So, by seven o’clock in the evening, up they came, sure enough. Meantime it had been ascertained that the girl had really slipped into the house of Flora Aitch, of whom she was particularly jealous, and had torn all her fine dresses. Flora was in high dudgeon, swore she would strip dat Maria naked ’fore God an’ man but she’d have pay or revenge. Jasper, too, had been consulted. He said Maria was lazy, and he had been compelled to whip her several times; but he would have got along well enough if it had not been for that sneaking, meddling mother-in-law. Altogether, it was very much such a complication as will break out sometimes even in the social relations of the “master race.”
The proprietor was by this time pretty well broken in. He had become used to a great many droll performances, and divorcing a married couple seemed about as easy to do as anything else.
“Well, are you all satisfied to quit? Jasper, what do you say?”
“I says dey do jus’ as dey please. Dey didn’t ’suit me fust, an’ I hab no’ting to do wid it last. M’ria’s mammy done treat me like dog all de time. If she want to take M’ria ’way, she can do it. I’s nuffin to say.”
“Maria, you said, out in the field, you loved Jasper dearly. Do you want to leave him?”
“So I does lub Jasper. But I don’ wan’ dem women to double-team on me, an’ beat me when he ’way.”
“But do you want to leave him, and go to live with your mother again?”
“No use axin’ her,” interrupted Jasper angrily. “Ax dat ’oman dere, her mudder. She got all de say, an’ done hab it ebber sence I had her daughter.”
“Yes, you mean t’ing; an’ you beat my chile, an’ run off from her arter oder women.”
“Dat not true. I nebber done nuffin ob de sort, nebber; but you done keep tellin’ pack lies on me all de time.”