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In the fresh beauty of an early October morning, Porgy returned home. There were few of his friends about, as work was now plentiful, and most of those who could earn a day’s wage were up and out. He drove through the entrance, pulled his goat up short, and looked about him.
Serena was seated on her bench with a baby in her arms.
Porgy gave her a long look, and a question commenced to dawn in his eyes. The child turned in her arms, and his suspicions were confirmed. It was his baby—his and Bess’s.
Then Serena looked up and saw him. She arose in great confusion, clasped the infant to her ample bosom, and, without a word of greeting, stepped through her doorway. Then, as though struck by an afterthought, she turned, thrust her head back through the opening, and called loudly:
“Oh, Maria! hyuh Porgy come home.”
Then she disappeared and the door slammed shut.
Mystified and filled with alarm, Porgy turned his vehicle toward the cook-shop and arrived at the door just as Maria stepped over the threshold.
She seated herself on the sill and brought her face level with his. Then she looked into his eyes.
What Porgy saw there caused him to call out sharply: