Part 19 (1/2)

”Id's dothing adall,” insisted Annie, tightly grasping her offending member, ”by old dose always bleeds. Jusd a liddle dab will draw de clared.”

”Oh, but I just know it hurts awfully,” and Dee raced off for a basin of cold water while Dum rummaged in the debris for some of the gentleman's handkerchiefs that she and Dee always used in common with their father.

Mary insisted upon dropping a large bra.s.s door key down the sufferer's back, declaring that nothing stopped nose-bleed so effectively as the shock occasioned by a bra.s.s door key dropped down the back.

”I just know it is going to disfigure you for days to come!” exclaimed Dee.

”Oh, I don't bind the loogs but id's just the bordification of being such a duisance,” answered the poor girl, as usual embarra.s.sed over being the observed of all observers. And just then in spite of the basin of gore and Annie's pitiful expression and Tweedles' great solicitude, Mary and I went off into uncontrollable giggles.

”I'm not laughing at you, Annie, but at your 'bordification,'” gasped Mary, holding her own nose to give the proper accent; and then everybody laughed and it had the effect described in the nursery rhyme:

”Little Tommy Grace Had a pain in his face So bad he couldn't learn a letter.

In came d.i.c.ky Long, Singing such a funny song, Tommy laughed and his face felt much better.”

Blanche arrived on the scene with a bottle of witch hazel and Annie was made to lie down in the farthest corner with healing cloths bound round her injuries.

”I never heard sech carryings on!” exclaimed the girl. ”Mo' like a pa.s.sel of boys. I couldn't believe my yers that 'twas my young missusses making sech hullybullyboo. That there rent woman come by jes' then, and she rubbered 'til I thought she would sho' twis' her po' white neck off.”

Blanche had as frank a dislike to Mrs. Rand as that good woman had for all darkeys, and it was only with the most tactful management that we could keep them from coming to blows on the few occasions when Mrs. Rand came over to inspect our cottage. The white woman was very free in her use of the very objectionable term ”n.i.g.g.e.r,” and Blanche on the other hand had an insolent bearing in her presence that was entirely foreign to her usual polite manner and gentle disposition. It seemed strange that two persons as excellent in their way as Mrs. Rand and Blanche should be so antagonistic. They were like two chemicals, innocent and mild until brought together and then such a bubbling and boiling and exploding! Mrs. Rand always entered the house through the kitchen, which in itself was an irritation to Blanche.

”I don't hold to no back-do' company. If'n she calls herself a lady, wherefore don't she entrance like one? What call is she got to be pryin' and appearin' auspiciously into all my intensils? I ain't goin'

to leave no mo' dirt than I found.”

”Did she come in just now?” asked Dee as Blanche got off the foregoing tirade after having administered to Annie.

”No'm, she never come in! I squared myself in the do'way and she couldn't git by me and she couldn't git over me and Gawd knows she couldn't git under me. I wa'n't goin' to let her or no one else come in my kitchen 'til I got the dislocation indigent to the undue disordinary of yesterday somewhat abated.”

”Did she say anything?” laughed Dum.

”Yessum, she said a absolute piece of po'try what I would not defame my lips by repeating to you.”

”Oh, please tell us what it was!” we begged.

”Well, 'twas:

”'n.i.g.g.e.r, n.i.g.g.e.r, never die, Black face and s.h.i.+ny eye, Flat nose and crooked toes, That's the way the n.i.g.g.e.r goes.'”

”Wasn't that horrid of her?” we cried. ”And what did you say?”

”Well, I held my head up same as a white lady, an' I answered her back same as a white lady, an' I called out to her:

”'I had a little dog An' his name was Dash, 'Druther be a n.i.g.g.e.r Than po' white tras.h.!.+'”

”Well, I'm glad you got back at her; and now come on and let's get the cottage in such good order that we won't care which way the owner comes in,” and Dee gave Blanche a friendly pat on her broad shoulder. The girl left us, her good-humour restored by our sympathy, and if there was a speck of dirt left in that kitchen it would have taken a magnifying gla.s.s to find it.

Trunks were soon packed, and we had proceeded to the business of dismantling beds (all but on our porch), when we heard the rasping voice of Mrs. Rand in the living room below, that wily woman having slipped in through the kitchen while Blanche's back was turned.

”Hey--Miss Tucker Twins!! Where's that so-called paw of yours? I come over to go over the inventory with him.”

”Inventory! What inventory?” asked Tweedles from the balcony.

”What inventory? Why, land's sakes alive, what are you handin' out to me? Didn't I give him a list of my goods and chattels to be returned to me in the same condition in which they was delivered to him on the fust of the month?”