Feminism -- Fiction; Sex role -- Fiction; Women's rights -- Fiction
But I told Philander I’d let him know if I see anything appropriate to
the C.S.S. Holdin’ back with a almost Herculaneum effort the mottoes
and badges that run through my mind as bein’ appropriate to their
society; knowin’ it would make him so mad if I told him of ’em—he never
would neighbor with us again. And in three days’ time we sot sail. We
got to the depo about an hour too early, but I wuz glad we wuz on time,
for it would have worked Josiah up dretfully ef we hadn’t been, for he
had spent most of the latter part of the night in gittin’ up and
walkin’ out to the clock seein’ if it wuz train time. Jest before we
started, who should come runnin’ down to the depo but Sam Nugent
wantin’ to send a errent by me to Washington. He wunk me out to one
side of the waitin’ room, and ast “if I’d try to git him a license to
steal horses.”
It kinder runs in the blood of the Nugents to love to steal, and he
owned up it did, but he said he wanted the profit of it. But I told him
I wouldn’t do any sech thing, an’ I looked at him in such a witherin’
way that I should most probable withered him, only he is blind in one
side, and I wuz on the blind side, but he argued with me, and said that
it wuz no worse than to give licenses for other kinds of meanness.
He said they give licenses now to steal—steal folkses senses away, and
then they could steal everything else, and murder and tear round into
every kind of wickedness. But he didn’t ask that. He wanted things done
fair and square: he jest wanted to steal horses. He wuz goin’ West, and
he thought he could do a good bizness, and lay up somethin’. If he had
a license he shouldn’t be afraid of bein’ shet up or shot.
But I refused the job with scorn; and jest as I wuz refusin’, the cars
snorted, and I wuz glad they did. They seemed to express in that wild
snort something of the indignation I felt.
The idee!
III.
“POLLY’S EYES CROWED TENDER”
Lorinda wuz dretful glad to see us and so wuz her husband and Polly.
But the Reunion had to be put off on account of a spell her husband wuz
havin’. Lorinda said she could not face such a big company as she’d
invited while Hiram wuz havin’ a spell, and I agreed with her.
Sez I, “Never, never, would I have invited company whilst Josiah wuz
sufferin’ with one of his cricks.”
Men hain’t patient under pain, and outsiders hain’t no bizness to hear
things they say and tell on ’em. So Polly had to write to the relations
puttin’ off the Reunion for one week. But Lorinda kep’ on cookin’ fruit
cake and such that would keep, she had plenty of help, but loved to do
her company cookin’ herself. And seein’ the Reunion wuz postponed and
Lorinda had time on her hands, I proposed she should go with me to the
big out-door meetin’ of the Suffragists, which wuz held in a nigh-by
city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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