“What did you do next?” Gaitskill inquired.
“I fotch out one of dem long Perique seegaws an’ lit up.”
Both white men had begun to laugh. Mustard knew there was no harm coming to a negro from white men with the giggles. So he dismissed his fears and became expansive in his remarks:
“Dem Perique seegaw stogies ain’t as good as dey looks, Marse Tom. No man ain’t got a sucker in his mouf strong enough to make ’em draw, an’ when dey does draw, no man ain’t got no cornstitution powerful enough to stan’ de smoke.”
“What did you do next, Mustard?”
“I laid down on dem oat-sacks an’ went to sleep.”
Gaitskill had known Mustard so long that he could read the negro’s mind like a book. Although no question had been asked about the robbery, he was sure that Mustard had nothing to do with it. Then he began to explain to Mustard:
“Somebody robbed my store last night, Mustard.”
“Lawdymussy, Marse Tom! Bad luck is shore kotch you by de forelock. I’s powerful sorry to hear dem bad news.”
“The man who blew open the safe was killed in a fight, but we can’t find the bag of money,” Gaitskill continued.