Connor Magan's Luck and Other Stories by M. T. W.
page 21 of 104 (20%)
page 21 of 104 (20%)
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weak-like, 'Take Jerry too, pappy, take Jerry too!'
"'We'll get Jerry next time,' says ole Mas'. An' Jerry help Mas' Will fix de rope roun' him an' dey pull him up out'n de water. He done fainted when dey got him out, an' he tuk de fever, an' dat chile war sick mos' six months, an' all de time he had de fever, he say: 'Take Jerry too, pappy, take Jerry too!' And when he come to hisself, he say right off: "'Where's Jerry? I want Jerry.'" Mammy Delphy stopped. "And where _was_ Jerry, mammy?" cried the boys, breathless. "'Where war Jerry?' Ole Mas' let down de rope an' say right loud: 'Ketch holt, Jerry my boy!' But Jerry couldn't ketch holt, chillen. Jerry war dead." "_Oh mammy!_" "Yes, chillun, yes. Dey rub him an' rub him, an' do everything to fotch him to life. But, my Jerry war dead. An' when me'n de ole man come home from de funeral--dey buried him in de white folks' buryin'-groun,' long side o' Miss May's little gal what died--an' put a tombstone at de head--when we come home from de funeral dat night, de ole man look at de baby on my lap an' he say, 'Delphy, honey,' he say, 'I think disher baby mout be name _Grief_.' An' we name him Grief." Mammy Delphy wiped her eyes and resumed her work. Then, looking up to the blue sky which shone between the vines, she began singing again: |
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