That night when I assisted Miss Jane in getting ready for bed, I observed that she was unusually gloomy and petulant. I could do nothing to please her; she boxed my ears repeatedly; stuck pins in me, called me "detestable nigger," &c. Even the presence of Louise failed to restrain her, and I knew that something awful had happened.
For two or three days this cloud that hung about her deepened and darkened, until she absolutely became unendurable. I often found her eyes red and swollen, as though she had spent the entire night in weeping.
Mr. Summerville was gloomy and morose, never saying much, and always speaking harshly to his wife.
At length the explosion came. One morning he said to me, "gather up your clothes, Ann, and come with me; I have sold you."
Though I was stricken as by a thunderbolt, I dared not express my surprise, or even ask who had bought me. All that I ventured to say was,
"Master William, I have a trunk."
"Well, shoulder it yourself. I'm not going to pay for having it taken."
Though my heart was wrung I said nothing, and, lifting up my trunk, beneath the weight of which I nearly sank, I followed Master William out of the house.
"Good-bye, Miss Jane," I said.