The other three negroes took a delight in informing him in raucous tones what a sublimated donkey they thought he was.
Figger Bush developed an unusual flow of eloquence, and finally ended a superb climax by the proclamation:
“All dem unkind words whut you said I wus for not untyin’ de boat—you is dem!”
Then Skeeter had an inspiration.
He handed the end of a rope to Hitch Diamond and Vinegar Atts, and remarked in an unusually sweet tone:
“You two cullud pussons please git over on de shore an’ pull dis boat outen de mud!”
“Naw!” the two men howled. “We ain’t gwine mess up our clothes!”
“All right!” Skeeter remarked. “I’ll let de Mud Hen set on her nest till she hatches out a rise in de river an’ floats off.”
He sat down, lighted a cigarette, fanned himself with his hat, and inquired:
“Whar’s dem watermellyums? I feels hongry!”