“I hearn my Miss Ann a talkin’ bout yo’ fambly not so long ago. She say the Bucks an’ Bucknors were one an’ the same in days gone by but one er yo’ forebears done mislaid the tail en’ of his name. But Miss Ann say that don’t make no mind ter her—that you is of one blood jes’ the same. She even done up an’ state that you air as clost kin ter her as the Buck Hill folks air. She air allus been a gret han’ for geology an’ tracin’ back whar folks comed from.”
“She—she didn’t tell you to tell me that, 190 did she, Uncle Billy?” Judith looked piercingly at the old man. He tried to say Miss Ann knew he was going to tell the girl of their kinship but her clear gaze confused him.
“Well, well, no’m, she didn’t ’zactly tell me, but—No’m, she don’t even know I done come a’ callin’. She jes’ thinks I’m out a exercisin’ of Puck an’ Coopid. Them’s the names er my hosses.”
“Perhaps she would not like your telling me this,” persisted Judith.
“Well, missy, if you ain’t a mindin’ I believe I’ll arsk you not ter mention what I done let slip. I ain’t ter say sho’ what the fambly air gonter do ’bout the matter. I done hear tell they air gonter hab a meetin’ er the whole bilin’ an’ decide.”
“Do!” fired Judith. “They will do nothing. You can tell them for me that I don’t give a hang whether they want to claim kin with me or not. They did not have the making of me and I am what I am regardless of them. I know perfectly well that I am descended from the same original Bucknors but I’m glad my ancestor mislaid part of the name and I wouldn’t have the last syllable back for anything in the world.”
“Uncle Billy, I didn’t mean to be cross with you,” laughed Judith, her anger gone as quickly as it had come, “but it does rile me for the family to think themselves so important and to feel they can have a meeting and make me kin to them or not as they please.”
Billy, mounted on Cupid and leading Puck, rode slowly off. He wagged his great beard and talked solemnly to himself.
“Well now, you ol’ fool nigger, you done broke yo’ ’lasses pitcher. Whe’fo’ you so nimble-come-trimble ter tell little missy ’bout the fambly confab? ’Cause you done hearn Marse Big Josh ’sputin’ with Marse Bob Bucknor at the ball consarnin’ the Bucks an’ Bucknors ain’t no reason whe’fo’ you gotta be so bigity. Ain’t yo’ mammy done tell you, time an’ agin, that ain’t no flies gonter crawl in a shet mouf? All you had ter do wa’ ter go an’ give Miss Judy Buck the trinket an’ kinder git mo’ ’quainted an’, little by little, git her ter look at things yo’ way. You could er let drop kinder accidental like that she wa’ kinfolks ’thout bein’ so ’splicit. She done got her back up now an’ I ain’t a blamin’ her. She sho’ did put me in min’ er my Miss Ann when she wa’ a gal, the way she hilt up her haid an’ jawed back at the fambly. An’ she would er talked 192 the same way if Marse Big Josh an’ Marse Little Josh an’ Marse Bob Bucknor theyselves had ’a’ been there an’ all the women folk besides. That little gal ain’t feared er nobody. She done tol’ me ter say she wouldn’t have back that extry syllabub on her name fer nothin’. I reckon if I’d tell Marse Jeff that he’d go up in the air for fair. But this nigger is done talkin’—done talkin’.”