"Law, yes, littler'n you—so little, he couldn't walk by hisself. De firs' time I done lef' him, jes' fur a minute, standin' in de big arm-cheer by de winder, he turn roun' w'en he see I wusn't holdin' on t' him, an' he yelled like forty—" She chuckled proudly, stopped suddenly, and held out timid arms and made a baby face. "'Ow! ow! Efan fall—Efan bake!'" She relaxed into smiles again. "Break he meant, yo' see. He'd seen pitchers and china dolls and sich like fallin' and smashin' ter bits, and he wus 'feared dat's wot would happen t' him."
She went on chuckling a moment, and then fell unaccountably to weeping. The thunder crashed and the wind blew loud. It lashed the great tulip-tree with fury. Ethan laid his face against the velvet back of the Duchess. Aunt Jerusha wept audibly. Ethan felt rather low in his mind himself.
"Where does this door out here lead to?" he said, feeling the need of a diversion.
"Unner dem front stehs."
"Oh, does it go under the stairs?"
"Yes; but don' yo' go dah, honey."
"Why not?"
"It ain't a berry cheerin' kin' ob a place."
"Dirty?"
"Spec's so."