You ain't seen my Henny? Dat was
her sister's chile rubbin' down de flo'. She come ober dis mawnin' ter
help, so many folks here. Wait till I git a basket ob dese yer ole
pink rose-water roses. See how I snip 'em short? Know what I'm gwineter
do wid 'em? Sprinkle 'em all ober de tablecloth. I lay dey ain't nobody
done dat for my mist'ess since I been gone. But, Major,"--here Chad
laid down the basket on the garden walk and looked at me with a serious
air,--"I done got dat coal lan' business down to a fine p'int. I was
up dis mawnin' 'fo' daylight, an' I foun' dat rock, an' de crotch is
dar yit; I scrape de moss offen it myself; an' I foun' de tree too.
I ain't sayin' nuffin', but jes you wait till after breakfas' an' dey
all go out lookin' for de coal! Jes you wait, dat's all! Chad's on his
own cabin flo' now. Can't fool dis chile no mo'."
This was good news so far as it went. Our sudden exodus from Bedford
Place had been determined upon immediately after Chad's dismal failure
to locate the coal-field: Fitz having carried the day against Yancey,
Kerfoot, and even the agent himself, who was beginning to waver under
the accumulation of uncertainties.
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