"Who, me? Dey warn't but des one thing _fur_ me to do. I des gi'n Zephyr de ring, an' she ax me is I mean it, an'--an' I ax her is _she_ mean it, an'--an' we bofe say--none o' yo' business what we say! What you lookin' at me so quizzical fur, Juke? Ef yer wants ter know, we des had a weddin' dat Christmas night--dat what we done--an' dat's huccome you got yo' gran'ma. "But I'm talkin' 'bout Christmas now. When we'd all go home, we'd open our bundles, an' of all de purty things, _an'_ funny things, _an'_ jokes you ever heerd of, dey'd be in dem Christmas bundles--some'h'n' ter suit ev'y one, and hit 'im square on his funny-bone ev'y time. An' all de little bundles o' buckwheat ur flour 'd have _picayunes_ an' dimes in 'em! We used ter reg'lar sif' 'em out wid a sifter. Dat was des _our_ white folks's way. None o' de yether fam'lies 'long de coas' done it. You see, all de diffe'nt fam'lies had diffe'nt ways. But ole marster an' ole miss dey'd think up some new foolishness ev'y year. We nuver knowed what was gwine to be did nex'--on'y one thing. _Dey allus put money in de buckwheat-bag_--an' you know we nuver tas'e no buckwheat 'cep'n' on'y Christmas. Oh, boy, ef we could des meet wid some o' we's white folks ag'in!" "How is we got los' f'om 'em, gran'dad?" So Duke invited a hundredth repetition of the story he knew so well. "How did we git los' f'om we's white folks? Dat's a sad story fur Christmas, Juke, but ef you sesso-- "Hit all happened in one night, time o' de big break in de levee, seven years gone by. We was lookin' fur de bank ter crack crost de river f'om us, an' so boss done had tooken all han's over, cep'n us ole folks an' chillen, ter he'p work an' watch de yether side. 'Bout midnight, whiles we was all sleepin', come a roa'in' soun', an' fus' thing we knowed, all in de pitchy darkness, we was floatin' away--nobody cep'n des you an' me an' yo' mammy in de cabin--floatin' an' bumpin' an' rockin,' _an' all de time dark as pitch_. So we kep' on--one minute stiddy, nex' minute _cher-plunk_ gins' a tree ur some'h'n' nother--_all in de dark_--an' one minute you'd cry--you was des a weanin' baby den--an' nex' minute I'd heah de bed you an' yo' ma was in bump gins' de wall, an' you'd laugh out loud, an' yo' mammy she'd holler--_all in de dark_. An' so we travelled, up an' down, bunkety-bunk, seem lak a honderd hours; tell treckly a _termenjus_ wave come, an' I had sca'cely felt it boomin' onder me when I pitched, an' ev'ything went travellin'. An' when I put out my han', I felt you by me--but yo' mammy, she warn't nowhar. "Hol' up yo' face an' don't cry, boy. I been a mighty poor mammy ter yer, but I blesses Gord to-night fur savin' dat little black baby ter me--_all in de win' an' de storm an' de dark dat night_. "You see, yo' daddy, he was out wid de gang wuckin' de levee crost de river--an' dat's huccome yo' ma was 'feerd ter stay by 'erse'f an' sont fur me.