“Dat remark shows dat Skeeter Butts is still pesterin’ yo’ mind,” Hopey told her. “Ef he takes a notion to pay a call-visit, I’ll shore set right here an’ chapperoon him.” “Us won’t need you,” the girl remarked in a dreamy tone as she ran her fingers down the keyboard of the piano. “Skeeter shore do look brave in his soldier suit.” “Brave!” Hopey snorted. “Brave! Dat Skeeter Butts is de biggest coward in de Nunited States of Loozanny!” “He ain’t!” Dazzle protested. “He am!” Hopey insisted, nodding her big head on her fat shoulders. “Skeeter ain’t never seed nothin’ in his life dat he wusn’t skeart of. He’s a nachel-bawn ’fraid-cat!” “I don’t b’lieve dat,” Dazzle snapped. “Didn’t he go off an’ jine de army at de fust off-startin’ of de war?” “Suttin he did!” Hopey chuckled. “But how come? Three nigger womens wus in dis town on de very same day; each one had a weddin’ license to marry Skeeter Butts—an’ you wus one of dem three womens! An’ whut did Skeeter up an’ do?” “He volunteered to jine de army.” “Shore! He wus forced to volunteer! Don’t dat show he’s a coward an’ a ’fraid-cat?” Hopey howled. “Why didn’t he stay in Tickfall like a brave man an’ marry dem three nigger womens?” “He didn’t run because he wus skeart,” Dazzle asserted in Skeeter’s defense. “He jined de army because a lifelong war wid three nigger women wifes is too much of a muchness fer even a brave soldier like Skeeter.” “I wish dat Mr. Bill Kaiser’s war had kotch him,” Hopey growled disloyally. “I bet dem Hunches would ’a’ throwed a skeer into Skeeter dat mought ’a’ skeart all de skeer out of him.” “Skeeter wus a brave soldier,” Dazzle repeated obstinately. “Soldier!” Hopey repeated with a contemptuous sniff. “Skeeter wusn’t nothin’ but a boot-black in de army, totin’ pink notes to de kunnel fer de lady folks.” “Skeeter told me dat him an’ de military kunnel looked fer Mr. Bill Kaiser eve’ywhar,” Dazzle informed her. “It wus Mr. Bill dat wus skeart of Skeeter. He hid out, an’ Skeeter couldn’t connect up wid him or find him nowhars. Skeeter is a dangersome nigger.” “Skeeter wus jes’ tryin’ to locate Mr. Kaiser so he would know whut place to stay away from,” Hopey growled. “He imagined he warn’t skeart of de Hunches, but he warn’t aimin’ to let de Hunches _run_ him.” “’Tain’t so,” Dazzle answered sharply. “I bet ef I wus in danger right now, Skeeter would come up here an’ rescue me.” “Suttinly,” Hopey grumbled. “Fust-off, he’d break a leg runnin’ up to Sheriff Flournoy’s orfice to git de sheriff to he’p him, because he growed up in Marse John’s house, an’ he is de sheriff’s little pet nigger. Next-off, he’d git all de white folks an’ niggers in town and lead ’em up on dis hill. Den he’d sneak aroun’ behime a tree an’ wait till de rookus wus over, an’ at de last he’d hop in an’ ack like he done it all!”