The mother held on to her long, and looked at her wishfully; and when she had turned to go, she drew her back, and kissed her again, and said, "Good-night, dear child, good-night!"
Fanny climbed up a ladder in one corner of the room, through a square hole, to the loft above.
"I say," said Cripps, taking his pipe out of his mouth, and looking at Tiff, who was busy washing the dishes, "I say it's kind of peculiar that gal keeps sick so. Seemed to have good constitution when I married her. I'm thinking," said he, without noticing the gathering wrath in Tiff's face, "I'm a-thinking whether steamin' wouldn't do her good. Now, I got a most dreadful cold when I was up at Raleigh—thought I should have given up; and there was a steam-doctor there. Had a little kind of machine, with kettle and pipes, and he put me in a bed, put in the pipes, and set it a-going. I thought, my soul, I should have been floated off; but it carried off the cold, complete. I'm thinking if something of that kind wouldn't be good for Miss Cripps."
"Laws, massa, don't go for to trying it on her! She is never no better for dese yer things you do for her."
"Now," said Cripps, not appearing to notice the interruption, "these yer stove-pipes, and the tea-kettle,—I shouldn't wonder if we could get up a steam with them!"
"It's my private 'pinion, if you do, she'll be sailing out of the world," said Tiff. "What's one man's meat is another one's pisin, my old mis's used to say. Very best thing you can do for her is to let her alone. Dat ar is my 'pinion."
"John," said the little woman, after a few minutes, "I wish you'd come here, and sit on the bed."
There was something positive, and almost authoritative, in the manner in which this was said, which struck John as so unusual, that he came with a bewildered air, sat down, and gazed at her with his mouth wide open.
"I'm so glad you've come home, because I have had things that I've wanted to say to you! I've been lying here thinking about it, and I have been turning it over in my mind. I'm going to die soon, I know."
"Ah! bah! Don't be bothering a fellow with any of your hysterics!"