“Now, Hitch, you go find dem yuther niggers I owes an’ fetch ’em in here in a bunch, because I wants to talk to all of you an’ fix up a plan.”
Half an hour later Hitch re-entered the room, followed by Prince Total, Mustard Prophet, and Figger Bush.
Out of Sugar’s hand-satchel Skeeter counted thirty dollars, arranged them in piles of ten dollars each and pushed them across the bar to the three negroes.
“Now, niggers,” Skeeter remarked, “I don’t owe nary one of you nothin’.”
“Dat’s right!” they exclaimed, pocketing the money.
“Now you listen to me: Sugar Sibley specify dat she’s gwine bet big to-day. I’s her runner. Now you niggers git all de loose change you kin borry an’ steal an’ be out dar. Ef Sugar wins I’ll tip you-all off whut her bet is. Ef Sugar lose I’ll place all her bets wid you-alls, an’ atter de races is over us’ll ’vide up.”
“Dem kind of exhort sho’ edifies my mind, Skeeter,” Hitch Diamond boomed, “an’ us is wid you!”
When the negroes had gone Skeeter counted the money remaining in the hand-satchel. It was nearly two hundred dollars.
The last day of the Tickfall fair was always given over to the negroes. Every darky who had a horse or mule was privileged to enter the animal for any race without paying a fee.