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worsened it a hundred times, and I wish to goodness I'd just let it alone, dad

fetch the whole business! ssssssssss

They buried him, and we come back home, and I went to watching faces

again -- I couldn't help it, and I couldn't rest easy. But nothing come of it; the

faces didn't tell me nothing. ssssssssss

The king he visited around, in the evening, and sweetened every body up, and

made himself ever so friendly; and he give out the idea that his congregration over

in England would be in a sweat about him, so he must hurry and settle up the

estate right away, and leave for home. He was very sorry he was so pushed,

and so was everybody; they wished he could stay longer, but they said they could

see it couldn't be done. And he said of course him and William would take the

girls home with them; and that pleased everybody too, because then the girls

would be well fixed, and amongst their own relations; and it pleased the girls,

too -- tickled them so they clean forgot they ever had a trouble in the world; and told

him to sell out as quick as he wanted to, they would be ready. Them poor things

was that glad and happy it made my heartache to see them getting fooled and lied

to so, but I didn't see no safe way for me to chip in and change the general tune.

"Well, blamed if the king didn't bill the house and the niggers and all the

property for auction straight off -- sale two days after the funeral; but anybody

could buy private beforehand if they wanted to.

So the next day after the funeral, along about noontime, the girls' joy got the

first jolt; a couple of nigger traders come along, and the king sold them the

niggers reasonable, for three-day drafts as they called it, and away they went,

the two sons up the river to Memphis, and their mother down the river to

Orleans. I thought them poor girls and them niggers would break their hearts

for grief; they cried around each other, and took on so it most made me down

sick to see it. The girls said they hadn't ever dreamed of seeing the family

separated or sold away from the town. I can't ever get it out of my memory,

the sight of them poor miserable girls and niggers hanging around each other's

necks and crying; and I reckon I couldn't a stood it all but would a had to bust

out and tell on our gang if I hadn't knowed the sale warn't no account and the

niggers would be back home in a week or two.

ssssssssss

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