African Americans -- Louisiana -- Gretna -- Fiction; Short stories, American
“Who? Chester ain’ no fool,” she answered. “Chester know too good,
how he gotta listen w’en Lizzie lay down de law an’ preach ’im somh’n
cuncernin’ of ’is welfare.... Yas indeed, he went away,” she continued.
“Went away wid ’is li’l bundle und’ ’is arm, quick as I could git yonder
to de boat landin’ on de Basin, an’ make ’rangements wid de man on de
charcoal lugger to take Chester ’long wid ’im to do de cookin’ on de trip
over.”
“So da’s w’at Chester goin’ do now? Go back to cookin’ on de charcoal
luggers for de winter?” Felo inquired.
“I ain’ told you Chester was goin’ stay on no charcoal lugger all
winter,” Lizzie informed him sharply.
“Den whah Chester gone?” Felo demanded.
“To furren parts,” Lizzie replied with tantalizing artfulness.
Felo looked at her with a scowl of displeasure, feeling that she meant to
withhold something important from him. What made her act so tight-mouth,
and try to keep things so secret? He asked with impatience. Did she have
to hide things like that from close friends like him and Lethe?... Didn’t
she know that both of them would be ready to stand by Chester if he got
into any trouble with the white folks?... What ailed her, anyway?
Mr. Felo had to excuse her, Lizzie informed him politely; but she just
natchally couldn’t trust no ’ceitful niggers, any more than she could
trust some of the white folks.... ’Specially white folks like some of
them shoo-fly offsprings they had sittin’ up in the court house....
“But who is you, in de name o’ Gawd?” Lethe asked in a surprised voice,
looking at her quietly and speaking very slowly. “Settin’ hyuh talkin’
’bout niggers bein’ ’ceitful,—wid all dis mighty ’thawity to criticize
yo’ own color?... _You_ ain’ ’ceitful, is you?... Scandalizin’ w’ite
folks you done growed up wid; w’en you oughta be proud to give ’um
respec’ for all de ’sistance you got from ’um in de needed time.... Gawd
knows, Lizzie, you sho oughta be shame to make little o’ yo’ Gritny
people like dat.”
“Leave Lizzie ’lone, an’ quit talkin’, Lethe; an’ le’s go yonder to
Gussie wake whah things is peaceful,” Felo suggested with sudden
abruptness. “Lizzie ain’ bin use to nothin’, no-how; an’ da’s w’at make
her so scawnful ’bout de w’ite folks. She jus’ like de res’ o’ dese po’
ignun niggers, ain’ got no inher’tunce.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account