Spar’ me an’ he’p me. He tol’ me ef I draw de money he’d take me into business wif him an’ gimme de guitar besides. LUCY Did you spar’ me? Fifty dollahs! You said fifty, didn’ you? How could you do hit? More’n six months’ ha’d slavin’. Six months mo’ befo’ I can resto’ it back. I could a bought de house tomorrer mo’nin’ an’ now hit’s six months off to pay in dat fifty. It _was_ fifty, didn’ you say? Maybe ’twuzn’ dat much. Tell me right. I’ll fin’ it out tomorrer. MADISON Dis yere’ll kill me ef I can’t think. LUCY How much you draw? Tell me right. Look at me. Were hit fifty? [_She holds his eye._] Less? Mo’? How much? [_She continues to hold his lustreless eyes, reading them._] A hunde’d? Two hunde’d? Eight hunde’d? [_A pause ensues as she reads the truth in his face._] All of hit! [_She sinks in a chair._] Twelve yeahs’ labour sence I married you an’ termorrer I wuz goin’ to mek de payment an’ we’d a bin undeh owah own roof. I’m done. I could a paid off pa’t, mebbe fifty, but I won’ las’ twelve yeahs mo’ at de same thing. But I thank Thee, Lawd, dat it wuz stole f’um us all ef hit had to be stole. MADISON Ef I could on’y think. Had hit in de bank—felt hit an’ had it on Thu’d Street—slapped hit an’ had it at Joe’s house—slapped hit an’ had it comin’ up de alley—jes’ fo’ I clum de hill—lemme see—clum de hill—went in th’oo Wilson Byrd’s hedge fence—he gimme de guitar—scrape my back comin’ out— [_His face shows gradual recollection, and suddenly brightens._] I knows now! Dat’s hit! In dat white man’s yard wheah he gimme de guitar! I wuz jes’ goin’ to give him de money when somebody grabbed him f’um behin’. He give a squawk an’ skeered me. I run out th’oo his hedge fence an’ scrape my back. I scrape de pocketbook out. She’s dere! In dat Wilson Byrd’s yard. I’ll git it yit. Watch me. [_He grabs his hat and runs excitedly toward the door._] LUCY [_Rushing toward him._] No, sumpin’ might happen. You might git mix up wif him ergin. Lemme go, but I mus’ resto’ dis guitar at Uncle Williams, as I go by his house. I’ll slip it on his porch. Maybe he’ll neveh know it wuz gone. Oh, if somebody had seen it heah! How could I have stood it? [_She puts on a shawl and takes up the bag but as she lays her hand on the door-knob a loud knock is heard on the door. Both start back and wait. The knocking is repeated. She throws off the shawl, places the bag in a corner and returning to the door, opens it. She greets the visitor in a strained voice, almost with a shriek._] Uncle Williams! Step in, please. [_A man enters. The newcomer is old, with white hair and beard. He is probably of Moorish descent. He is so small and weazened as to be almost a dwarf, but his whole demeanor indicates great latent power. A strong personality, dominating the two others from the first instant._] WILLIAMS Good evenin’, Lucy.