‘All of us,’ answered Aunt Sally. ‘He come down to our huts of evenings, and sit dere, and tell us how Massa Courtney treat him wuss den nigger, and how we’se free coloured people, and should stan’ no nonsense.’
‘He is worse than I thought him,’ said Lizzie. ‘He must stop it at once, or I shall inform Mr Courtney, and have him turned off the premises.’
‘Kill him, Missy Liz, kill him!’ hissed Jerusha, between her clenched teeth; ‘dat is de only way to crush de rattlesnake.’
‘Don’t speak like that, Jerusha. It is wicked, and you do not mean it.’
But the Indian girl did mean it all the same.
‘Where did you say that Monsieur de Courcelles was staying, Betsy?’ inquired Lizzie, a few moments after.
‘At Uncle Josh’s shanty, t’other side of avenue. He mayn’t be dere now, Missy Liz, but he sleeps dere ob nights.’
‘If de door would fasten, I’d set fire to dat rotten shanty, before anoder moon,’ remarked Jerusha.
‘Well, I must leave you now,’ said the Doctor’s daughter, with a deep sigh; ‘but remember what I say. The next time I hear any talk like this of to-day, I shall go straight to Mr Courtney, and ask him to dismiss the whole lot of you. Then you will starve without any work to do, and will be sorry you left your comfortable huts, and kind employers, at the instigation of a villain.’
‘Massa Courtney starve too when he got no coolies to pick cotton and rice for him,’ muttered some one in the crowd.