“Skeeter told me dat him an’ de military kunnel looked fer Mr. Bill Kaiser eve’ywhar,” Dazzle informed her. “It wus Mr. Bill dat wus skeart of Skeeter. He hid out, an’ Skeeter couldn’t connect up wid him or find him nowhars. Skeeter is a dangersome nigger.”
“Skeeter wus jes’ tryin’ to locate Mr. Kaiser so he would know whut place to stay away from,” Hopey growled. “He imagined he warn’t skeart of de Hunches, but he warn’t aimin’ to let de Hunches run him.”
“’Tain’t so,” Dazzle answered sharply. “I bet ef I wus in danger right now, Skeeter would come up here an’ rescue me.”
“Suttinly,” Hopey grumbled. “Fust-off, he’d break a leg runnin’ up to Sheriff Flournoy’s orfice to git de sheriff to he’p him, because he growed up in Marse John’s house, an’ he is de sheriff’s little pet nigger. Next-off, he’d git all de white folks an’ niggers in town and lead ’em up on dis hill. Den he’d sneak aroun’ behime a tree an’ wait till de rookus wus over, an’ at de last he’d hop in an’ ack like he done it all!”
Dazzle was angry. She glared at Hopey with fine rage, and tried to think of something to say that would crush the fat woman flat. But nothing but a falling planet would ever flatten Hopey, so that young colored actress with several histrionic manifestations of intense indignation flounced out of the room, followed by the exasperating chuckles of the victorious Hopey Prophet.
In the rear hallway Dazzle paused at sight of the telephone. Her milk-white teeth gnawed at her lower lip as she debated something in her mind. Then, with an air of decision, she sat down at the desk and lifted the receiver from the hook.
“Central, I wants to talk to de Hen-Scratch saloon, please, ma’am!”
After a moment’s wait something popped in her ear, and a voice spoke: “Hello!”
“Is dat you, Skeeter Butts? Listen! Dis here am Dazzle Zenor. I’s at Marse Tom Gaitskill’s home wid Hopey Prophet. Somebody is tryin’ to bu’st in dis house an’ rob it——”
A squealing shriek sounded so sharply in Dazzle’s ear that she jerked her head away from the receiver, ceased speaking, and waited until the vocal disturbances had subsided.