Aaron shook his head and Drusilla made no reply.

“Aunt Mimy,” said Buster John, “we want you to tell us about the time you went into the woods with mamma—when Uncle Aaron was a runaway, and when Mr. Gossett was running him with dogs.”

Jemimy laughed, and then she looked serious. She looked first at the children and then at Aaron. At last, her eye fell on Rambler, who had crossed the hearth and was sitting between Aaron and the chimney-jamb.

“Ef I ain’t mighty much mistaken,” said Jemimy, “dat ar very dog dar is one er de dogs what wuz runnin’ atter you.” Aaron nodded his head. “He gittin’ ol’, mon. Why, dat ar dog ain’t fur frum twenty year ol’.” Jemimy paused, but nobody said anything. Finally she went on:

“I never is ter fergit dat day, ef I wuz ter live ter be older dan ol’ man Methusalem. I speck I wuz ’bout fourteen year ol’, an’ Miss Rachel, she wuz ’bout eighteen or nineteen—some’rs ’long in dar. Soon one mornin’ she sont me out ter tell ol’ Unk Aberham fer ter saddle de pacin’ filly. She low she gwineter go out in de woods atter some wil’ flowers, an’ she says she want me ter go ’long wid ’er. So dey done saddle de filly, en put Miss Rachel on ’er, an’ den Miss Rachel, she rid up side de fence an’ tuck me on behine ’er, bein’s ez de filly done been trained to tote double. I had er basket on my arm, an’ dat ar basket sholy did worry dat hoss. She danced an’ she pranced, an’ twuz e’en’bout all I could do ter set up dar, her back wuz so slick.

“But bimeby de filly done git usen ter de basket, an’ atter dat I ax Miss Rachel whar she gwine. She say she gwine atter some wil’ flowers. I ax her wharbouts. I ’low’d dey wuz plenty right whar we wuz at. She up ’n say dey want ’nuff ter suit her. We rid on an’ rid on, an’ bimeby I say, ‘Miss Rache, you know you ain’t gwine atter no flowers.’ She ax me wharbouts she gwine den. I say, ‘You er gwine over yon’er in de big woods.’ She ax what she gwine over dar for. I say”—

Here Jemimy straightened herself up and looked at Aaron curiously.

“I ’clar ter gracious, I oughtn’t ter be tellin’ dis ’fo’ deze yer chillun,” she said.

Aaron made no reply one way or another, but seemed to be surprised, and the children protested loudly.

“You’ll run right straight an’ tell Miss Rachel!” exclaimed Jemimy, as indignantly as if the children had already told their mother.