he don't talk natural." She jumped up and looked at him and hastened to her mother in law's room. "Mother, Miss Springer says Jack is going to die." "What makes her think Jack is going to die? I don't see any thing ails Jack, he eats hearty." Miss Springer (laughing): "I thought I'd scare her out. I wish I could scare them to death, so they would treat their niggers like human beings." "Well, you've got her out of the way long enough to get Winnie's sacque out of sight before our Joe comes in, for he's so mighty careful for fear we'll get into trouble; I know he'd scold if he knew it."