"Me did it wiv Doe's little knife an' Doe's needle an' t'read; an' me hurted me's han's, me did." The recollection gave him the excuse that he was longing for. The string to one of his odd sets of sleigh-bells broke as he started across the room, with outstretched arms, for Joe, and he left a trail of small, hard, green melons as he ran. "Doe!" he cried, as the old man lifted him tenderly to his breast, "me hurted me han's!" The howl of anguish with which he repeated the statement was partially smothered by reason of the sufferer's face being buried in Joe's neck. "Jeppie say me is notty, notty b'y!" he continued, sobbing. "Miss Jessie," the old man said, with dignity, looking disapprovingly at his young mistress over the boy's shaking shoulders, "yo' means well, honey; I ain' a doubtin' ob dat, but yo' done got er heap ter learn 'bout managin' chillen. Yo's done hurted pore little Ralph's feelin's mighty bad!" "His feelings ought to be hurt!" Jessie persisted, indignantly. "A boy who is old enough to do such a piece of mischief as that is old enough to know better. And, Joe, it isn't right for you to encourage him in it." "Honey, hit ain' likely, now, is hit, dat any one has dish yer pore little feller's good more at heart dan I has, now is hit?" "No, Joe, it isn't." "Berry well, den; now yo' listen at me. Ef I had a t'ought ob hit w'en I was a plantin' dem dere little yeller seeds I'd put out a patch on purpose for dis chile ter 'a' had fur a marble quarry, or fur sleigh-bells, or w'atebber he tuck a notion fur. But I didn't t'ink of hit, an' de chile did. Dat's all!" It was utterly useless to argue against such self-abnegation as this, but Jessie could not forbear saying: "Think of the trouble you have taken with that melon patch. You've scoured the whole valley, high and low, for tin cans to cover the vines when a frost was threatened, and you've spent days in hoeing and weeding them." "And dere ain' a purtier patch ob melons, er a more promisin' one, in de whole State, ef I does say hit!" Joe declared with pride. "Don't be too sure of that, Joe. You haven't seen it since Ralph has been over it." Joe shifted the child's position, so that the tear-stained little white face rested against his own, to which it formed a wonderful and beautiful contrast. "W'at melons dese yer little han's been a-pullin' up ain' no loss t' nobody," he said; "an' I wants de chile t' 'joy hisself." A subsequent examination of the melon patch established the truth of Joe's words. At the moment, however, the idea that Ralph gathered was that he had done a rather commendable thing than otherwise. "Shall me pull up 'e rest of 'em?" he asked hopefully, snuggling closer to the black face. Joe stole a sheepish look at Jessie, whose eyes were dancing with amusement.