Felo hurried to open the gate and let her in, and Lethe led the way to the back yard; both of them laughing heartily at Lizzie’s amusing speech and the antics she performed as she deposited the squawking chickens on the ground. Felo helped her untie the strings from their feet, and after they were put away for the night and Lethe saw that the chicken house door was made fast, the party went into the kitchen and sat down to talk.
After scanning the room inquisitively, Lizzie got up and helped herself to a dipper of water from the bucket standing on the table; then kicked off her shoes and made herself ready to enjoy any form of entertainment the night would offer. Seeing that she was in a loquacious humor, Lethe encouraged her to talk of Chester; knowing how curious Felo was to learn something of his whereabouts. At the mention of his name, Felo asked if Chester was going to the wake.
“No,” Lizzie answered quietly; then added with a grandiloquent air, that Mr. Frackshun was trav’lin’.
“To Lafourche?” Felo inquired.
“No. To furren parts,” Lizzie told him, enigmatically.
“To the sugar-grindin’?” Felo persisted.
No. Mr. Frackshun didn’t care nothin’ ’bout playin’ in a cane field; Lizzie informed him facetiously. Mr. Frackshun said he found cuttin’ cane too bitterly against the constitution.... ’Tain’ everybody kin stand it like wimmins bin use to it.... An’ innyway, Mr. Frackshun said he was afraid of his feets gittin’ fros’-bitten, cold mawnin’s like they had in the country.... And a cane-knife was such a dang’us-lookin’ weepon, Mr. Frackshun said he couldn’t see how he was goin’ to git use to totin’ one....
What was Lizzie tryin’ to make out of Chester? Felo asked her reprovingly. Since when did Chester come to be so high-up and particular that he could pick and choose the kind of work he wanted to do, when niggers in Gritny was glad to do any kind of work that come to their hand, tight as money was this time of the year?... Was she satisfied to listen to Chester’s crazy talk, and leave him stay home playin’ weak and timmasun, layin’ up on her all winter long doin’ nothin’? While she was scufflin’ yonder in the frosty cane-field, workin’ her poor fool-self to death till way after Christmas, when the grindin’ was over?... Lizzie must think Chester was some kind of jew’lry had to be locked up in the house to keep people from runnin’ off with....
“But you know de ole house so rickety an’ lavadated, Mr. Felo, da’s de very reason I sont Chester ’way from hyuh,” Lizzie told him with impressive seriousness. “My li’l ole shanty ain’ no safe place to hide nothin’ w’en dese Gritny w’ite folks commences plund’in an’ searchin’.... An’ jus’ like you say,—Chester so simple an’ timmasun,—Lizzie ain’ feel like she wan’ take no chances.... So da’s how come she make de jew’lry take a depahter.” (Departure.)
“Lawd! Lizzie, you sho is a circus,” exclaimed Lethe, laughing heartily.