me fur not gittin' out ter de fiel' in time, an' I tuck'n runned erway
fum 'im, an' now I'm skyeert ter go back, an' ter go anywhar; an' I
can't fin' nuf'n t' eat, an' I'se er starvin' ter def."

"Well, you wait," said Dumps, "an' I'll go bring yer the picnic."

"Don't tell nobody 'boutn my bein' hyear, honey."

"No, I won't," said Dumps, "only Diddie; she's good, an' she won't tell
nobody; an' she can read an' write, an' she'll know what to do better'n
me, because I'm all the time such a little goose. But I'll bring yer
sump'n t' eat; you jes wait er little minute; an' don't yer starve ter
def till I come back."

Dumps ran back to the ditch where the children were, and, taking Diddie
aside in a very mysterious manner, she told her about the poor man who
was hiding in the gin-house, and about his being so hungry.

"An' I tol' 'im I'd bring 'im the picnic," concluded Dumps; and Diddie,
being the gentlest and kindest-hearted little girl imaginable, at once
consented to that plan; and, leaving Tot with the little negroes in the
woods, the two children took their baskets, and went higher up the
ditch, on pretence of finding a good place to set the table; but, as
soon as they were out of sight, they cut across the grove, and were soon
at the gin-house. They entered the pick-room cautiously, and closed the
door behind them, The man came out from his hiding-place, and the little
girls emptied their baskets in his hands.

He ate ravenously, and Diddie and Dumps saw with pleasure how much he
enjoyed the nice tarts and sandwiches and cakes that Mammy had provided