J. Poindexter, ColoredCobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)
General
J. Poindexter, Colored
Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)
African Americans -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
I sort of stammers and hesitates like I'm astonished that she don't know
that part of it, neither. My hanging back only makes her yet more fierce
to hear the rest.
"Wellum," I goes on to say when finally I sees she's liable to blow
clean up if I delays further, "the real facts of the case is 'at he
ain't actually got no property a-tall, ez you mout say. He only draws
down one-ha'f the intrust frum it. He don't get nigh ez much income,
neither, ez whut folkses mout think frum his free way of spendin' his
money right an' lef'. Ez a matter of fact, an' in the strictes'
confidences, Miss DeWitt," I says, "he is mos' gin'elly alluz in debt to
the trustees by reason of him bein' overdrawed. But, course," I says,
"'at part of it ain't neither yere nor thar, is it? Ef Mr. Dallas wants
to slather his money 'bout so fast that ever' dollar he spends looks to
outsiders lak it's ten or twelve, tha's his bus'ness. Lemme git back on
the main track. Le's see, now? I wuz specifyin' to you 'bout the will,
wuzn' I?
"Well, it's lak this: W'en folkses down our way heared the terms of the
will they wuz a heap of 'em said the old gen'elman's mind must a-went
back on him in his last sickness fur him to be layin' down any sech
curious 'quiremints ez them wuz. Yassum, some even went fu'ther 'en 'at.
Some went so fur ez to say it wuz the streak of onsanity w'ich runs in
the Pulliam fambly croppin' out ag'in in a fresh place."
"Oh, so it's insanity now!" she says. "The longer you talk the more
interesting things I learn. Go on--go on!"
"Yassum," I says, "I'm goin'. Yassum, they wuz quite a host of folkses
w'ich come right out an' said Mr. Dallas an' Mr. Clarence, ary one or
both of 'em, would be amply justified in contestin' the will on the
grounds 'at the late lamentable wuz out of his haid at the time he
drawed it up. But no, ma'am, not them two! I figgers they knowed they
own dear paw well 'nuff to know the idee w'ich he toted in his mind.
'Sides w'ich, all the members of that fambly is sort of techy on the
subjec' of the lil' trickle of onsanity 'at flows in the blood, w'ich, I
reckin, they natchelly is to be 'scused fur that. An' ef one or the
other of 'em went to the big cotehouse tryin' to bust up the will on
the claim 'at the ole gen'elman didn't rightly know whut he wuz doin'
to'des the last, it'd only quicken up the talk 'bout the craziness
strain. An' so, on 'count of the Pulliam pride an' all, they jes' lef'
it stand lak it wuz. An' 'en, on top of 'at, Mr. Clarence he turned sort
of onsatisfactory in the haid an' he strayed off an' wuzn' heared of
ag'in till yere recently. An' 'en, soon ez Mr. Clarence wuz found, Mr.
Dallas he come on up yere an' you an' him met an'----"
"In Heaven's name, quit drooling and get somewhere," she says, making
her words pop like one of these here whip-lashes. "What did the will
say?"
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