(_Lucy Belle exclaims incredulously._) LUCY BELLE Go ’long! AUNT REBECCA Sho’ has! I--I was free mon’s in Cumberlan’ wid Sadie--she dat slim yallow one, yo’ know--got a mole on dis cheek. (_Indicates._) Some say dat de reason she so lucky. I ain’ sayin’. Up dere mos’ six mon’s wid Em’ly--she dat fat brown gal. (_Lucy Belle nods._) An’ den I reckon ’bout fo’ mon’s in Frederick wid Henry. (_Throws back her head proudly._) Henry great big fine lookin’ niggah. Ain’ so lucky, dough. Bawn in de da’k ob de moon. LUCY BELLE I ’member him. I ’member seein’ him ’roun’ yere w’en his fader died--ole Uncle Henry,-- AUNT REBECCA (_scornfully_) Huh! Dat niggah was’n’ his fader. No, indeedy! Dat lil’ scrootchin’ monkey was’n’ calc’lated ter be de fader ob no boy like Henry. (_Lucy Belle gives an exclamation of surprise. Aunt Rebecca sits in perplexed preoccupation for several moments. At length she speaks very slowly--dragging out the words, one after another._) AUNT REBECCA ’Deed chile, I kain’t seem ter ’member who Henry’s fader was. Dat gin got mah haid so tangle up. LUCY BELLE Lot done happen since yo’ been ’way. AUNT REBECCA Don’ I know it! Don’ I know it! (_Fanny Dorsey, a little Negro girl of eight, and Israel Dorsey, a little Negro boy of four, run in, Left._) FANNY Mamma! Yo’ all gwine ’way? LUCY BELLE I ain’ gwine nowhar. ISRAEL Mamma! Git me some candy! LUCY BELLE (_harshly, as she rises_) Yo’ all hush! I ain’ gwine ter git yo’ nuffin! FANNY Mamma! I wan’ ter go out an’ play wid Gordy! LUCY BELLE Shet up! Yo’ ain’ gwine ter play wid nobody! Git in dere an’ git ter bed! Go ’long! Yo’ yere me? (_Threateningly._) Wan’ me ter beat yo’? ISRAEL Mamma! Git me-- (_Lucy Belle grabs them roughly and pushes them through the door, Left, closing it after them. Their cries are heard for several moments and then gradually cease._) LUCY BELLE (_irritably_) Some day I’se gwine ter git good an’ mad an’ knock dere haids off! AUNT REBECCA How’s Sam--? LUCY BELLE (_drops down on a chair near Aunt Rebecca and exclaims ecstatically_) Jes’ great! Aun’ Becky, he’s de bes’ ole budigee in de worl’! AUNT REBECCA Ain’ nobody got nuffin’ on Sam. LUCY BELLE Yo’ said it! Jes’ as good ter me as he know how ter be. Do ev’ythin’ I ask him. AUNT REBECCA Don’ haf ter tell me dat. LUCY BELLE He’s de onlies’ niggah I evah loved. AUNT REBECCA Don’ make ’em no bettah den Sam. LUCY BELLE He’s mah honey-baby, buddy boy! AUNT REBECCA (_with a good-natured chuckle_) Listen ter yo! LUCY BELLE (_her face clouding_) But he ain’ had such good luck lately--. AUNT REBECCA How come dat--? LUCY BELLE I dunno--. Till ’bout a monf ago he wuk steady fo de Simpson Express Company. Drive a wagon fo’ dem. AUNT REBECCA Dat w’at he doin’ w’en I lef’. LUCY BELLE Sho’, sho’--. Good job, too. But de wuk gits slack--an’ dey lets him out. AUNT REBECCA Go ’long! LUCY BELLE