[_The girls start forward toward the doorway at left back. As they near GRANNY she swiftly seizes a handful of burning herbs from the brazier and waves them smoking across the faces of the girls under their nostrils, so that they breathe the fumes. They take a few steps farther, staggering, and then stand motionless and silent. She takes them by the hands and leads them back. The fumes of stramonium, solanum and other herbs have produced catalepsia. GRANNY goes to the fireplace at back and from the mantel takes a wooden bowl, a short stick and a large dry gourd. She returns, gives the bowl and stick to SAPPHIE, causing her to beat rhythmically on the inverted bowl with the stick, a motion which SAPPHIE continues in imitative hypnosis. GRANNY gives the gourd to PEARL, causing her to shake it. The gourd gives forth a dry rattle from seeds or pebbles within it. GRANNY then places the two girls on either side of the tripod and they continue their drumming and rattling rhythmically. She then takes her place back of the tripod and casts more herbs upon the fire._] GRANNY Sistehs, kin yo’ heah me speak? Answeh, Sapphie. SAPPHIE [_In a dull tone._] Yes. GRANNY Answeh, Puhl. Does yo’ heah me? PEARL [_Also dully._] Yes. GRANNY Does yo’ see? BOTH GIRLS Yes. GRANNY Den watch me mek my w’ite man Lightfoot outer Lightfoot money. [_She seizes the bunch of bills from the table and plucking strands of hair from her head she begins tying the money together; taking the candle from the table she holds it over the tripod until it is soft and then kneads it with the money until the whole grows into the rude semblance of a human figure. Stooping then to the hearth she takes up the two charred sticks of her son’s pyre and with one of these she stabs the wax mannikin through the breast. Holding up the impaled figure she stands over her tripod and again speaks_:] Say dis atter me:— By de fieh at night, by de black boy down, THE SISTERS “By the fire at night, by the black boy down,” GRANNY By de skunt-off face an’ de red on de groun’, [_The sisters repeat each line after her in unison, keeping up their rhythm with drum and rattle._] By de w’ip an’ de rope an’ de chain dat swung, By de bloody mouf an’ de bit-off tongue, By de eat-up heaht an’ de spit-out gall, We scream, we beg, we whoop, we squall Tuh git poweh, tuh git stren’th tuh put de trickon um all. [_After this the remainder of GRANNY’S curse is spoken by her alone. The sisters continue their sounds with the drum and rattle._] Let um git no res’ in bed, er good at vittals, er hope at wu’k, er he’p at home, er peace wif fren’s er kin, er tryin’ tuh tek pleasuah, er in any place dey kin go er hide. Th’ee fingeh Jack my Obi pap, He’p me, ole Marsteh. Keep de promise wif um all.